Recruit Review: April '10

With Mundelein's Ben Brust almost certainly out of the picture, Wisconsin's 2010 class size might be set at three players. That leaves another scholarship to possibly add to the 2011 class, which has two important pieces already starting another summer travel season. Here's how each Badger recruit finished up the high school portion of the year ...

2010

:: Though Duje Dukan could conceivably arrive in Madison as the lowest-rated prospect in Wisconsin's 2010 class, he is undoubtedly the incoming freshman about whom Badger fans are most excited. Dukan averaged 22.9 pts and 9.3 rebs this season to lead Deerfield (Ill.) High School to a share of the Central Suburban League title.

Deerfield's Dukan led the Warriors (25-4) on an remarkable 18-game winning streak that peaked when Dukan scored 19 straight second-half points to beat Riverside-Brookfield on Valentine's Day. The very next game, Glenbrook North basically had to throw the Jordan Rules at Dukan to halt the streak. Fresh off scoring 32 points against Conant, Dukan next capped a furious rally with a game-tying 3-pointer to send the Waukegan game to overtime, but Illinios recruit Jereme Richmond's squad prevailed, 93-87.

There was more. Deerfield's second round state tournament opponent, Libertyville, got "Dukan-ed" when the senior scored the final 12 points of the opening quarter. He finished with 28 of Deerfield's 56 points in an easy win. However, Schaumburg ended Dukan's senior season unexpectedly in the sectional semis despite his 22-point, 12-rebound effort.

In addition to earning Second Team All-State laurels, Dukan was invited to the Nike Hoop Summit on April 10 as a part of the World Select team. Though he struggled in the team's loss [box score], Dukan was honored to participate [practice video]:

"Any time you are mentioned as one of the better players in the world, in your age group, it's just incredible. Being able to represent Croatia is very special. As a whole, being able to compete with the top players in America will help prepare me for the Big Ten."

:: Port Washington's Josh Gasser piled up plenty of honors of his own at the conclusion of his prep career. The 6'4" combo guard just missed his third straight season averaging a double-double, posting career high averages in scoring (23.9) and assists (4.8) to go along with 9.8 rebs and 2.7 stls per game. Following in the footsteps of Ben Averkamp, Kwamain Mitchell and Tim Jarmusz, Gasser was named Wisconsin's 2010 Gatorade Player of the Year for his contributions on and off the court.

The Pirates (19-5) went 6-2 in February to clinch a share of the mighty North Shore Conference crown, as Gasser continued to make a killing from the charity stripe. The team won its final regular season game with Gasser on the sidelines nursing an ankle injury and set out to return to the state tournament. After a bye, Gasser returned to score 33 points as Port advanced to the regional finals, but his state title dream ended with 26-point showing in a tough loss to Whitefish Bay.

:: The jump in Evan Anderson's production never really materialized under the new coaching regime at Eau Claire North, but Anderson did set a personal best in averaging 10 ppg (up from 8 ppg last season). Anderson, who was Honorable Mention All-State, has become a capable passer out of double-teams but needs to work on keeping the ball high and away from smaller guards.

His Huskies began February with a loss before winning eight in a row, including two games to win their WIAA tournament regional as the #5 seed. North (18-7) bowed out to top-seeded Antigo as Anderson was held to two points.

Anderson headlines the recently announced North roster for the WBCA All-Star game to be held June 19 at the UW Fieldhouse, where he will go head-to-head with state champion seven-footer Ben Mills of Arrowhead.

2011

:: February and March were not kind to Bolingbrook. The Raiders started off well, winning two games to extend its streak to four wins in a row. Junior forward Devon Hodges used a big second quarter to power the 'Brook into a tie for the conference lead on Feb. 5, but the team would get no closer to the Southwest Suburban Conference title.

The following game Hodges put together a monster game with 25 pts, 9 rebs and 2 blks. But Bolingbrook was unable to take advantage and was upset by Kankakee. The loss started a season-ending six-game losing streak from that point on culminated in a crushing defeat in the Class 4A regional semifinal. Hodges did lead the team in scoring that game with 10 points, adding a couple rebounds.

Bolingbrook posted a 13-13 record this year. Hodges was named Third Team All-Area by the Chicago Sun-Times and head coach Rob Brust called him "a walking double-double." Hodges will play some AAU tournaments with the Full Package Elite 17U team this summer.

:: After regaining his health at the end of January, George Marshall helped Brooks Prep to six straight blowout wins spanning the city playoffs and the start of the state tournament, including revenge against Carver. But Marshall managed only two free throws as the Eagles (24-8) fell to Crete-Monee to end the high school season.

