John Blackwell Transfers to Israel

MADISON, WI - Former Badgers guard John Blackwell has committed to Israel, sources told the Misnomer Tuesday. After spending his first three seasons at Wisconsin, the Bloomfield Hills, MI native chose to enter the transfer portal following a season in which he averaged a career high 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and earned All-Big Ten 3rd Team honors.

Blackwell’s decision to commit to Israel comes as a surprise, as previous reports had suggested the widely-regarded best guard in the transfer portal had narrowed his decision down to Duke and Illinois. However, sources close to the situation allege that Israel swooped in late with a record $10 million NIL deal, which Blackwell was happy to renege on and break any existing agreements he had with the other two schools.

Despite the incredibly high amount of NIL money Blackwell is set to receive, all of which is funded by American taxpayers and is higher than most NBA rookies’ salaries, he affirmed it did not play a role in his decision, telling reporters, “Ultimately, the decision came down to whichever program could provide me with the best pathway to a professional career. Israel’s connection to the NBA, particularly with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, is second to none, and its player development is top-notch, with programs like the Intensive Defense Fundamentals (IDF). I’m looking forward to becoming a much better shooter and becoming much more aggressive on offense against my opponents. I envision myself becoming a Stephen Curry-like player, raining bombs from deep on my opponents’ heads.”

Some analysts expressed confusion at Blackwell’s decision, stating that Israel is not actually an American university and therefore is not able to field an NCAA basketball team. However, NCAA president Charlie Baker concurrently announced that Israel would be entering Division 1 Basketball play effective immediately for the 2026-27 season, and would be eligible for March Madness, bypassing the normal three-year postseason ineligibility period every other team transitioning to D1 must follow.

“Competing in March Madness was promised to them 3,000 years ago, and since we are the National Collegiate Athletic Association, we have a duty as Americans to put Israel first”, Baker explained in a statement. The Israeli government also announced several other players joining Blackwell, headlined by Deni Avdija, an All-Star Small Forward for the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Despite Avidja being in the midst of his 6th professional season, he was still declared eligible for NCAA play, with Baker stating, “Deni has never played in the NCAA, so he still has four years of eligibility, regardless of his professional status, and it’s actually very anti-semetic to suggest otherwise”.

Badger fans across Madison and the country were left heartbroken by Blackwell’s decision to leave the program. Blackwell was a fan favorite player, and the Badgers were the only high-major program to offer him out of high school, despite Blackwell growing up less than an hour from the University of Michigan. Several fans felt especially betrayed after Blackwell’s comments last offseason, saying he was “going to be a Badger for life” and wanted “to be remembered as a guy who stuck around.” When asked about these seemingly contradictory comments, Blackwell accused reporters of supporting Hamas and claimed all Palestinians were “violent terrorists occupying land rightfully belonging to Israel”.