Officially Blueless

So Vander Blue committed to Marquette on Sunday ... surprised?

Of course not. All Badger fans should be disappointed, but this may have been inevitable. Blue's own comments since his latest commitment spelled out the bottom line: Blue is most comfortable at Marquette.

He will be able to continue playing with best friend Jeronne Maymon and run in a traditionally up-tempo offense. Anyone who has watched Memorial press and run opponents out of the gym know why Blue enjoys running with less structure -- it is what made him a national recruit in the first place. You cannot fault the kid for wanting to play in the Big East either. And best of all for mom, he get this within state borders.

For years, we have known that Wisconsin fights an uphill battle with recruits like Blue who (perhaps unknowingly) care more about pace than efficiency. After all, they just want to play. Defense might win championships, but rarely does it net you top recruiting classes. When you have to fly in Devin Harris to explain to a prospect how the offense might open up if he commits, you've already lost that particular battle.

Using Ken Pomeroy's statistics that go back to the 2003-04 season, Wisconsin's adjusted tempo has been noticeably lower than Marquette's in every year except one (2004-05). Furthermore, over the same span, the 2005-06 season was the only time the Badgers played at a faster pace than half of the BCS conference teams. You will remember that year's squad as the one which lost Marcus Landry and Greg Stiemsma midseason due to academic ineligibility and the only one on this list that failed to win 20 games.

Year /	Record /	Adj. Pace /	BCS Rk /	Teams Faster
'08-09	20-13	59.9	#70	95%
'07-08	31-5	62.1	#71	96%
'06-07	30-6	64.4	#56	75%
'05-06	19-12	66.5	#33	44%
'04-05	25-9	63.6	#63	91%
'03-04	25-7	62.4	#65	94%

Coincidence? Don't think so. This is how Bo wins games. Wisconsin ranked as the 24th-most efficient offense on average among BCS teams through those six years.

It doesn't hurt Marquette's cause that Buzz Williams and the Golden Eagles put on a flamboyant Midnight Madness show last weekend and Blue bonded immediately with all the guys on the team (maybe the school even threw the ex-baller cutie in as Blue's academic advisor on purpose). Conversely, Blue did not get along as well with current Badgers and Bo is known to be more laissez faire than many of his coaching counterparts.

Buzz and the Madison Memorial-to-Marquette pipeline worked hard to get this pledge from Blue. It was a priority. The Journal-Sentinel noted that Blue is Marquette's highest-rated recruit in almost 30 years.

Blue was only 15 years old when he verballed to UW; I know I was personally surprised at how fast that happened, so I don't blame him for reconsidering. So whether or not the Badgers took their "foot off the gas" after Blue initial commitment, this chapter of the saga seems to have ended.

Only time will tell if Blue's decision to stay in his comfort zone will pay off as he hopes.

: : :

I was also going to complain today about how any self-respecting basketball power could not hold some sort of Midnight Madness event. While it's true that the program has taken on the identity of it's no-frills coach, it seems Wisconsin is not the only one bypassing the contrived event this year. In the Big Ten alone, Ohio State, Purdue and Penn State did not hold such an spectacle this year either.

: : :

Removed the following prospects from the recruiting sidebar:
: : : Class of 2010
SG Vander Blue, Madison WI {Marquette}
: : : Class of 2011
PF Nnana Egwu, Chicago {Illinois}
SF Sam Thompson, Chicago

Negotiating With Gasser

Now that Wisconsin has finally offered a scholarship to 2010 Port Washington guard Josh Gasser, many are analyzing the motives behind this rare "5-for-4" deal.

While several other high-profile schools are dangling traditional full rides, UW is offering a walk-on spot to Gasser in year one, to be followed by four years on scholarship. This type of arrangement assumes a redshirt freshman season in 2010. Knowing they are in a tight spot with available scholarships, the Badgers are basically bargaining with Gasser with a token of good faith.

Only a few weeks ago, the best Bo Ryan could offer Gasser's family was a walk-on role, straight up. At the time, Wisconsin seemed to be in good shape to land either Vander Blue or Cameron Wright. I never bought into the theory that Wisconsin could have signed both -- the fact that UW is still only able to offer Gasser a walk-on spot next year seems to confirm my suspicions.

Fast forward back to the present. Wright is off the market. The Badgers are in contact with numerous high-level prospects for 2011, but do not seem to be close to landing any of them. There sits Gasser, who continued to improve throughout the summer and could fill a big need on the future roster with his ability to play either guard spot.

In my opinion, this strategy speaks just as much to the coaching staff's view of the 2011 class as it does the coaches' hopes of signing Blue for 2010. Yes, it's complicated -- just like most of the UW recruiting news over the last four months.