Once the travel team season began, Marshall started making headlines along with his new teammates on the Mac Irvin Fire. The Fire list Marshall at 6'2" and 190 lbs. but that's probably a result of the standard "program height" boost.

Wisconsin State AAU Tournament

Unfortunately I was not able to scout any Badger prospects in person this past high school season, so when I heard the Wisconsin State AAU Tournament was going to be held in Stoughton, I knew I had to check it out.

So I traveled down to the Impact Sports Enhancement Academy on Saturday to take in a few games. Unfortunately a couple of teams did not show up for the event, leading to some of forfeits. Despite the cancellation of a few games, I was still able to see one each for the likes of Vander Blue, J.P. Tokoto, Wally Ellenson, Marquis Mason, Chip Rank, Kyle Kelm, Nimrod Hilliard and Jamar "Popcorn" Morris.

Outside of Blue and Mason, I had never seen any of these guys play live before. Needless to say, watching Tokoto was my main objective.

However, the first game I caught was in the 17U division, between Blue's Madison Spartans and the Wisconsin Force. Unlike the Spiece tourney last week or day 1 in Stoughton, Blue did not quite have his touch this time. He struggled from the field and subsequently, the Spartans lost by a few points to the Force, led by Josh Cameron and Sam Gage. But Blue continues to have his way getting to the basket at this level and had quite a few free throw attempts down the stretch. The Badger commit also tried a ridiculous dunk over his defender from outside the free throw lane on the baseline -- the gym would have erupted if it had stayed down. He still got the star treatment afterwards with a Channel 3 interview.

Playing on the court next to Blue around noon was the stacked Wisconsin Swing-Selk team, who completely ran away from the Wisconsin Blaze. I was pretty impressed by Chip Rank. He slammed the boards (knew how to box out well) and played with intensity all game long. His handle and shot were decent too. Mason's footwork inside stood out to me. Pretty nimble guy that should make a good receiver for the football team. He was the one guy I saw who able to actually put down his dunks, although he seemed a little lazy when it came to getting rebounding position.

Sadly, nothing Kelm did shouted "prime-time player" to me. He seemed more fatigued than others (didn't get the ball over the rim on a dunk) and just hung out by the 3-point line all game long.

Madison East's Hilliard found his rhythm behind the arc in the second half to fuel a big comeback for the 16U Madison Spartans against the Wisconsin Playmakers club. Miles Chamberlain's bucket at the buzzer gave the Spartans the win after being down as many as 16 points. Hilliard was fun to watch, very smooth.

After that I caught the first half of the 15U Wisconsin Force against one of the Wisconsin Swing teams. Junior Lomomba was not playing for some reason and was hanging out with the Madison Spartan kids. That left Popcorn Morris to handle business for the Force. He reminded me a bit of Flavien Davis -- 6'4" or 6'5", can lead a fast break, do work under the basket and get up for alley oops. I wanted to watch more, but the 15U Wisconsin Playground Warriors finally were ready to tip off.

Like Blue, Tokoto did not set the world on fire with his shooting touch, but he did get a few more buckets to drop in the second half as the Warriors kept the pesky Northwest WI All-Stars at bay. It must be hard to judge Tokoto when he plays down at this level because he is so much bigger and more athletic than any of the opposing players. He played up a lot in the full-court pressure the Warriors played and made several hustle plays that coaches love.

I tried to take a couple of videos with a weak Canon PowerShot, but they leave a lot to be desired. The first one shows Tokoto (#24) posting up and the second, blurry one shows him skying to retrieve what looked like an alley oop pass gone awry.





Ellenson was an interesting player to watch. He was quick enough to take any defender to the rack. Even though he was predictable in that way, his strength and aggressiveness earned him at least 10-12 points on those drives alone.

Links:
- There will be a rule change in 2009-10 regarding taking charges while under the basket -- it is now a blocking foul every time. There are a couple other rule tweaks and points of emphasis too.
- The Daily Cardinal checks in with Rashard Griffith.
- Many of Wisconsin's recruits and/or recruiting targets played well in last weekend's big Spiece AAU tournament (ie: Bill Hensley Memorial Run 'N Slam) in Indiana, including Blue, Tokoto, Evan Anderson, Chasson Randle, Nnana Egwu, Jacob Williams and J.D. Weatherspoon.

WIAA's Annual Meeting Raises Concerns

Executive director Doug Chickering warned WIAA delegates Wednesday about the trend toward elite training programs that could sap the competitive nature out of the high school sports scene. Chickering cited a letter from the U.S. Soccer Academy that actually chided club teams for allowing their players to participate in interscholastic athletics. So, could prep hoops be next?

