Wisconsin men’s basketball: more transfer portal rumblings

We threw out a few names that the Badgers might be interested in from the transfer portal last week and since then more names have only been added to the portal. Let’s take a quick look at who else Greg Gard and Wisconsin could kick the tires on to fill out their roster for next season.

Ben Vander Plas, Ohio, one year remaining, 6-foot-8, 232 pounds

A native of Ripon, Vander Plas is a familiar name to those of you that follow high school basketball in the state. Vander Plas was not offered by the Badgers, but he received interest from Green Bay and Milwaukee and might want to return to his home state for one last year of college hoops. He averaged 14.2 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season and earned All-MAC first team honors in the process. He shoot 33.5% from deep on 194 attempts while shooting just under 60% from inside the arc. He gets to the free throw line often and is solid on the defensive boards. One thing that he might not like about Wisconsin is playing time. He has played over 81% of Ohio’s minutes for the past three seasons and it’s doubtful he’d come close to that with UW.

Dischon Thomas, Colorado State, two years remaining, 6-foot-8, 235 pounds

According to Portal Updates on Twitter the Badgers have already reached out to Thomas, a native of Durham, N.C. Thomas was a key bench player for the Rams run to the NCAA Tournament this season. He scored 15 points (all on threes) and had two steals in 24 minutes against Michigan in CSU’s first round loss to the Wolverines.

Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

On the season, Thomas averaged 5.7 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 42% from deep on 69 attempts. He has improved his passing and ball security in each of his three seasons with Colorado State and seems like the type of guy that could slide right in as a utility forward for the Badgers, playing multiple spots off the bench.

Dontaie Allen, Kentucky, three years remaining, 6-foot-6, 205 pounds

Travis Branham of 247 Sports mentioned that Allen has already heard from Wisconsin, among many other schools, about playing for them. A 4-star prospect coming out of high school, Allen has been recruited over at Kentucky and barely played during his sophomore season. He averaged 2.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game this year while shooting 29.4% from the field. His three point shooting was a dreadful 18.9% on 37 attempts this year, but during his freshman season he shot 39.7% from deep on 78 attempts, so there is something to work with there. With his pedigree, Allen is the type of player who could come to Madison and immediately challenge for the starting shooting guard/wing position next to Chucky Hepburn.

David Skogman, Buffalo, three years remaining, 6-foot-10, 228 pounds

Another former in-state player, Skogman, a native of Waukesha, is in the portal and might want to move closer to home. Looking at some of Skogman’s stats, I had to do a bit of a double take because he is ranked first IN THE NATION in true shooting percentage (71.7%) and two-point shooting percentage (74.4%).

He also made 41.4% of his 58 three pointers and was a very good rebounder. Skogman averaged 8.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game for the Bulls. He isn’t a rim protector but his offensive game is impressive and he would be a perfect backup to Steven Crowl with the chance to be a starter once Crowl moves on.