Blue is priority #1 and obviously the staff feels confident in their chances. Maybe even the "Defender of the Swing" Devin Harris knows something we don't. But Blue will not be a sure thing until he signs on the dotted line with someone. Bo could not afford to continue offering just a walk-on role to Gasser and expect to keep his interest.

The 5/4 deal was available immediately and if the Badgers were serious about landing Gasser, it should have been offered sooner in my opinion.

My hunch is that Wisconsin realized Gasser just might be as good or better than many of their prospects in the junior class. What's more, keeping Gasser at home is more realistic than stealing away a Chasson Randle-type from Purdue, Ohio State, Duke, et al. I would contend that vibes UW is getting from it's 2011 recruiting targets were the final push to up the ante with Gasser.

If Blue leaves the state school hanging, Gasser's offer should immediately balloon to a traditional full ride. But will that be soon enough for a talent of Gasser's caliber?

Summer Furlough

It has been well over a month since the last update here. I've sat on some of the recent summer topics, so let's review a few of the things I have not been posting about:

Football roundtable
I like sticking strictly to the hardwood, but I did participate in a Badger football preseason roundtable with some fellow UW bloggers. Part one covers the offense and part two covers the defense (part three is in the works as well). Check it out if you are so inclined. Special thanks to Duff Beach at On Wisconsin! for extending the invite and putting this together along with Adam Hoge of Bucky's 5th Quarter. All I have to say is ... I am waiting 'til next year for the gridders. And I mean that in a good way.

NBA Summer League
Marcus Landry made a name for himself in the NBA's Summer League by catching fire from long-range and generally making an impact with the Sacramento Kings. Cowbell Kingdom called him the most reliable outside shooter on the squad. Landry had nothing to lose and just might have earned a training camp spot.

The team didn't win much, but Landry shot 48.5% from the field and hit 10-of-24 from behind the arc in about 20 mpg. This in addition to a handful of block and rebounds--not bad for a non-drafted invitee, eh? [video interview]

On the other end of the spectrum, Joe Krabbenhoft got the invite to Portland's summer squad but barely got off the bench. Greg Stiemsma had one decent appearance with Memphis, but fared only slightly better than Krabby in terms of playing time.

Vander Blue attends summer school
The news that Madison prep hero Vander Blue was attending classes this summer seemed to renew hope that he may still be a Wisconsin lean. But the speculation is just that, as traditional western powers Arizona and UCLA are now very involved and on his list of three or four campuses to visit. Florida also appears to be a likely finalist for Blue's talents.

The senior-to-be continued to perform well on the grassroots scene despite skipping a few events to focus on his academics. Blue continues to play things close to the vest, as he should. As his grandfather stated, when Blue gets cleared to play D1 ball as a college freshman (hopefully with a good ACT score later this month and other fulfilled requirements) we will hear a lot more on this subject, starting in September most likely.

Cameron Wright now holds a slew of big-time offers of his own and should not be considered Plan B for the Badgers ... they would be fortunate to get either kid for 2010. The catch-22 is that the true "Plan Bs" are beginning to make their final decisions too and may be off the market if eith Blue or Wright spurns Bo at the last moment. Port Washington's Josh Gasser is getting ACC and Pac-10 offers at this point after being told he could walk on at Wisconsin. Players like Darren Tillman and Darryl Trayham have been mentioned in this class, but not repeatedly. Rather that scrambling for scraps, perhaps the program would hold the scholarship for 2011 (more below), especially if Diamond Taylor is a redshirt candidate this season.

U.S. falls short in World University Games
In July, Bo Ryan appeared to be cruising to the gold medal game of the World University Games, before his team collapsed against Russia in the fourth quarter. Team USA held a 10-point lead through much of the game and led by six with 2:30 left. Do you think that reopened some old wounds from last season for the coach?

Clemson's Trevor Booker went 0-for-4 from the free throw line, part of a 20-for-31 team performance in the semifinal game [box score]. After starring for most of the tournament, Penn State's Talor Battle shot 9% from the field. Sadly, Purdue's Robbie Hummel summed things up:

"We didn't give enough to win. Russia played harder than we did, and we didn't get some calls, but that's the way the game goes. It was a very tough loss, and we are all very disappointed."

Team USA settled for an anticlimactic victory over Israel to claim bronze in an extremely hostile environment. It would have been nice for Bo to grab the gold and get a little publicity nationwide for how he runs things here at Wisconsin. But considering how little these games were even covered (ESPN did not even run scores for the tourney until USA's loss), it's not a big deal. Though the Americans seemed destined for a rubber match with Serbia, the host Serbs wound up with the gold as many expected. At least Bo got to teach a coaching clinic while abroad.