Countless man-hours have been wasted calling out the AAU circuit for the downfall of modern civilization. But when it comes to basketball, AAU ball may only be the tip of the iceberg. Now that the NBA has set it's sights on revamping amateur basketball alongside the NCAA, high school basketball as we now it could eventually be headed for a ride into the sunset. Camps like the Nike Skills Academy have been around for a few years now and just recently, training programs like Adidas Nations have successfully pulled elite players away from the AAU scene for the summer in the hopes of grooming the kids for international play.

While power brokers like David Stern and USA basketball have in mind globalization and a return to the gold medal standard, high school sports administrators seem to be concerned about the mediocre majority being left behind. However, I think there is a gap in logic there. People like Chickering say they are truly concerned about the common youth athlete, but this is about revenue. Keep all your premier young athletes, and organizations like the WIAA guarantee themselves record-breaking crowds and gate receipts each new year at arenas across the land. But think about it: Would fever-pitched fanaticism at state tournaments evaporate because two or three (10? 20?) of the top high school basketball players in Wisconsin decided on a route similar to junior league hockey? Possibly, but unlikely.

If the truly elite athletes started disappearing off to who-knows-where like little gymnasts of the new millennium, it would seem to me that they would leave behind a more level playing field. Not to mention more playing time for lil' John Q. Public Jr. Sure, missing out on the next LeBron playing high school hoops would deprive the fans, but it is not going to devastate the other kids still on the court. In fact, without a transcendent Greg Oden (or Sam Okey) steamrolling through the state tournament, wouldn't more teams have a chance at that elusive state title? What's not to like about that, Doug?

In other news, Chickering also said that the number of public school students in the state's open enrollment program is now equal to the entire private school population. The perception of private school recruiting has certainly been a hot topic in the last decade; maybe that argument is going the way of the buffalo also.

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SLAM Magazine noted that Mike Bruesewitz "made an impression" during the recent Real Deal on the Hill AAU tournament. Author Aggrey Sam even called Bruiser "athletic" so, ya know ... no more questioning Bruiser's street cred.

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Absolutely great play by Carl Landry at the end of the Rockets-Jazz game Thursday night.* Michael Flowers-esque actually -- track down the replay (ed: Got it!) and don't miss the save to his teammate off of the blocked shot. It's about time Houston gave that guy some playoff minutes.

*I hate that rule that let's NBA teams advance the ball to half court on a timeout. It sacrifices some of the game's integrity if you ask me.

On the Stove Top: Links (4/3)

As we delve into the off-season, content is harder to come by. Thus, a collection of links to catch up on the week's happenings ...

- If you have time, read Monday's article by Rob Hernandez on Jonte Flowers in the Wisconsin State Journal. The whole story was well done, but the Michael Flowers quote rehashed by Hernandez is what stuck out to me:

"Good leadership produces winners,'' Michael said. "But great leadership produces other great leaders. That's what I think of Jonte."

Some might have heard a variation of that quote at some point, but I had not. That shows a great level of respect was present in the Flowers household as all those brothers developed into great athletes ... no doubt fueled by some scrappy driveway pickup games. Now, Jonte finds himself with an opportunity to play basketball professionally, his first step being the Portsmouth Invitational. The same invite led Kam Taylor to a professional contract in Spain; let's see if Flowers can do better.

- The St. Paul Pioneer Press named Jordan Taylor its 2007-08 Player of the Year this week. Will Minnesota's Mr. Basketball be Taylor's next accolade? He cannot arrive in Madison soon enough.

- Speaking of next year's new comers, one rumor gaining steam this week is that Phoenix-area wing Ryan Evans will be joining the Badgers in 2008 as well. Evans, whose father played at UW, seems capable and willing to walk-on to the program, but the intriguing part of this rumor is exactly when and for how long Evans might be paying his own way. Would he in fact be given only a one-year free ride his freshman year, thereby "holding" a scholarship for Jamil Wilson starting in '09, or be a preferred walk-on for a few years with the possibility of earning a schollie down the line. An ArizonaPreps.com article referenced on the Wishoops.net message board seems to be the source of the speculation.

