Tyler Wahl Now Mulls Whether to Return to Wisconsin in 23-24
MADISON, Wis. – Tyler Wahl passed on an opportunity in the final seconds to extend Wisconsin’s season Tuesday night. We’ll find out in the days to come if the senior will also pass on the chance to play one more college season.
Wahl has been mum on whether he’ll take advantage of an extra year of eligibility and return to Wisconsin for the 2023-24 season.
“I'm going to play these games out and kind of take it from there,” Wahl said Monday.
Whether Wahl returns is one of the biggest questions concerning Wisconsin’s current roster. He is Wisconsin’s most senior member, having played in 126 games in 85 starts in his four-year career. The 6-9 forward started all 32 games he appeared in this season, finishing fourth on the team in scoring (11.3), second in rebounding (6.3) and blocks (14), and third in assists (81) and steals (39).
Wahl was trending toward an all-conference season in early January, entering the restart of conference play averaging 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, until a nasty ankle injury suffered against Minnesota derailed his progression. He missed UW’s next three games (all losses) and struggled to regain his rhythm, part of the reason he led the team in fouls (84) and (71).
After scoring in double figures in nine of UW’s first 12 games, Wahl only reached 10+ points in 12 of the final 19 games.
His 42.3 shooting percentage was tied for second among UW’s starters, but his 29.4 percentage from the perimeter and his 63.4 free throw percentage were either worst or tied for worst among the starting five.
Wahl got emotional discussing his future after UW's Big Ten Tournament loss to Ohio State, unsure if the Badgers would play in the postseason. Selected as a No.2 seed in the NIT, Wahl averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds over four games.
In Wisconsin’s season-ending 56-54 loss to North Texas in Las Vegas, Wahl missed two layups, two free throws, and committed two turnovers in the final 11:27, a stretch where the Badgers made only one field goal.
“I don't know if I've been in a locker room that has had that much adversity, but yet never showed one ounce of fracturing or individualism,” head coach Greg Gard said. “They continue to come to work every day and gave us every single thing they have had, and that just is credit to the character of the people that are in the locker room, obviously with these two guys with Chucky (Hepburn) and Tyler helping lead the way.”
Wahl previously said on The Varsity Collective-run "Badger Bigs" podcast that he planned to do "draft stuff" after the season and that his “mind's going to change 1,000 times, if I'm going to come back or not."
Asked before Tuesday’s loss what the Badgers’ performance through the NIT has told him, Wahl gave his teammates a vote of confidence without tipping his hand.
“I feel like it shows we're pretty resilient,” he said. “We've had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season. It could have been a turning point where things fell apart. We took it as an opportunity to come together, get some wins, and play some good basketball.”
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer
*Like us on Facebook