Former Four-Star Wing AJ Storr Believes in Wisconsin's Vision
MADISON, Wis. – The decision of St. John’s to hire Hall-of-Fame coach Rick Pitino was one of the biggest moves of the offseason coaching carousel. The Red Storm are banking on a coach with two national championships on his resume to attract players to revitalize a program with three NCAA Tournament appearances and no wins in the last two decades.
Freshman wing AJ Storr was impressed by the hire, but not smitten enough to stay.
“Pitino is a great coach and his career speaks for itself, but I came here to play for (former coach) Mike Anderson,” Storr told BadgerBlitz.com. “I was ready to restart.”
He found that reboot with Greg Gard and the University of Wisconsin, which received his verbal commitment on Thursday. Storr is the second player the Badgers have added from the transfer portal, officially announcing the signing of Wyoming guard Noah Reynolds earlier in the day.
The 6-5, 205-pound Storr said over 30 schools reached out to him once he put his name in the portal, including the reigning national champion (UCONN), the national runner-up (San Diego State), and at least 10 other teams who qualified for the NCAA Tournament, but his visit to Wisconsin’s campus and the coaching staff’s sales pitch over Easter weekend resonated with him.
“I definitely had a good time in Madison on my visit, seeing the campus and the facilities,” Storr said. “Talking with Coach Gard, his vision for me was good. They said it’s a great conference with a lot of competition. Wisconsin fans are great. The team is great, and I feel I can fit in good with them.”
“Wisconsin really won me over just with the vision and how I can come in and make an immediate impact.”
The vision from Gard (as well as assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft) was simple, helping strengthen the front court. UW played last season with only three forwards and struggled with depth, matchups, drawing contact, scoring in the paint, and a host of other issues in a year in which it finished 20-15 and missed the NCAA Tournament.
Storr averaged 8.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in his true freshman season, shooting 43.4 percent from the floor, 40.4 percent from three-point range (38-for-94), and 75.0 percent (42-for-56) from the free-throw line. Inserted into the starting lineup for the final 17 games, he averaged 11.8 points and reached double figures 11 times, and made the Big East’s All-Freshman Team.
“(Coach Gard) loved my play style with me being athletic and my size,” Storr said. “Wisconsin has a lot of shooters on its team, and I can fit in with that. (Last season) I scored from all three levels, attacked the basket, scored in the mid-range area, and hit some threes.”
A former four-star prospect initially out of Rockford, Ill., who played at IMG Academy in Florida, Storr was rated the No.115 player in the country when he committed to St. John’s over offers from 21 other schools, including Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. Wisconsin was unable to recruit him with only one available scholarship, which went to All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection Connor Essegian.
Since entering college, Storr said he’s added 10 pounds of muscle and saw a difference in his approach.
“The Big East is pretty physical with a lot of physical players,” he said. “Weight training over the summer and weight training during the year definitely helped me. I’m definitely stronger from high school and I’m ready for the Big Ten physicality.”
Storr will finish his spring semester at St. John’s in May and plans to join the Wisconsin program for its summer conditioning program.
“I’m in the gym 24-7,” Storr said. “The confidence comes from the work you put in. I’m pretty confident and just ready to get started with the team.”
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