Thrust Into National Spotlight, John Blackwell Still Has Love For Wisconsin

Moving on to Duke or potentially the NBA, John Blackwell still speaks highly of the Badgers.

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard and John Blackwell. | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

Life is a little different for former Wisconsin basketball star John Blackwell right now.

The shooting guard spent three memorable years in Madison, and developed from an un-heralded three-star recruit whose home-state teams (Michigan, Michigan State) didn't even want him to one of the best guards in the country and arguably the hottest guard on the transfer portal market ahead of his senior season.

Still, Blackwell is going through the NBA Combine Draft process, as he did after his sophomore campaign.

"In my opinion, it's a win-win situation with both. I either get to play at the best college in the country, or live out my dreams and play in the NBA," he told NCAA.com's Andy Katz at the NBA Combine.

Blackwell blossomed into a national star as a junior at Wisconsin, but he truly became a huge figure in the sport when he entered the transfer portal and became one of the best available players.

The pursuit of Blackwell took many turns, as multiple Big Ten programs appeared to have a shot to land him in free agency. But he eventually settled on Duke while keeping the door open for a possible jump up to the NBA. Now, Blackwell will either play at the blue blood program, or he'll take his talents to the league.

Former Wisconsin guard John Blackwell. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yep, things are pretty good for the former Brother Rice star from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan who had just one power conference offer coming out of high school. But despite leaving the program that took a chance on him for bigger and better things, Blackwell still speaks very highly of the Badgers.

“It was amazing, honestly. I thank Wisconsin for all the memories and I had a great time in Madison. I think it’s still the best college town in the country," he told Katz.

Blackwell's business-like approach

I've written about how Blackwell can't be blamed for leaving Wisconsin to play for arguably the best basketball program in the nation, securing life-changing money in the process. And hearing his interview with Katz, he's clearly going about things the right way.

Blackwell didn't immediately commit to the first program that offered him a huge sum of cash. He went on several visits and carefully weighed his options. He's also playing the NBA Draft process game for the second straight year, keeping all of his options open for his future. There's nothing personal about Blackwell leaving Wisconsin; it's entirely for the benefit of his career.

Wisconsin fans can bemoan the Badgers' inability to pay Blackwell top dollar and inability to compete for a national title every year, but they can't bemoan a star player (who became a star at and because of Wisconsin) continuing his meteoric rise by seeking a bigger opportunity elsewhere.