Wisconsin Badgers land Wyoming transfer guard Noah Reynolds

Noah Reynolds Replaces UW with another one.

Wisconsin earned its first commitment from a transfer gate in the former Wyoming sophomore guard after Reynolds made a visit to Madison earlier this month.

After appearing in 23 games as a true freshman, Reynolds averaged 14.5 points per game in 19 games played. He missed the final nine games of the season after being shut down after suffering a concussion for the second time in a five-week period. He was the team’s leading scorer at the time of his injury, and Wyoming (9-21) went 2-7 without him on the ground.

“A dreaded concussion is something you don’t want to mess with,” Wyoming coach Jeff Linder said during the season. “It’s something you have to look for is the player’s long-term health. That’s what we’re doing with Noah. Yeah, it’s by no means perfect, and it’s par for the course of the season and how the season went, but it’s the best thing for Noah and his future.”

When healthy, Reynolds proved to be an effective scorer. He scored 20 or more points seven times, including a career-high 30 against Texas A&M Commerce and a career-high 23 at UNLV.

The Badgers went 20-15 and lost in the NIT Semifinals this season largely due to an 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 figure ranking it 140th in the country via Kinbaum (the lowest for UW since the site began tracking the stats 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, Illinois, averaging 15.3 points per game to go along with 6.3 assists (area best), 5.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals. He helped lead his school to a 44-2 record his last two seasons, including a No. 1 ranking in 3A his junior season when he was named the Journal Star Large School Boys Basketball Player of the Year

“He’s a 68-9 winning record in his high school career, having spent four seasons as a junior at the university,” Linder said when announcing Reynolds’ written commitment. “Noah is an everyday player who is constantly working on his game. He is an excellent competitor, has a great sense of the game and excellent vision on the ground. His grit and toughness will be an instant dismissal factor at the collegiate level.”

Wisconsin is expected to add several players, including frontcourt players, from the transfer gate, something Gard has been working on during the Badgers post-season.

“The teams participating in the NCAA Tournament would go through home visits with guys who were in the gate, and then they would have their team hop on a plane to go play on site or take a Zoom visit while they were on site for the NCAA Tournament last month,” Gard said. “We’re in the same boat navigating that. . You have to do it.”