MADISON, Wis. - There's adding depth at guard and there's adding impact depth at guard. The University of Wisconsin hopes it has hit on the latter.

Labeled as an elite shooting and play-making point guard by San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, former Aztecs guard Nick Boyd will use his final season of eligibility at Wisconsin, picking the Badgers over North Carolina and several other high-major schools.

One of several offseason goals for Wisconsin this offseason was to get older and more experienced. The Badgers graduated six seniors from their 27-win team (their highest win total since 2016-17) and only Xavier Amos had played meaningful minutes of the three juniors currently on the roster. That's not the case with the 6-3, 175-pound Boyd, who has played in 119 career games (82 starts), appeared in seven NCAA Tournament games, and has shown thus far to be a consistent shooter.

Boyd has shot at least 40 percent from the floor in his four collegiate seasons while shooting better than 35 percent from three in three years.

One of four transfers added to replace the six key contributors San Diego State lost in the offseason, Boyd started all 31 games while averaging 13.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. With only 55 turnovers, Boyd had a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio in leading San Diego State to the NCAA Tournament First Four, where it lost to North Carolina.

Before arriving at San Diego State, Boyd averaged 8.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 21.3 minutes during 88 games at Florida Atlantic, including a 2.04 assist-to-turnover ratio that ranked No. 2 on the school's career list. He started 51 games over that stretch, reaching double figures in scoring 31 times and shooting at least 40.0 percent from three-point range 37 times.

During the Owls run to the 2023 Final Four, Boyd averaged 8.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 24.4 minutes. In the national semifinal, Boyd hit a team-high four three-pointers and was second on the team in scoring with 12 points. Ironically, San Diego State eliminated the Owls on a buzzer-beating basket in the national semifinals.

Boyd received a medical redshirt after missing the 2021-22 season with an injury and will use his COVID waiver from when he was a true freshman in 2020-21. More importantly, the Badgers now have options at point guard after Virginia senior Andrew Rohde committed to the Badgers out of the portal.

The Badgers will also await the decision of sophomore John Blackwell, who declared for the 2025 NBA Draft on Thursday but is retaining his college eligibility by not hiring an agent. Blackwell finished second on Wisconsin in scoring last season and earned honorable mention all-conference honors.

The NBA Draft is scheduled for June 25 and 26. The deadline to withdraw from the draft process is June 15.

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