I bet Bo wished he still had some of those WUG big men on his roster when he returned to Madison. Bo did work closely with Big Ten adversaries Battle, Hummel and Evan Turner, which I suppose could give him at least one additional nugget of insight when Wisconsin plays one of their teams this season. And in turn, Turner said he learned patience from the ordeal.

With such a deep team, the scoring and rebounding was very balanced in typical Wisconsin style. Individually, Team USA players excelled in two areas. West Virginia's De'Sean Butler and Battle were both in the top eight for 3PT% while Turner (#4) and Hummel (#10) both had great assist-turnover ratios for the tournament.

New recruiting targets emerge
Wisconsin has at least expressed interest in D.C.-area sophomore Darion Atkins. Atkins is a 6'7" center who probably projects as a forward at the collegiate level. It's possible the staff first caught wind of him as they kept tabs on Jeremy Glover, since Flint Hill played Atkins' Landon School team last season.

Darion Atkins, F - Rivals :: Scout :: stats

The talent in Ohio continues to capture the attention of Bo Ryan and his staff. The signing of Rob Wilson last year seemingly opened some connections in the state as several Class of 2011 guards have seen their names pop up in conjunction with UW's recruiting efforts.

Trey Burke, G - Rivals :: Scout :: ESPN :: stats
Trey Lewis, G - Rivals :: ESPN :: stats
Traveon Jackson, G - Rivals :: ESPN :: stats
Jakarr Sampson, F - Rivals :: Scout :: ESPN :: stats

In addition, two guards from Rockford in the 2012 class, Austin Angel and Fred Van Vleet, are on the radar.

: : :

Removed the following prospects from the recruiting sidebar:
: : : Class of 2009
F Mike Bruesewitz, Minneapolis
SG Diamond Taylor, Chicago
SG Jeremy Glover, Oakton VA [+]
: : : Class of 2010
F Kyle Kelm, Randolph WI
: : : Class of 2011
G Nick Latzke, Minneapolis
PF Mike Shaw, Chicago [v]
F Wayne Blackshear, Chicago

Evaluating Wisconsin's Future Guard Depth

The announcement by Vander Blue yesterday that he is officially back on the market was the culmination of a tumultuous week for Badger fans. Though Blue's final destination will not be known for another six months probably, he disputed the implication that he was a poor student and that the Badger offense was undesirable to him. He simply felt like he rushed his verbal commitment a year ago.

As misinformation and clarifications circulated about the Blue situation, other announcements trickled in regarding that impact how Wisconsin's roster looks over the next few years. Late last week Wisconsin added two walk-ons for 2009 and offered a 2010 scholarship to Cameron Wright, a former Ohio State recruit.

Wright, a 6'5" guard from Cleveland, is considered Plan B with Blue looking elsewhere, but is planning on taking some official visits to different schools in August. Now that another another BCS school like Wisconsin has re-offered, I would expect the stigma of Wright's split from the Buckeyes to fade away. A few big-time programs (like Miami, VT and Notre Dame) are already sniffing around again, meaning Wright is in no way signed, sealed and delivered to Wisconsin.

Of the players not on scholarship, Jeremy Glover arrives as a preferred walk-on from the talent-rich Washington, D.C. area (Oakton, VA). As a preferred walk-on, Glover (6'3") will have the opportunity to earn a scholarship down the road, a la Kevin Gullikson. However, nothing is officially promised to a preferred walk-on.

With Glover, Mike Bruesewitz and Diamond Taylor filling the spots vacated by Gullikson, Joe Krabbenhoft and Marcus Landry, another 6'3" guard, Dan Fahey, will replace Morris Cain. Fahey hails from Chicago's prestigious St. Ignatius College Prep, where 2011 prospect Nnana Egwu also attends. Wisconsin also reportedly looked at New Berlin native Taylor Hall (6'7") of Bemidji State to fill that slot.

So Wisconsin is replacing three forwards from their rotation with one forward and two guards next year. The onus is on the sophomore and junior classes to really step up in the paint. A lot will be expected of Jon Leuer, Keaton Nankivil and Jared Berggren this season. The back court is in good hands with a solid four-man rotation, giving Diamond Taylor room to grow. The 2009-10 season will be the first one in five years that won't be missing a guard from any of the original recruiting classes.

Looking ahead to 2010, Bo Ryan appears to be going with a shotgun approach with his back court depth. Blue appeared to be that ace-in-the-hole type recruit who could have developed into the next great Badger guard. Many have referred to Bo's track record to suggest he will not wait around to court Blue -- even if Howard Moore is going to recruit him "harder than ever."

Until Blue signs a national LOI at Wisconsin or more likely, elsewhere, Wisconsin is at least amassing some depth at positions 1-3 for 2010:

Seniors - Tim Jarmusz (3)
Juniors - Jordan Taylor (1), Rob Wilson (2)
Sophomores - Ryan Evans (2-3), Diamond Taylor (2), Jeremy Glover (2), Mike Bruesewitz (3-4)
Freshman - ???

