Wisconsin basketball recruiting: UW earns commitment from 2023 4-star C Gus Yalden

The Wisconsin Badgers and head coach Greg Gard were looking for a centerpiece (haha, get it) big man for their 2023 recruiting class, and they have found one with Wisconsin roots.

4-star center Gus Yalden (Appleton) out of The Asheville (N.C.) School announced his commitment to UW’s 2023 class on Tuesday. Although the center plays his prep ball in the Tar Heel State, Yalden has decided to come home and play for the Badgers.

The big man chose Wisconsin over a final group of Big Ten foes Nebraska and Rutgers and…College of Charleston (maybe the man just likes the Carolinas). He also received offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Butler, Illinois, Iowa, Marquette, Maryland, Stanford and West Virginia, among others.

Yalden is listed on 247 Sports at 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds. With that type of size — as well as noted touch at the rim and ability to make plays at his size — the “Gus Bus” has been compared to Nuggets center Nikola Jokic. If he brings anywhere near that level of play to Madison, UW fans are in for a treat.

Yalden joins 3-star CG John Blackwell out of Michigan in the 2023 class and the Badgers will be looking to add at least one more player in the class too. We will have much more on Yalden’s commitment later this week.

“I grew up a Wisconsin fan. Being from Appleton, Wisconsin basketball just means more. It just means more to me,” Yalden said on Instagram Live after committing.