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Star Wisconsin forward named to Naismith Player of the Year Watch List
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- Star Wisconsin forward named to Naismith Player of the Year Watch List
The Wisconsin Badgers are off to a shaky 1-0 start to the 2026 campaign following a 75-68 win against Denver that was anything but convincing.
That being said, if Wisconsin is going to have a successful season, it will start with star 7-foot senior center Nolan Winter. Against Denver, Winter tallied six points, 14 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal. While Winter and the Badgers could have gotten off to a better start, that doesn't take away from the fact that Winter is one of the best players college basketball has to offer.
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Prior to UW's season opener, Winter was named to the 2026-27 Naismith Player of the Year Watch List .
How much can Winter help the Badgers?
The 2025-26 season saw Winter break out as he averaged 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocks, averaging a 56.9% field goal rate.
Winter's most notable game came in Wisconsin's 78-77 heartbreaker overtime loss against Indiana, where he finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds. John Hollinger's game score metric values the productivity of a given player. A score of 10 means that player had an "average" game, with a 40 being an "outstanding" score. Last season, Winter finished with a 13. The next chance for Winter and the Badgers to get their non-conference schedule off on the right foot is this Friday against Delaware, with streaming available on the Big Ten Plus and tipoff set for 7:30 PM ET.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Star Wisconsin forward named to Naismith Player of the Year Watch List
