Wisconsin Basketball: Will Kobe King Transfer?

Wisconsin basketball is in a dark place and it only seems to be getting darker. Questions arose on Monday about Kobe King’s future with the Badgers.

Greg Gard’s tenure as the head coach of the Wisconsin basketball program has been a rocky one. And he faces yet another challenge with the bubbling frustration of Kobe King.

Gard took over as the Badgers’ head coach in a peculiar way when long-time coach Bo Ryan stepped down early in the 2015-16 season to ensure he could choose his predecessor. Gard had been with Ryan since 1993 when he was an assistant at UW Plateville. He followed Ryan to UW Milwaukee and eventually UW Madison.

Gard’s Badgers only won two of their first seven games after he took over in his first season, but eventually won 11 of their last 13 to squeeze into the NCAA tournament where they made it all the way to the Sweet 16. That was enough to earn Gard the permanent title of head coach in the offseason.

The following season Wisconsin went 27-10 and made it to the Sweet 16 once again under Gard’s watch. However, they only went 15-18 in 2017-18 and failed to make the Big Ten tournament for the first time since 1998. Fortunately, they returned the following year, but were bounced in the first round.

Despite a bump in recruiting rankings, there has been a lot of displeasure with Gard’s coaching style and the style the Badgers’ play. He appears slow to make adjustments and hasn’t developed players like his predecessor did. It’s resulted in yet another disappointing season for Wisconsin this year.

King also appears to be unhappy with his situation. According to an article from Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, King did not travel to the game at Iowa on Monday night and “is frustrated with the direction of the team this season.”

King, a redshirt sophomore, has been one of the Badgers’ best players this season. He’s also put in a ton of work on and off the court in order to transform his game since his freshman year. Also concerning is that none of his teammates appeared to know he wasn’t going to be at the game according to postgame interviews.

There’s been nothing reported about King transferring at this point, but the writing appears to be on the wall. It could also have an impact on future Badgers as well. Don’t forget, Wisconsin has two commitments from King’s alma matter at La Crosse Central for next Fall. This would be a huge setback for the Badgers’ program that was in such good hands for many years.

Hopefully, this can be resolved in a positive way for both King and Wisconsin. The Badgers can ill-afford to lose such a talented player.