Wright would be another '2' if he signed. Depending on Diamond's ability to play a little point guard, another pure floor leader would be a great fit for the final 2010 scholarship. Blue was being recruited as a combo guard that could fill either role. Adding Wright would ensure some serious wing depth and odds are that the next great Badger guard can emerge from that group. Waiting on a point guard, however, puts a lot of pressure on the staff to find a player in the 2011 class who can start for Bo Ryan as a sophomore.

The assistants will be working hard to find the right fit for that last scholarship since Bo will be busy in June and July coaching Team USA for the World University Games in Serbia. For those wondering about the Swing offense's place in international competition, it sounds like Bo will be installing 'Swing Lite' into the players.

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Links:
- Just in case you were wondering, yes, Ohio State immediately offered J.D. Weatherspoon and no, he has not accepted it yet.
- Speaking of the Buckeyes, OSU will lose two scholarships next season due to its APR shortcomings.

The Vander Blue Saga Continues

As the Vander Blue soap opera-like tempest has come to a head in the last 48 hours, Rob Schultz of the Capital Times gives Badger fans the first substantial insight into the situation in a story posted Wednesday.

It is clear that Blue met with several academic advisors as well as the Wisconsin coaching staff to discuss his academic struggles. Eligibility issues would certainly be a legitimate reason for Blue to re-evaluate his options, especially if he was finally awakened to the reality of his situation by the meeting.

But if Blue really wanted to be a Badger, he would put in the necessary work and remain committed. It's that simple.

Even though I am glad to have more information than we did yesterday, I feel bad for Blue that his academic record is getting tossed out into the open for the public to consume. Would this type of article even have been written at all if it were not for the maelstrom of tips and rumors that hit the Internet message boards and finally reached the proverbial tipping point yesterday. Someone (media, the university, etc.) who was very eager to get out some information on the subject may look back and regret that specifics were released at the cost of the student, especially that junior college crack. After all, Schultz's story -- like every other one written on the subject thus far -- was not able to name a source.

Wisconsin is not allowed to officially comment on any player who has not signed a national Letter of Intent yet, making it more difficult to get straight facts on the ordeal.

If academics are the sole reason that Blue is reconsidering his verbal committment to Bucky, it is understandable why he has been largely silent. It would be fairly embarrassing. However, as anyone who has made a very serious life decision before knows, it is never just one factor that leads to your final answer.

Blue's verbal came much quicker than I expected last April before he had taken very many college visits. Blue reportedly had additional offers from Marquette, Indiana, and either Kentucky or Minnesota at the time. Blue wanted to stay close to home and admired Trevon Hughes. Marquette was in the middle of a head coaching transition at the time, which naturally was a red flag.

After the announcement last year, BadgerNation.com quoted the Memorial guard as follows regarding the early commitment:

“I trust Wisconsin and my family trusts Wisconsin so I am not planning on changing my mind. Somebody has got to offer me something crazy to change my mind. Everything is over with and I don’t have to worry about what college I am going to in two years. I can just play ball with my friends and keep my grades up.”

Since then, Blue exploded on the national AAU scene last summer and one of his best friends, Jeronne Maymon, signed with Marquette, which posted a 24-9 record in Buzz Williams' debut season. Conversely, Wisconsin suffered a "down" year. Academics aside, what once seemed like a fairly easy choice was blurred. And apparently Blue has not kept his grades up either ... a trifecta.

Some of these things together might have been enough to get Blue privately reconsidering. Thus the initial rumors, which Blue midly refuted ("I'm cool") to the media. The added challenge of meeting minimum academic standards and then perhaps slightly higher UW standards on top of that could be just another doubt.

All those doubts add up. Blue has had fellow Memorial ballers, past and present, telling him to come to Marquette and even more storied programs with more uptempo playing styles making themselves known to him (Louisville, for example). Honestly, not too many 16-year-old players would want to put in the extra effort if other options exist, options that for a variety of reasons are just as attractive. According to reports, Blue informed the staff of his doubts during the tail end of Monday's meeting.

I am not a conspiracy theorist that believes Wisconsin is leaking this information as an excuse for why Vander wants to look elsewhere. Nor do I believe that just because we haven't heard from Blue's family that he is not reopening his recruitment. As usual, the truth is somewhere in between.

Whether or not Blue has told anyone yet, the writing is on the wall. It's an only matter of time before he decommits officially. If he wants to work hard in the classroom, prove a lot of people wrong and recommit to Wisconsin, that is still possible. Unfortunately for Bo Ryan's program, the chances appear slim. I just hope both parties land safely.

