Nolan Winter on the rise for Badgers as he returns to Minnesota

Whenever the Gophers played the Badgers at Williams Arena, Nolan Winter’s family always cheered for the maroon and gold.

After all, Winter’s father, Trevor, was a 7-foot center for the Gophers from 1993 to 1997, playing on the vacated 1997 Final Four team. His mother, Heidi (Olhausen), was a standout Gophers outside hitter who went to the volleyball Sweet 16 in 1993.

The Winters were fully on one side of the border battle — and then Nolan committed to the Badgers before his senior season at Lakeville North in the class of 2023.

When the Gophers (12-6, 3-4 Big Ten) host No. 13 Wisconsin (14-4, 6-1) on Tuesday night, it will be the first time the family is in Badgers red at the Barn, supporting their son, a 6-11 freshman forward.

“Always a big game,” Trevor Winter said about the rivalry. “We just love watching him compete at that level. Really proud parents.”

Another Winter could have easily been in a Gophers uniform, instead of following the path of several Minnesota natives to Madison in the last decade. Nolan grew up attending games at his parents’ alma mater and thought about committing to the Gophers after coach Ben Johnson and assistant Dave Thorson rarely missed his AAU games two summers ago.

But Winter’s mind changed after an official trip to Madison in August 2022. Winter felt the Badgers fit him best. Wisconsin’s winning tradition and similar big men who developed in the system were hard to pass up. His Gophers official visit that fall couldn’t change his mind.

“They both told me from Day One: This is your decision,” Winter said of his parents’ guidance. “They said, we’re all out of this, and we’re not going to control your life.”

Winter’s father, who played a game in the NBA for the Timberwolves in 1999, was a bruiser in the post, but his son grew into being a big man who loves to play on the perimeter.

“Our games are completely different,” Nolan Winter said. “I made my own name for myself and not just follow in my dad’s footsteps.”

The Gophers missed on Winter, but they signed Illinois native and four-star recruit Cam Christie, who is now leading all Big Ten freshmen in scoring with 10.4 points per game. Christie’s mother played at Northwestern, and he too left his home state.

Winter’s freshman season has been more about learning from veterans than production. He’s averaging 2.8 points and 1.9 rebounds in 9.4 minutes. But just to be in coach Greg Gard’s rotation is an accomplishment at this stage.

“He’s going to be a high-level player for us,” Gard said earlier. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen tomorrow. But he’s got an edge to him. He’s got a competitiveness to him that I really like. He’s 7 feet. He’s grown a little bit. He added weight over the summer. He’s really skilled. I’m excited about it. Sky’s the limit for him.”

The Badgers also will bring their Minnesota frontcourt to the Barn: Steven Crowl (Eastview) and Tyler Wahl (Lakeville North) have 188 starts combined. Crowl and Wahl both started slowly as freshmen as well before becoming major contributors.

“He’s adjusting,” Winter’s father said. “Lucky to be on an experienced team. They’ve been helping him a ton.”

Winter helps provide depth behind Crowl at center. Although he’s still looking to add much more weight to his 220-pound frame, the former four-star recruit and No. 2 player in the state’s 2023 class played double figures in minutes in four games during Wisconsin’s six-game win streak from mid-December to mid-January. Winter had a season-high seven points in 11 minutes off the bench in a Jan. 10 win at Ohio State. He also tied his season-high 14 minutes in a loss against then-No. 1 Arizona.

“It’s been fun to start living out my dream,” Winter told local media earlier this month. “I know I need to get stronger. I’ve known that all offseason. Continuing to do that and mentally trying not to overthink everything. I got to play my game.”