- The collegiate season will culminate this weekend, but the summer high school circuit is already underway. Wishoops.net is running a series of previews for some of the state's best amateur programs, including the following:
:: Wisconsin Playground Warriors 6U (feat. C Evan Anderson, Sussex Hamilton G Kameron Cerroni & Milw. Lutheran G T.J. Kadima)
:: DTA 16U (feat. Milwaukee-area talent like G Flavien Davis & Milw. Custer PF Calvin Godfrey)
:: Tosa Bandits 17U (feat. Wauwatosa East G Keondre Gholston & the Lawson brothers of Racine St. Catherine's)

-Snubbed by the NCAA Tournament committee, Ohio State marched through the NIT and dominated UMass in the second half to claim its own postseason title Thursday night. Small consolation for the Big Ten.

Assuming Kosta Koufos goes pro, Ohio State will be facing the loss of its three top scorers again this offseason. The Buckeyes do have a nice, young nucleus on the perimeter in David Lighty, Evan Turner and Jon Diebler. But Dallas Lauderdale and McDonald's All-American B.J. Mullens are no Greg Odens.

- If you are a glutton for punishment, take another gander at the numbers from Davidson's demolition of Wisconsin in the Sweet 16. From a defensive efficiency standpoint, the game was far and away UW's worst of the year, allowing 1.34+ points-per-possession. The 18-2 advantage for Davidson on fast breaks sheds some light on how that happened.

- Camp Lambeau came to the defense of the swing offense. I myself think the offense--as espoused by Bo Ryan--has some inherent shortcomings, but that discussion is for another day.

Recruiting Rankings Updated

The writers over at Rivals.com have been drooling over Jared Berggren this spring, and now have moved him up significantly in their Class of '08 rankings. I'll admit to getting caught up in the recruiting hype sometimes, but at least the guys at Rivals are seeing these kids play, whereas I have only seen clips, pictures and old highlight videos of some of the Badger recruits. So I am willing to be less skeptical of the rankings than some, as long as we all agree they have little bearing on a player's collegiate success.

With that said, Berggren is listed as #57 on the newly released Rivals150. Like Iman Shumpert (#41), Berggren shot way up the charts from #140 based on his AAU circuit play. He is now rated by Rivals as the 10th-best center prospect of '08. He and Jordan Taylor have gotten increased playing time on the Howard Pulley AAU squad with a couple of the other high-profile Panthers (USC-bound PG Angelo Johnson and sophomore Royce White) sitting out the recent Jayhawk Invitational. Both Berggren and Taylor were named first-team all-tournament. Taylor moved himself up to #99 in those same rankings as the junior class' 15th-best point guard.

In Berggren's case, the news is a relief to those, like me, who last fall saw his thin, fragile frame for the first time. It looks like he's started to really fill in quite a bit.

Wisconsin's Future Taking Shape

With the AAU season in full swing and the recruiting trails ablaze, the Wisconsin Badgers are finally stirring up some action. In the past week, Bo Ryan's staff has extended scholarship offers to two more prep players, including their first offer for the Class of 2010. With this fall's class pretty much set in stone, the cardinal and white have their sights on the 17-and-under set.

Two weeks ago, Bo offered 6'4" guard Robert Wilson the third schollie in the Class of '08. Wilson has verbally committed to UW over some other high-profile schools, and thus tentatively joins a pair of committed Minnesota players in the class -- point guard Jordan Taylor and center Jared Berggren. Taylor and Berggren are currently playing together on the AAU circuit and doing quite well according to reports. Following their team's play in the Nike Boo Williams Invitational, a Rivals.com senior writer had this to say about Berggren in particular:

Wisconsin knows how to find quality big men and build them into effective college players. The Badgers have done it again in 2008 with big man Jared Berggren. The 6-foot-10 center is a good pick up for Bo Ryan and his staff. Berggren is a strong post player that isn't afraid of a couple elbows to the chest. He isn't afraid to hand them out either. He's a tough cookie and paired with Howard Pulley teammate Jordan Taylor, another Wisconsin pledge for the 2008 class, the duo is a nice 1-2 punch already on board for the Badgers.

Taylor (right) is ranked as the class' 20th-best point guard by Scout.com and led his Benilde-St. Margaret’s team to the AAA state title game this past season as a junior. Physically, he is built similarly to former Duke star Jay Williams, though not as explosive of course. Personally, I'm quite excited. Berggren, rated as the 16th-best center of '08 by Rivals.com (#140 overall) still needs to put on some weight to be considered even a beanpole. But that's why redshirting exists.

Howard Pulley regularly updates their website with detailed info on the various tournaments and scholarship offers flowing in for their top players. The squad also features two of the Twin Cities' finest prospects in the Class of '09 -- forwards Royce White and Rodney Williams, Jr. Tubby Smith has made the pair his top priority for Minnesota's 2009 class, and Iowa State has also offered each player a scholarship. Wisconsin offered a scholarship to White, a 6'7" power player attracting major attention. Williams may not be far behind on Wisconsin's radar.

