Tom Izzo on the new-look Badgers after portal losses: ‘Addition by subtraction’
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo has been around a lot of basketball, so he knows what it takes to pull a team up from where Wisconsin was sitting this offseason. Wisconsin coach Greg Gard had just lost his two best players in AJ Storr and Chucky Hepburn to the portal, and many fans and media members had written the Badgers off.
“Sometimes addition by subtraction, remember that,” Izzo said when asked about Gard losing his best players. “In some cases, and I am impressed by that.”
Tom Izzo seems to indicate that AJ Storr may have been a bad fit for Wisconsin
Reading between the lines, it seems that Izzo agrees with most Badger fans in that Storr was never a great fit for Wisconsin. The former Badger left for Kansas in the transfer portal, but has struggled to find consistent success there. New Wisconsin transfer John Tonje on the other hand, has propelled the Badgers to an unbelievable season so far. He’s averaging 19.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists on his way to several Player of the Year watchlists.
Gard has also introduced a brand new offense for the 2024 Badgers. They’ve been scoring more than any Wisconsin team in the last three decades, and have scored over 80 points 16 times, which is a program record. While Storr and Hepburn did bring some success to Wisconsin last season, the Badgers were unceremoniously dumped out of the NCAA Tournament in the first round. This year, Gard and Tonje seemed poised to make a deep run.
Whether Izzo meant his comments as a slight at transfers or not, he’s applauded the way Gard has handled the situation. He’s even suggested Gard win Coach of the Year. The two will duke it out in a huge matchup between the No. 11 and No. 8 ranked teams on Sunday at 12:30.