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.

Vander Blue's Coming Out Party

The energy surrounding Wisconsin's short run in the NCAA tournament was nearly matched by the buzz surrounding Vander Blue's dominance in the WIAA state tournament this weekend.

The Madison Memorial junior guard who has already verballed to play for Wisconsin averaged 22.6 pts, 6 rebs, 1.3 blks & 2.6 stls per game in three wins en route to the Division 1 state title. Blue exploded right away for 35 points (24 in the second half) in a semifinal win over Germantown. He continued to erase memories of his subpar championship game last season as Memorial rolled over Racine Horlick on Saturday night for its second gold ball.

In addition to being a unanimous all-tournament team selection, Blue was named to the Division 1 All-State team by the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. Teammate and soon-to-be Marquette freshman Jeronne Maymon was named Mr. Basketball and was a unanimous selection to join Blue on the All-State team.

Badger fans have already gone through one round of rumors regarding the stability of Blue's verbal commitment. It appears those rumors are only going to resurface and intensify. After a similar tourney run last season, Maymon saw his recruiting stock explode, which he then validated with a solid AAU session. I expect the same to happen with Blue.

I suspect Wisconsin's staff knows this and believe they will remain vigilant in keeping close ties with the 6'4" prospect. The recruiting scene is ruthless, so no one can rest on their laurels. Personally, I subscribe to the "where there's smoke, there's fire" mantra, but there still has not been any substance to the whispers yet. About the only thing you can know for sure with all the rumors going around is that Blue says he is very close to Maymon:

"That’s my boy. I love him to death. Blood could make us no closer.”

Beyond that, it is not worth worrying about unless an official announcement is made.

Another unanimous WBCA all-state selection was Horlick's Oregon-bound senior Jamil Wilson, who struggled in the championship game. Wilson was bottled up by Memorial freshman Junior Lomomba in the early going and then got into terrible foul trouble, picking up number four in the second quarter. It will be fun to see Lomomba develop over the next few years, provided he stays enrolled at Memorial rather than going the prep school route. I am sure the Badgers will be knocking on his door if he keeps his academics in order.

As for Wilson, he still looks like an extremely talented wing player who I've mentioned could develop into a Scottie Pippen-type player. He had strong performances before running into Memorial, showing off nice range on his pull-up jumper and a special knack for blocking shots. Though any athletic leaper in high school with a wingspan approaching seven feet should be pretty decent in that department.

Links:
- I missed this before, but the Wisconsin State Journal's George Hesselberg did a humorous video breakdown on how to pick a team to root for in the state tournament if you lack any ingrained allegiances. A classic in my book.
- Mike Bruesewitz and Henry Sibley play Wednesday in the Minnesota Class 4A quarterfinals. The Warriors are fighting to earn a rematch with No. 1 Hopkins. The Twin Cities Hoops Czar thinks he might have a plan of attack.

Recruit Review: Feb '09

Today is the last day of February, which means the high school basketball regular season is over in Wisconsin. State tournament seeding is set in Wisconsin and Illinois and soon to follow in Minnesota.

A lot has happened in the last six weeks, so catching up on the action for all the Badger recruits is a daunting task. I did a bit of research and humbly offer some quick recaps below.

2009

:: Though senior Diamond Taylor scored only eight points back on Jan. 17 when Bolingbrook (IL) lost to St. Ignatius and another potential Badger recruit Nnanna Egwu, 66-63, he bounced back with 19 points in an overtime loss to Homewood-Flossmoor. Since then, the Raiders have not lost, starting their streak by blowing out Andrew, 84-50. Yet Taylor has struggled somewhat in that time. After fighting off an illness earlier this month, Taylor's missed front end of a bonus free throw situation nearly cost his team a victory in one game.

More recently, the 6'3" guard scored a game-high 14 points and 11 points, respectively, as Bolingbrook clinched the SouthWest Suburban Blue Conference title last weekend. A #3 seed in the Oswego (East) Sectional was the team's reward. Bolingbrook (18-6, 7-1) beat Stagg by 24 on Saturday, when Taylor chipped in nine points.

:: Henry Sibley (MN) forward Mike Bruesewitz is chugging along since his team dropped two games to a pair of elite Midwestern squads (Hopkins and Memorial). Bruiser hit the game-winner for his mates versus Kaukauna in the 2009 Wisconsin vs. Minnesota Border Battle. He averaged over 18 ppg for the month of January. The Warriors have rarely been challenged at all in conference and they recently clinched their second-straight league crown. Behind Bruiser's 19 points, they destroyed Hill-Murray to start February and Bruesewitz was soon named to the final 15 for Minnesota's Mr. Basketball.

