Wisconsin Men’s Basketball Fall Short To Former Assistant In Landing 2025 Forward Target….
The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team still has work to do in a hugely important 2025 recruiting class.
EJ Walker, a consensus three-star recruit by all three major recruiting services and a priority target for the Badgers, committed to South Carolina over Wisconsin, he announced Friday. He joins former Badgers assistant Lamont Paris, now the coach of the Gamecocks. He posted Monday to Twitter that his announcement would occur in a ceremony at Lloyd Memorial (Erlanger, Kentucky) High School’s Scheben Gym, and he chose South Carolina over Wisconsin and two other finalists: Ohio State and Purdue.
The recruiting miss in a vital recruiting cycle for Wisconsin should force it to regroup quickly to build a class that only has one other commitment in De Pere High School guard Zach Kinziger entering the summer. The Badgers, who are awaiting decisions from several other priority recruits in the class, still could have five open scholarships entering the 2025-26 season even if all eligible players remain with the Badgers over the next two seasons.
Walker only had posted about official visits to the Badgers and Gamecocks, announcing May 1 that the Buckeyes staff led by recently promoted interim coach Jake Diebler had re-offered him. The top 135 recruit per On3 and Rivals visited Wisconsin three times before Friday, most recently taking an official visit to Madison on April 27 — the same weekend the Badgers brought in two eventual transfer commitments in former Central Arkansas point guard Camren Hunter and former Northern Illinois forward Xavier Amos.
Walker made an unofficial visit to Wisconsin for the first time June 21, 2023, and also visited with his mother, Brittany, for the Badgers’ game against Tennessee in November.
The Badgers saw Walker as a middle ground between former forward Tyler Wahl and former guard AJ Storr, with the potential to make an impact both on the offensive and defensive perimeter and interior.
Forward is a thin position for the Badgers in future seasons. Only forwards Nolan Winter, Jack Robison and Amos could have joined Walker at the spot heading into the 2
Because of that, his path to playing time could have been immediate with Wisconsin. He could have filled the role Storr played in the Badgers system as a wing who presents a matchup problem for smaller defenders.
Wisconsin has offers extended to four more uncommitted players who could impact four or five spots in the lineup: Nicolet forward Davion Hannah, Heritage Hills (Indiana) forward Trent Sisley, Wauwatosa West center Kai Rogers and Middleton center Will Garlock.
Wisconsin has one scholarship remaining for the upcoming season, which coach Greg Gard said it remains active looking to fill.
