That University of Wisconsin men’s basketball wing John Tonje never got it going at the high-major level last season is not his own fault.
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So when Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was looking into the Missouri transfer this offseason, he looked back further than his eight games and 9.8 minutes per game with the Tigers — limited that much due toan offseason foot injury— to his time as a featured player at Colorado State.
“That really showed me what he can do at a high level,” Gard said. “So that was convincing for me there.”
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Because, even in four years in the Mountain West Conference, there were plenty of high-level examples that made the Badgers comfortable. As a senior at Colorado State, Tonje scored 14.6 points per game on 47.3% shooting while making 38.9% of his 157 3-point attempts and 81.5% of his free throws.
Those numbers didn’t even earn Tonje a spot on one of the Mountain West’s all-conference teams in a strong year — San Diego State eventually advanced to the national championship, New Mexico spent parts of the 2022-23 season in the top 25 and neither of those teams had the conference player of the year, which went to San Jose State’s Omari Moore.
Tonje, a 6-foot-6 wing, will immediately boost the Badgers’ scoring from where it stood following the departure of AJ Storr to Kansas. Tonje looks capable of filling the role that Storr played within Wisconsin’s offense somewhat seamlessly, even if he doesn’t reach the level of impact that Storr — a potential future NBA player — had in his one year at Wisconsin, leading the Badgers in scoring with 16.8 points per game.
But there’s a reason why Tonje will hear comparisons to Storr, and why Storr heard comparisons to Johnny Davis: wings with positional size, athleticism and the ability to create their own shot have fundamentally changed the Badgers’ offense in recent years. Despite all three being different players, each has a function that seems to have become essential to Wisconsin, however they may operate within it.
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To get a fuller view of what Tonje can do against high-level competition, BadgerExtra watched in full Colorado State’s 65-61 Mountain West Tournament loss to national runner-up San Diego State, among other footage.
Here’s a breakdown of what Tonje provides the Badgers.
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A lot of game clips showed Tonje working around high-screen actions off and on the ball. It’s easy to see why the Badgers saw Tonje as a schematic fit for a Wisconsin team that will look to do a lot of the same to free players on the wing.
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Tonje has a nice array of dribble moves to get to the rim and find his shot. Against the Aztecs, Tonje scoredat the rim,in the post, inthe mid-rangeand frombehind the arc. He scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He was one of the most efficient shooters in the country in his senior season, ranking 179th among qualified players with a 59.9% true shooting percentage per KenPom.
His length and slippery movement looks a great deal like the way Davis moved on the floor, and it’s clear in watching hishighlights at Missourithat his mobility was impacted due to the injury. Evensome of his missesshowed good off-ball movement. It wasthe same with Storr last season, particularly inlate-game situationswhen his playmaking was even more valued. If he doesn’t finish at the rim, he could wind up at the line, ranking 319th in the nation in free throw rate (40.1%) per KenPom. At Wisconsin, Tonje can be utilized as an offensive spark no matter the situation.
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Wisconsin’s John Tonje can play above the rim
One of the first plays that stood out from Tonje’s Colorado State highlight mix was a collection of dunks against Wyoming on Feb. 24, 2023. One of the biggest losses Wisconsin faced was the above-the-rim athleticism that Storr offered. It awakened the Badgers at several moments, and was surely an impactful element worth considering when building a team.
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Tonje has shown — even if he’s not quite the leaper Storr was with the Badgers — that he could provide something similar. Tonje had an example against San Diego State, too,running out in transition and finishinglike Wisconsin saw from Storr many times.
John Tonje will impact the Badgers’ scoring in transition
The dunk against the Aztecs is one example of Tonje taking good angles up the floor. Playing with All-Mountain West first-teamer in point guard Isaiah Stevens, Tonje seemed accustomed to running the floor next to another offensive initiator.
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That will likely be a similar case at Wisconsin, as Central Arkansas transfer Camren Hunter, fifth-year Max Klesmit, senior Kamari McGee and sophomore John Blackwell will all spend a good amount of time handling the ball when they’re in the game. Tonje looked poised scoring in transition with the ball or without it. And even at full speed, he is capable of creative finishes.
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