Opposing coaches appear to be throwing junk defenses at Sibley to prevent Bruiser and his front line teammates from getting revved up. This trend has limited Bruesewitz's scoring. He averaged nine ppg in a recent three-game stretch, but bounced back with 16 points in Sibley's win on Tuesday to end a nice stretch of home games (7 of 8). The Warriors (22-2, 14-0) dominated South St. Paul, 77-27, and have two remaining road games before tournament play begins in Minnesota, where Hopkins is the heavy favorite in Sibley's division.

2010

:: The sight of Vander Blue attending Marquette games and rumors of him wavering in his verbal commitment to the Badgers seem like distant memories now. Though Blue had a relatively quiet night, Madison Memorial (19-1, 17-1) wrapped up another Big Eight Conference title by beating Madison East, 56-45, Thursday night in the biggest city basketball game in years.



After slipping against East back in January, the Spartans reeled off nine straight wins -- only one of which was by less than 20 points. A month ago Blue exploded in the second half against Verona to lead the team with 22 points in 57-34 win. That has been the lucky number for Blue, as he scored 22 points against crosstown rival LaFollette and another 22 when Memorial pinned 98 points on Madison West. The Spartans then came from behind to beat Beloit, 66-58, with Blue scoring 13 points. He followed that up with another 21-point performance the next game out. Blue's season-long streak of double-digit scoring games came to an end last Tuesday when the bench was emptied early in a rout over Janesville Parker. Memorial is currently ranked #20 and #24 by a few national polls and earned the top seed in its sectional.

:: Big man Evan Anderson returned from injury to Eau Claire North's lineup with a bang against Rice Lake the last week of January. Anderson scored 14 points -- including two important free throws -- in nearly 30 minutes of the 55-48 win. The Huskies next blasted New Richmond, though Anderson made little more than a whimper (2 pts). Anderson was then limited to three field goal attempts as North was officially unseated as conference champs by Hudson. So it's no surprise that as a #5 seed, North's road to State would have to go through top-seeded Hudson squad in a regional final.

Opposing defenses tend to collapse on North's huge front line, which seems to have been effective. The best case scenario for Anderson in a Wisconsin uniform is looking more and more like a Stiemsma-like impact. Not bad in the end, but also a few years of not much as his college game develops. The Huskies (13-7, 9-4) have won three games in a row, starting with wins last Thursday and on Monday, to run their record to 5-2 since Anderson's return. Last night, North defeated River Falls as Anderson scored 11 in the second half.

2011

:: From the tone of the article, it sounds like Devon Hodges fouled out of a game earlier this year that featured a preposterous 87 free throw attempts. Romeoville made 22 of 37, while surrendering 37 points from the stripe to Plainfield North. Like Taylor, Hodges also missed a game recently when he sat out with the flu. However, the lanky sophomore was a terror on defense while leading the Spartans with 17 points in a 76-74 overtime loss to Plainfield South.

It's unclear whether Hodges was one of the Spartans who missed last Tuesday's game for missing a practice. More likely, Hodges just had an off night and was not mentioned in the article. Either way, Hodges was back in time to grab 12 rebounds in Romeoville's latest set back to Plainfield Central. Romeoville (11-14, 7-7) grabbed a #12 seed in the middle of the Frankfort (Lincoln-Way North) Sectional for the upcoming state tournament before its seniors carried the team to victory in the regular season finale versus Minooka.

: : :

Links:
- The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel just did a nice story on the progress of Wisconsin's two 2009 recruits.
- For the second time ever, not a single McDonald's High School All-American is headed to a Big Ten school this fall. The last time the Big Ten got shut out was 2005.

Recruit Review: 1/12/09

Now seemed like as good of a time as any to recap the weekend for those soon-to-be Wisconsin Badgers still playing at the high school level. Hopefully this can become a regular addition to the site, much like the Recruiting Roundup over at UMHoops.

For more details on each recruit, seek out the Prospect Profile pages in the recruiting sidebar. The collection of news, videos, stats and pictures opens up once a player has verbally committed to Wisconsin. Four such players donned their school colors this weekend, with mostly positive results ...

2009

:: Diamond Taylor led Bolingbrook to a 68-40 win against a depleted Romeoville squad in the second head-to-head meeting between future Badgers this season. The Raiders (10-4) were not impressive during a four-game losing streak earlier in the year, but it is good see Taylor leading the team back. The senior guard scored 19 points and was instrumental in a 10-0 first quarter run that gave Bolingbrook control. The most recent Wisconsin recruit, sophomore Devon Hodges, paced Romeoville with 10 points.

