Kobe King announces departure from Wisconsin

In a recent announcement, Wisconsin Badgers forward Kobe King stated that he will be leaving the men’s basketball program. The decision comes just days after King decided not to travel with the team for their latest contest in Iowa City. Originally, the Wisconsin athletic department announced that King was not traveling because of a personal matter.

Later on a report from Milwaukee Journal Setinal’s Jeff Portrykus stated that, per sources, King was frustrated with the direction of the team this season. Another report surfaced from Jim Polzin of the Wisconsin State Journal that King was “unhappy and contemplating a transfer”.

It appears that those reports were correct as King announced via Instagram that he will be leaving the Badger program. In his announcement he stated that he did not feel the Wisconsin program was the right fit for him as a player and as a person.

Coming out of high school King was a highly recruited player, winning Gatorade Player of the Year and a State Championship in his senior season at La Crosse Central. King entered UW his freshman season where he suffered a season ending knee injury his true freshman season. King returned and appeared in all 34 games as a redshirt freshman. This season King was the Badgers second leading scorer averaging 12.1 points per game.

In terms of production, King’s impact on the court will be greatly missed. However the impact of the transfer could have a ripple effect on recruiting as well as 2020 recruits Johnny and Jordan Davis are very close friends and former teammates with King.

King’s future plans are likely undecided, but with one season of eligibility left (after sitting out a year due to NCAA rules since he’s already redshirted) it is apparent King will be looking for a new home to finish out his collegiate career. We will continue to update this story as more info comes to light.

Here are Greg Gard’s thoughts.