Greg Gard provides an update on the status of freshman guard Lorne Bowman

Following Wisconsin's 68-52 win over Northwestern Wednesday night, head coach Greg Gard provided an encouraging update on Lorne Bowman.

In early November, Gard revealed the freshman guard had withdrawn from UW after initially taking a leave of absence from the program.

"The situation he's dealing with at home with his family has evolved to be more - I think he and all of us - had thought," Gard told reporters in November. "So he's decided, through consultation with a lot of people, to withdraw at this point from school. He's no longer a student, but he is obviously a part of our program from a communication standpoint. Communicating with people in the athletic department, him and his family."

Heading into a new academic semester starting on Jan. 25, Gard was able to provide an update on the Detroit native.

“I don’t know in terms of when he’ll be back. That’s more in the medical hands, that type of decision," Gard said Wednesday. "He is re-enrolled, I believe, in school. Going to do some walking back into things, virtually, and going to do it from his home in Detroit.

"We’ll just continue to help him and help the family work through his situation and whenever that time comes when it’s appropriate for him to come back - I don’t know when, I don’t have a date or time. The main thing is to walk this forward at what is best for Lorne and his family."

Bowman was the first commit in Wisconsin's 2020 recruiting class, which also included Jonathan Davis, Jordan Davis, Ben Carlson and Steven Crowl, in addition to walk-ons Carter Gilmore and Justin Taphorn.

"Jumping back into school is a step in the right direction but, again, that’s just one small step," Gard said. "That was good news to see he was going to attempt to come back and do some things academically.”

Bowman, a three-star prospect out of high school, was named the 2020 MLive Metro Detroit Player of the Year. He averaged 25.2 points, 6.2 assists and 6.0 rebounds per game as a senior.

"Lorne's at home doing the best he can to get himself in a position to join us as soon as possible," assistant Joe Krabbenhoft said in UW's virtual chalk talk prior to facing Rutgers. "We're always in communication with him and hoping for the best, so he's definitely a part of our plans if that's what is best for him in his future."