:: The recent Twin Cities battle in which Hopkins topped Henry Sibley, 77-65, has already been documented here. Standout forward Mike Bruesewitz did not have his best game, but got to the line and was his usual self on the boards (10 rebs). Bruesewitz continues to show off his versatility against the toughest competition. With Sibley's guards unable to handle the pressure imposed by Hopkins, Bruesewitz took over some of the point guard duties in the second half for the Warriors. The previous week, Bruesewitz had 20 pts, 11 rebs and 5 assts in a tough loss to Madison Memorial before posting 20 & 12 in a win over Tartan. Sibley (8-2) will try to bounce back Tuesday night against North St. Paul.

2010

:: Madison Memorial traveled out of state yet again this past weekend. The Spartans (9-0) took care of business, too. Jeronne Maymon's monster game led Memorial past the Lafayette (Mo.) Lancers, 65-62, in a St. Louis-area invitational on Saturday. Lafayette features senior forward Tyler Griffey, a well-regarded Illinois recruit, and just recently dropped out the area's top ten rankings. Memorial junior Vander Blue aided the winning effort with two more 3-pointers en route to 17 points. Blue's outside shooting ability was one question mark about his game coming into the season, but he is systematically removing that criticism with each passing week, hitting multiple treys in six of nine games so far. A well-rounded Blue will be much more valuable on the perimeter for Bo Ryan's offense once he hits campus in the 2010.

:: Eau Claire North took its first loss in the Big Rivers Conference last Thursday, 47-44, as it continues to wait for center Evan Anderson to return from his ankle injury. The 6'11" Anderson is expected to return at the end of the month, but will probably be eased back into the lineup.

2011

:: See above. I hope to have an interview with Devon Hodges on Hoops Marinara in the near future. Stay tuned.

Wisconsin Attempts to Cap Big Ten's Big Day

Perhaps building on its decent showing against the ACC last week, the Big Ten posted a number of impressive victories on Saturday, highlighted by two humongous upsets.

Michigan's shocking win over Duke at Crisler Arena took the cake, but was followed minutes later by Ohio State hanging on to topple Notre Dame (in Indianapolis with Luke Harangody). [box score]

Now the stage is set for Wisconsin to complete a nearly flawless day for the conference. Minnesota stayed undefeated in a blowout, Illinois crushed Georgia and Northwestern nearly doubled-up DePaul. Those three teams won by a total of 78 points! Just ignore woeful Indiana's unsurprising loss to Gonzaga. In fact, just ignore the Hoosiers until next year.

I had to chuckle the other day reading on Inside The Hall about an obscure ACC rule that brought the Wake Forest-Indiana blogging to a halt during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Wisconsin's trip to Marquette would be the perfect time for a live blogging event, but alas, I do not get ESPNU and will have to find a stool at a local establishment. Rather than rehash a "cable or satellite" vent, I started thinking about the these two teams that are usually polar opposites in terms of style.

However, there are eerie similarities as well. Both Wisconsin and Marquette like to go small (one by preference, one out of necessity). Both teams have four entrenched upperclassmen in the starting lineup, with one big man starting almost by default. And when looking at individual matchups--for entertainment purposes only--you see four of the important players really mirror each other.

The Tale of the Tape:
Trevon Hughes vs. Dominic James

Marcus Landry vs. Lazar Hayward

... even down to the lowly centers:

Keaton Nankivil vs. Dwight Burke

There are eerie similarities between Pop and James, both in stature and production. James is a better distributor statistically, especially this year, and also registers more steals. Hughes shoots a far greater percentage for the Badgers and is less turnover-prone, exemplifying the different coaching philosophies.

Landry and Hayward is a fun comparison because their career progressions have gone in opposite directions. Landry began as strictly a post player who moved his game out to the perimeter (with moderate success) to try to fill Alando Tucker's shoes. Marquette, on the other hand, has been forced to use their athletic swingman down low more and more because the Gold lack any size.

Regardless, Hayward scores more in fewer minutes than Landry, probably due to his prolific rebounding ability and Marquette's faster pace. While Landry needs to improve his free throw shooting, he vastly outpaces Hayward when it comes to blocked shots and 3-point percentage. Hopefully the two will guard each other during the game.

Cracked Sidewalks has compiled a nice list of game previews in its pregame coverage post. Check it out for the Marquette perspective of Buzz Williams' first game against Bo Ryan.

: : :

If Friday night is any indication, UW recruit Vander Blue could be a huge beneficiary of high school defenses geared to stop Marquette recruit Jeronne Maymon this year. Blue torched Madison West for 27 points on six 3-pointers in Memorial's season opener.

Jeronne Maymon Picks Marquette

Madison Memorial prep superstar Jeronne Maymon will take his game to the Big East Conference starting in 2009. The 6'6" forward was courted by many big-time college programs over recent months, but will stay in-state with the Golden Eagles, who Maymon says guaranteed him a starting spot when he arrives on campus.

