Wisconsin men's basketball adds a second transfer, former St. John's guard AJ Storr
MADISON – Greg Gard and his staff continue to add pieces to reconfigure Wisconsin’s roster in preparation for the 2023-24 college basketball season.
The Badgers added another athletic scoring threat on Thursday when former St. John's guard AJ Storr announced he plans to transfer to UW. He joins former Wyoming guard Noah Reynolds, who officially signed with UW earlier Thursday.
What does Storr believe he will provide his new team?
"I will bring excitement, athleticism, shooting ability, scoring on all levels," he said.
Jordan Davis is the lone UW player to announce he plans to transfer. If no other players decide to leave, UW's staff probably won't be adding any additional transfers.
Storr, 6-foot-6 and 200 pounds, started 17 games and played in 33 as a freshman at St. John’s last season. He was named to the Big East all-freshman team.
He entered the NCAA transfer portal last month after head coach Mike Anderson was fired and school officials subsequently hired Rick Pitino.
Storr averaged 8.8 points and 1.9 rebounds per game last season. He shot 40.4% from three-point range (38 of 94) and 75.0% from the free-throw line (42 of 56).
A native of Rockford, Illinois, Storr drew significant interest after he entered the portal.
The schools that reportedly reached out to Storr included: Michigan, Indiana, Virginia, San Diego State, Miami, Auburn, Memphis, Gonzaga, Creighton and Xavier.
"Wisconsin was the one I was considering the most," Storr said.
Storr has traveled a circuitous path in the last few years.
He transferred from Kankakee High School to Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas in the summer of 2020. After the announcement that Bishop Gorman’s season was shut down because of COVID-19, Storr transferred to prestigious Arizona Compass Prep in December of 2020.
He averaged 11 points, four rebounds and two assists per game to help Arizona Compass to a 28-2 record.
Storr committed to Illinois in April 2021 but a little more than a month later de-committed and reopened his recruitment. The reason? Assistants Chin Coleman, Storr’s lead recruiter, and Orlando Antigua left for jobs on the Kentucky staff.
Storr transferred to IMG Academy for the 2021-22 season and committed to St. John’s in August 2021. He chose St. John’s over offers from Kansas, Arizona State, Illinois, Iowa and others.
Storr was named team MVP at IMG after averaging 22.8 points per game.
"I've been around all the states," Storr said. "I'll fit in anywhere."
Eight St. John’s players started at least 14 games this past season. Storr was the No. 3 three-point shooter among those players.
He was a three-time Big East freshman of the week pick and averaged 10.5 points per game in 20 league games. He scored double figures in 11 of 20 Big East games, including 23 points at Creighton and 20 points against Connecticut. His 40.9% three-point shooting during the regular season led all Big East freshmen and was No. 6 overall in the league.
The Badgers shot 34.2% from three-point range this past season but didn’t have enough consistent scoring options and averaged just 65.3 points per game.
They failed to score in the last nine-plus minutes of their 56-54 loss to North Texas in the NIT semifinals, one last sign the team needed more scoring options.
The addition of Storr is another piece as UW looks to return to the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24.
"I'm looking forward to helping the team get back there," Storr said.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: AJ Storr becomes second basketball player Badgers add from portal