However, two of the top recruits in the state of Wisconsin for 2009 are also wing forwards, like Williams. We wouldn't want Bo to stretch his staff too thin with a couple of potential blue-chippers in his own backyard. At this point, Racine Horlick's Jamil Wilson is probably the top Badger target in '09. He just lit it up in Akron, OH and led his 16U team to a tourney title at the King James Classic last weekend. While Madison Memorial's Jeronne Maymon is also picking up steam nationwide, rumor on Wisconsin message boards state that Maymon is unlikely to become a Badger, especially with Wilson in the picture.

At the start of the unofficial spring signing period, Wisconsin (as well as Marquette) extended an offer to 6'11" Evan Anderson. Anderson, a freshman this past season at Stanley-Boyd HS, may develop into a legit 7-footer down the road seeing as he recently turned just 15. He will take his 7'5" wingspan to Eau Claire North HS this fall.

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To recap, Wisconsin has strong verbal commitments from a 1, 2 and 5 for '08 to replace Butch, Stiemsma, Flowers and Tanner Bronson. The Badgers will likely add one more player in this class, but again, Bo and Co. are seemingly right on schedule or even ahead of the curve when it comes to garnering commitments for the near future. The expected losses of Krabbenhoft and Landry the following year can be countered with a bumper crop of slashers, shooters and energizers to fill positions 2-4 in '09.

Another look at this fall's class helps to understand why UW is pursuing such players. Bucky will welcome two forwards, Keaton Nankivil (left) and Jon Leuer, as well as wing Tim Jarmusz to the den in 2007. Obviously, the Class of '07 solidifies the Badger front court for the time when current redwoods Butch and Stiemsma take a permanent hike. With such a void on the wing currently, there is still a slight chance UW could give out a fourth scholarship for this class (perhaps guard D.J. Kennedy) instead of waiting until 2008. Such a signing would take away Bronson's senior-year scholarship.

Jarmusz (6'6") is recruit more out of the Dick Bennett-style mold, so it's no surprise that he is not ranked by the two major recruiting services. However, Nankivil and Leuer both were more heavily recruited. Leuer in particular has climbed the charts over the last year. A Leuer highlight video was recently featured on the basketball recruiting front page of Rivals.com (you can access it from Leuer's profile page). It's a typical highlight mix, showcasing dunks, 3-point shooting and his ball handling skills. He looks very fluid for a kid of that size, which is understandable since he was a guard until he shot up seven inches or so in height over the last two years. Leuer's potential has been compared to Steve Novak, formerly of Brown Deer, WI and Marquette.

Scout.com Top 100: Nankivil #88 (#21 PF) | Leuer #89 (#22 PF)
Rivals.com Rivals150: Nankivil #85 (#22 PF) | Leuer #75 (#19 PF)

State of the Site

You'll notice two things about the website these days. One, I replaced the generic blog header with a title banner -- which I will tinker with constantly over the next few weeks (and I welcome all comments and suggestions). Secondly, The Google video search bar has been moved front and center to the sidebar for better visibility and usability. In order to make it worthwhile, I will need to change the search keywords every once in a while to avoid lame videos. But if you missed the Free Ticket episodes, Marinara's got you covered. "All Access 4"? Tell me you don't love Bo Ryan, the greatest snake oil salesman of all-time.

Expect a recruiting post very soon. AAU season is in full swing, which means Badger prospects are in full bloom. The spring is the time for kids to earn their (full ride) money. Early reports are that Wisconsin was the first to offer a scholarship to Royce White, yet another Minnesota product. White is a 6'6" swingman from Minneapolis in the Class of '08 who has been impressing on the circuit. UW has had decent luck offering early to Twin Cities-area recuits (Kam), so Badger fans should keep an eye out for this guy. White plays on the same Howard Pulley team as Jordan Taylor and Jarred Berggren, who are both committed to Wisconsin for 2007.

A late run on Pittsburgh native D.J. Kennedy might be a stretch for Wisconsin, but Bo and Co. are at least in the conversation, according to Rivals.com. Maybe Bo's old Chester, PA connections will pan out. Incidentally, Kennedy's Schenley team defeated Chester in the Pennsylvania Class AAAA championship this past season.

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Check out the voice on this chap talking with Kam Taylor for a recent Sirius radio interview, circa the NCAA tournament. Unreal. Like in a Muppet sort of way. "Wisconsin guard KAAAm Taylor here ... you're a bAAAsketball player."