Badgers freshmen among Wisconsin men's basketball surprises
A lot of new faces for the Badgers this season, and several are already standing out.
MADISON, Wis. — Austin Rapp hopes the footage never gets out of becoming what sure sounds like, at least how the kid’s say it, posterized by Will Garlock.
Garlock, listed at 7 feet and 243 pounds, is one of four freshmen on a University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team that boasts nine total new players entering this 2025-26 season. Rapp was among a couple of players who described Garlock as raw by a couple of Badgers during Monday’s media day, but Rapp also saw — and felt — Garlock’s potential firsthand as a victim of a dunk.
“It was bad,” Rapp said. “Nick Boyd threw a lob, and I’m like, ‘I’m there. I’m gonna go contest this,’ and (Garlock) threw it down on my head.
“And that’s kind of when the wake up point happened. I’m like, ‘This kid can be something special.’”
Garlock, who Rapp said makes a basketball “look like a NERF ball,” appeared gracious at one of the podiums inside the Kohl Center on Monday. The freshman big man played it coy with a smile when the topic of said slam was broached.
“I don’t want to name drop names, but if someone’s maybe said that, that might have happened,” Garlock said. “That might have been this little drill that I got the best of (Happ) on that drill.
“It was a good dunk.”
Badger Observer surveyed eight Wisconsin men’s basketball players regarding some of the surprises seen during preseason practices.