Wisconsin basketball announces foreign trip to France

On3 imageby:Nick Schultz•07/14/22•

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Wisconsin basketball is going international. The Badgers announced they’re taking a trip to France later this summer.

Wisconsin will head to France Aug. 7-17 to play four exhibition games to get ready for the 2022-23 season, the Badgers announced in a press release on Thursday. It’s their first international trip since 2017 when they headed to Australia and New Zeland, and they plan to use the trip to get some new faces acquainted with Greg Gard’s system this coming season.

Here’s the full schedule of games for the trip, according to the release.

Aug. 10 (Paris) — Game 1, Noon CT

Aug. 12 (Lyon) — Game 2, Noon CT

Aug. 13 (Lyon) — Game 3, Noon CT

Aug. 15 (South of France) — Game 4, 10 a.m. CT

Wisconsin undergoing big changes in 2022-23

The biggest loss Wisconsin will have to deal with is Johnny Davis, who became a lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft after a breakout sophomore season in 2021-22. He averaged 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game to help the Badgers to a share of the Big Ten regular season title and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But now, Davis is with the Washington Wizards after becoming the No. 10 overall pick. The Badgers have four freshmen coming in this year, led by Connor Essegian — a three-star guard and the No. 10 player in the state of Indiana, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Gard also brought in two players via the transfer portal. Former Wofford guard Max Klesmit and former Wisconsin-Green Bay guard Kamari McGee are both in the fold as the Badgers try to recapture last season’s magic.

They also have some big names coming back, led by Tyler Wahl, who finished third on the team in scoring with 11.7 points per game last season. Chucky Hepburn is also due back after bursting onto the scene last year as a freshman, averaging 7.9 points per game and hit a wild bank shot shot to give Wisconsin the Big Ten regular season title in March.