MADISON – One of the critical pieces of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team will return next season.
Sophomore Nolan Winter announced Friday afternoon that he will return to the Badgers for his junior season. He shared the news with posts on X and Instagram.
“Back for more,” he wrote.
Back for more. pic.twitter.com/ku9Url67qz
— Nolan Winter (@NolanWinter5) April 4, 2025
The news comes one day after point guard John Blackwell declared for the NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility. Blackwell also pledged to return to Wisconsin if he he withdraws from the draft.
Winter’s return gives the Badgers a player who made major strides over his freshman season while providing flashes of his potential as a player capable of scoring with his back to the basket or from three-point range.
The 7-foot forward started every game this past season and showed significant increases in production in almost every statistical category.
His scoring average went from 2.4 points per game as a freshman to 9.4. His rebounding average went up from 1.8 to 5.8 and his assist average increased from .3 to 1.1.
Those three- to four-time jumps in production came as Winter’s minutes went from 9.4 per game to 21.2.
Perhaps the best part of play is that his efficiency didn’t suffer as his playing time increased. His overall shooting percentage (.562), three-point shooting percentage (.357) and free-throw shooting percentage (.772) improved as a sophomore.
After Wisconsin lost to BYU in the second-round of the NCAA tournament, Winter spoke of helping lead the team into next season.
“This is going to be a big offseason for me,” he said. “I’m going to try to be more of a leader on the court and off the court. In all aspects of my game I’ve got room to improve and hopefully I can come back stronger next year.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin basketball's Nolan Winter will return for his junior season
