Wisconsin Badgers positional recruit snapshot: 2024 guards

Over the next three days, BadgerBlitz.com will be bringing you snapshots for each recruited position, covering the targets who are legitimate prospects on Wisconsin's basketball board in the 2024 class. We will discuss the candidates who are most interested in the Badgers, as well as those who are considered long shots to commit to UW.

As always, this is just a snapshot in time and things remain fluid. Additional offered targets will appear over the next few months and some recruits will inevitably choose other colleges.

Today, we start with a look at the guards.

The story of the offseason in Wisconsin's backcourt was Noah Reynolds' brief commitment to the Badgers. The transfer from Wyoming announced his pledge to UW on April 5, only to step back from that decision on April 19. He was expected to provide depth for Wisconsin at both guard spots in 2023-24.

Six days later, Reynolds announced via social media that he was headed to play with his older brother, assistant coach Nic Reynolds, at UW-Green Bay.

In other backcourt news, Jordan Davis entered the transfer portal and landed at Illinois State. Davis started 18 games for the Badgers this past season but was replaced midway through by true freshman Connor Essegian. The former in-state standout from La Crosse (WI) Central averaged 20.6 minutes, 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in 2022-23.

Essegian and Chucky Hepburn are expected to be Wisconsin's starting backcourt this upcoming season. Max Klesmit could transition into a sixth-man role off the bench.

On the recruiting front, Daniel Freitag remains a top priority for Greg Gard and his coaching staff. Wisconsin is set to host the four-star guard officially in a few weeks.