Maymon's comments from this morning's press conference indicated that two factors drew him to Marquette: the ability to be a playmaker in new coach Buzz Williams' offense and the close location to his hometown. Considering how vocal Maymon's father, Tim, has been in the entire recruitment process, that is no surprise. Everyone will be watching to see if that proximity helps or hinders Jeronne.

Tim Maymon said recently that Jeronne nearly committed to Baylor right away after receiving his first scholarship offer in December. Previous chatter from the father seemed to imply Iowa State and Baylor had the edge, based on what they were "offering," possibly alluding to playing time. Even after the offers came in from some more prestigious colleges, after last week's visit to Marquette, Maymon was ready to make his final choice. So, in the end, his family did seem to have a big vote in where he attended. Jeronne's mother applauded the decision to stay close to home rather than ship out to USC, praised her son's mental toughness and now looks forward to a less hectic home.

Maymon sets Marquette up quite well to remain strong at the wing positions in the coming years. With the return of Jerel McNeal, the Big 3 of McNeal, Dominic James and Wesley Matthews will all ride off into the sunset after the 2008-09 season. Maymon and fellow 2009 recruit Erik Williams would appear to have the forward positions set, providing depth and star power behind the 2008 class that includes JUCO wing Joseph Fulce. Unlike the Badgers, the Golden Eagles still have three scholarships to hand out for Maymon's freshman season. One of those will likely go to Milwaukee Bay View guard Johnnie Lacy.

Today's announcement means that Wisconsin and Marquette continue to battle for the rights to the Madison Memorial pipeline. Both programs have one former Spartan on the current roster and another verbally committed. Other former Memorial players have wound up at North Dakota State and various state schools, including Jerard Ajami, who will attempt to walk-on at UW-Milwaukee after starring at D-2 doormat Northern Michigan.

Now all Maymon has to do is hit the books.

: : :

Since Madison Memorial players are the topic of the day, it's worth mentioning that UW commit Vander Blue had a nice weekend in Nashville's big AAU tournament. Blue teamed with slim Chicago point guard Anthony Johnson to lead the Illinois Warriors to a win the 16U championship at the Nike Memorial Day Classic. Each player totaled 39 points in the two final games of the tournament.

Now that Blue is a known commodity on the travel team circuit, look for more comments like the following analysis from Rivals.com:

"Blue is a well built and athletic guard who hits the boards with a vengeance and has a feel for making plays off the dribble. Johnson is a slick ball handler and scorer but doesn't have the physique and athleticism of Blue."

Must be nice to be Memorial head coach Steve Collins.

Despite the high praise for Blue, Rivals still is showing no love for Wisconsin's incoming group of recruits. The Internet recruiting website did not list the Badgers among its revised Top 30 Recruiting Classes for 2008. Just based on sheer size (5) of the class for a reigning conference champion, I was thinking maybe Wisconsin would get a mention, as some other programs in recent years. However, the "almighty" 5-star recruits appear to be driving these rankings.

Boasting two 4-stars, two three stars and one relative unknown (Evans), there is no doubt in my mind that even on paper Wisconsin's 2008 class is better than USC's (#20) and Duke's (#27) and equal to Kentucky's (#21) at a bare minimum.

Removed the following prospects from the recruiting sidebar:
: : : Class of 2008
C Kyle Rowley, Lake Forest IL {reclassified & signed w/Northwestern}
: : : Class of 2010
G Lenzelle Smith, Zion IL
PG Lavonte Dority, Chicago IL [+] [+] [v]
PG DeAndre McCamey, Chicago IL
PG Kenny Stevenson, Chicago IL
SG Flavien Davis, Milwaukee WI
SG Alex Rossi, Winnetka IL
F Cody Larson, Sioux Falls SD
F Chip Rank, Cedarburg WI
SF Marquis Mason, Madison WI
C Paul Bunch, Chicago IL
PF Calvin Godfrey, Milwaukee WI
PF Fred Heldring, Winnetka IL
PG Josh Gasser, Port Washington WI

Evan Anderson's Decision Wraps Up 2010 Class

With Vander Blue committing to play for Wisconsin earlier in the week, Evan Anderson snapped up the last tentative scholarship for 2010 by verballing in favor of the Badgers late Saturday night.

Only a sophomore, Anderson was already one of the most sought after high school players from Wisconsin in years, rivaled only by Brian Butch and 2009 prospect Jamil Wilson in terms of national interest. Anderson reportedly chose Wisconsin over programs like Kansas, Kentucky and Boston College. An impressive score for Bo Ryan ...

The Badgers have had the luxury over the past four years of being one of the larger teams in the nation, with numerous players like Butch, Greg Stiemsma, Jason Chappell, