MADISON, Wis. - A light bulb went on in Nolan Winter's head sometime last season, somewhere between the first and hundredth time the true freshman was bumped well off his spot.

Having a 7-footer come off the bench yields an intimidating impact, but not when that player averages only 2.4 points per game, is underweight, and struggles to get his feet in sync with the rest of his frame.

Thanks to a bevy of coaches, strength staff, and even a former player, that player from a year ago is almost unrecognizable

As he prepares for his second NCAA Tournament appearance when No.3 Wisconsin plays No.14 Montana at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday, Winter is one of the Big Ten's most efficient players. He leads the league in shooting 70.7 percent on two-point field goals, and leads UW at 56.5 percent shooting and 5.9 rebounds per game.

No longer lean and unsure of himself as a 9.4 minute per game reserve, Winter is the Badgers' budding foundation piece, a 7-foot center who is confident spotting up for a three-point attempt, putting the ball on the floor, and taking on any assignment the coaching staff puts in front of him.

"He has a year under his belt now," head coach Greg Gard said. "He’s guarded really good post players. He’s a more confident, more seasoned player. You have the combination of him and Steve (Crowl) together from an offensive standpoint, how they both can shoot the three, it puts defense’s four and fives in a quandary at times because of his experience and how he’s playing.

"There was always a question of can we play them together. He can guard fours now. A year ago he couldn’t shift and move and keep up with mobile fours. His experience is paying off for him."

Gard knew deep down changes were coming to his roster. In the era of the transfer portal, the ease of moving between schools, and the high price of NIL deals, Gard addressed his players following the 72-61 loss to James Madison in last year's first round and asked for transparency to allow the staff time to build a roster.

Seven players, including two starters, transferred from the program. Gard knew quickly that Winter wasn't going to be one of them.

"Everybody left the room, Nolan walked back in and goes, ‘Coach, I’m coming back, but I want to fight for the starting spot at the four next year. That’s what I’m going after,’” Gard said. “I said, ‘All right, Tyler (Wahl’s) graduating. It’s an open race, but you got to put the time in to go get it. I’m not going to handle it to you. You got to earn it.’"

Having a clear goal in mind, Winter went to work. He leaned on strength and conditioning coach Jim Snider to build a workout plan and assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft to mold his game. Once director of player development Greg Stiemsma was hired, the former Wisconsin center jumped into Winter's workout circle.

Krabbenhoft and Stiemsma consider Winter a bigger guard, the former knowing he could do it with how he handled the ball at Lakeville (MN) North and during AAU. They pushed him to play that way, even though Winter had never been a big back-to-the-basket offensive player.

"They really have worked with me on my confidence coming from the offense game," Winter said. "If shots aren't falling at one point, keep letting it fly and trust that my shot has been good. I've worked on it my whole life, so there's no reason I can't trust it. The biggest thing for me is my confidence, knowing that I am capable of shooting it and doing what I can offensive, putting the ball on the floor, doing everything because that's who I am."

Strength was another big factor. The times Winter tried to step through defenders or put the ball on the floor, getting bumped by physical forwards and center caused the pivot foot of his lean, inexperienced frame to shift and he'd be whistled for a travel.

Snider worked on building Winter's base, adding strength to prevent him from getting knocked off his feet when he attacked with the ball in his hands. The result was entering fall camp 15 pounds heavier at 235, still looking effortlessly when he moves, and able to absorb and deliver physicality in the lane.

While back home in Minnesota, Winter got together with former Wisconsin center Jared Berggren for workouts. Berggren was a consensus second-team all-conference selection and named to the conference's all-defensive team. The two worked on offense, footwork, and attacking.

After averaging a foul every 13.47 minutes last season, Winter downed his average to one every 10.27.

"The ball will go through the hoop as long as you're playing hard," Winter said. "That's something my dad has implemented in me. Playing hard at all times can help with the consistency and the ball going in."

While former teammates Wahl and forward Nate Reuvers had thrived at Wisconsin, Winter appeared more keen to follow in his parent's footsteps to Minnesota. His father, Trevor, was a 7-foot center on Minnesota's 1997 Final Four team. His mother, Heidi, played volleyball for the Gophers. The campus was in great proximity to allow his extended family to come to all his games.

Gard was infatuated with Winter's competitiveness when he scouted him. Winter's dad played with a physical edge during his era and it was evident to Wisconsin's head coach that Nolan had that same look. It was just a matter of igniting that chip.

"You realize what the ability of a guy like that is," Gard said. "It’s why we recruited him so hard because we envisioned what he could be if he went to work at it."

Sitting down with him during the latter stages of the recruiting process, Gard and Krabbenhoft's blunt message to Winter resonated.

"We talked about him carving his own path and blazing his own trail,” Gard said. “Showing the lineage and history we’ve had with guys like him, we’ve had several with size and skill and then we helped them get better. The bottom line too was he wanted to win. That was a point that we really drove home. If you come here, you’re going to win.

"You’re going to compete in the NCAA Tournament. You’re going to compete in the upper echelon of our league. Knowing how competitive he is and his background coming from Lakeville North and how much success they’ve had there, (winning) was something that was really important at the end of the day.

"Winning matters and we want those guys that (winning) matters."

Winter didn't know it at the time, but the Badgers were in the process of modernizing their offense. No longer content with the slower pace, set the offense, use the whole shot clock, Wisconsin was building an offense reliant on spacing, ball screens, and all five players on the floor being able to shoot from the perimeter. It fits him perfectly.

"People may have said I was a traitor for going here and not going to Minnesota and all that," said Winter, whose parents still come to most games since last season. "Whatever. I've had a lot of fun here ... I'm glad I made this decision and I love the people I've gotten to know here and the relationships I've built with."

On Dec. 9, 2023, Wisconsin suffered a 25-point loss at No.1 Arizona that gave plenty of people clarity of the gap the program and players needed to close. Winter played 14 minutes off the bench. He scored only three points and had one rebound, but being physicality manhandled by 7-footer Oumar Ballo (15 points, nine rebounds) was a wake-up call.

Thirteen months later, Ballo was at Indiana and still brutalizing defenders. The 265-pound center had at least 12 rebounds seven times, including an 18-rebound game in December, and scored a season-high 25 points twice this season.

When the dust settled, Winter looked like the seasoned pro in scoring 12 points, grabbing five rebounds, and helping limit his nemisis to four points and six rebounds in a 76-64 UW win.

There's still a battle with consistency (he's had more games below seven points (five) than double-digit games (four) since February 4), but the talent is there. He logged a double-double in Wisconsin's loss at Michigan State (3/2), scoring 12 points and hauling in a career-high 17 rebounds which was the most for a UW player since Alando Tucker did it 22 years ago.

In the Big Ten Tournament, Winter posted 18 points, six rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals, improving UW's record to 4-0 when he scored at least 15 points.

"I'd say every night being ready to go, treating it like it's the biggest game of your life," Winter said. "Not having the mindset going in that it's just another game. Having the consistency to be like, all right, let's get ready to fight. It's going to be a war tonight. To have that consistent excitement, and competiveness with me brings a lot with my consistency."

With five seniors in the top seven of the rotation, Wisconsin's roster is headed for a major overhaul for the second straight season. Whenever UW's season concludes, Gard figures to have a similar talk to the underclassmen on his roster about what lies ahead.

Unlike last year, however, dialogue has already begun with Winter and point guard John Blackwell about NIL deals and compensation to stay with the program.

It's the new era of college basketball, but Gard is well aware of how big of a ceiling his young center has in front of him.

"He is still just scratching the surface of what he could become as a player," Gard said.

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