noah reynolds you are trading one UW for another.
Wisconsin landed its first commitment outside of the transfer portal in the former sophomore guard from Wyoming after Reynolds visited Madison earlier this month.
After appearing in 23 games as a true freshman, Reynolds averaged 14.5 points per game in 19 appearances. He missed the last nine games of the season after being suspended following a second concussion in a span of five weeks. He was the team’s leading scorer at the time of his injury, and Wyoming (9-21) went 2-7 without him on the court.
“Concussions are scary and something you don’t want to mess with,” Wyoming coach Jeff Linder said during the season. “It is something that must be taken into account is the long-term health of a player. That’s what we’re doing with Noah. Yeah, it’s not ideal by any means, and it’s normal for the course of the season and how the season has gone, but it’s the best thing for Noah and his future.”
When healthy, Reynolds was shown to be an efficient scorer. He scored 20 or more points seven times, including his career-high 30 points against Texas A&M-Commerce and 23 points at UNLV.
The Badgers went 20-15 and lost in the NIT semifinals this season largely due to ineffective offense. Wisconsin shot 41.4 percent from the field, averaged 65.3 points per game and scored 106.9 points per 100 possessions, the latter number ranking them 140th in the country through Kenpom (the lowest for the UW since the site began track statistics in 2002).
Reynolds shot 48.1 percent from the floor, 32.9 percent from three-point range and 66.2 percent from the line last season.
He was an All-State selection as a senior at Notre Dame High School in Peoria, Ill., averaging 15.3 points per game along with 6.3 assists (one best area), 5.6 rebounds and 2 ,2 robberies. He helped lead his school to a 44-2 record over his last two seasons, including a No. 1 rank in 3A his junior season when he was named the Journal Star Large-School Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year.
“He’s a winner with a 68-9 record in his high school career and spent four seasons as a varsity starter,” Linder said in announcing Reynolds’ write-in commitment. “Noah is an everyday player who constantly works on his game. He is an excellent competitor with a great sense of play and excellent vision on the court. His courage and toughness will be an immediate standoff at the college level.”
Wisconsin is expected to add several players, including frontcourt players, from the transfer portal, something Gard was working on during the Badgers’ postseason.
“Teams that were in the NCAA Tournament went during home visits with guys who were on the portal, then they have their team get on a plane to go play on site or do a Zoom visit while they’re at the site of the NCAA Tournament,” Gard said last month. “We’re in the same boat navigating that. You have to do it.”
