Middleton 7-footer celebrates signing with 'dream school,' Wisconsin men's basketball

"It's been my dream school forever," Garlock said at his ceremonial signing Thursday at Middleton High School. "You know, Badgers fan, living 15 minutes away from campus, I always wanted to be a Badger."

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But even that doesn't take full account of the optics from the Badgers' perspective. Thursday, or more accurately Wednesday, when the consensus three-star 7-footer signed to join Wisconsin's 2025 class, at Middleton High School an important thing happened. Garlock, verbally committed since June 8, made his intentions clear: He would play for Wisconsin. More importantly for the Badgers, he can't go anywhere else as they secured an important piece to their 2025 recruiting cycle.

"Obviously, my size and skill set (doesn't) come across too (often) for a lot of players," Garlock said. "They were pushing really hard to get me ... Being literally home grown, like living in Madison, Middleton, you know, they didn't want me to go to any other school. They wanted to see the red and white, which is really cool."

Garlock, felt that, too. Where some schools might have dipped in their level of interest throughout the process, he noticed a level of urgency for the Badgers. As soon as he received an offer, the calls and texts started. Not just from coaches, but players, too.

Wisconsin freshmen Jack Robison and Daniel Freitag started communicating with Garlock, as did sophomore forward Nolan Winter, all of which Garlock said were cool. Winter, especially, represents a player that Garlock can envision himself growing into. He doesn't envision himself as a traditional big that will just sit on the low post.

"I want to be able to be versatile; handle the ball, shoot, score, play good defense," Garlock said. "I feel like I have a really good play-making (ability), I have a good sense of the court and have a good IQ."

Garlock acknowledged there are areas of his game that he hopes to grow. But by securing him at the start of the early signing period along with 2025 guards Hayden Jones and Zach Kinziger, Wisconsin will have the opportunity to build him into that truest vision of what he could be as a player before anyone else.

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When it was time to speak at his ceremony, Garlock approached the table wearing clear glasses and a bright red Wisconsin Basketball sweatshirt. He thanked his family and friends for their support, but also the doctors that helped him heal over the last several months as he recovered from breaking his tibia in early April.

He posed for a photo holding a pen and then a moderator called for his family to join him for a photo.

"Oh boy," Garlock said, causing laughter.

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Fourteen people stood up on the left-hand side of the bleachers. A lot of his extended family lives around the Middleton and Madison area. He said he, of course, wasn't going to say no to anyone.

"All the support has been great throughout the years," Garlock said, "to get me to where I'm at."