Connor Essegian says he'll leave the Wisconsin basketball program and plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal

MADISON - Connor Essegian struggled to keep his emotions under control as he stood near his locker inside Barclays Center late Friday night.

Wisconsin's season had just ended with a 72-61 loss to James Madison in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and the mood inside the room was somber.

Perhaps Essegian, who did not play in the game, realized it was time to move on.

Essegian announced Sunday night he plans to enter the transfer portal.

Essegian started 19 games and played in 35 as a freshman, averaging 27.4 minutes per game. He shot 35.9% from three-point range and averaged 11.7 points per game on a team that reached the semifinals of the NIT.

UW added transfer AJ Storr and freshman John Blackwell after last season, however, and Essegian saw far less playing time in his second season.

A back injury suffered in the opener against Arkansas State hampered his development early in the season but his biggest issues were on the defensive end. Too often Essegian struggled to keep his man from getting to the rim.

That issue, plus the play of Storr (16.8 points per game) and Blackwell (8.0), led to Essegian averaging just 3.2 points and 7.3 minutes. He also shot just 30.3% from three-point range (20 of 66) and 38.5% overall (37 of 96).

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He did not play in UW's final three games, including the last two of the Big Ten tournament.

As he stood in front of his locker late Friday night, Essegian was asked what areas he needed to work on to earn more playing time next season.

“I’ve just got to get bigger, faster and stronger,” he said. “I’ll just leave it at that.”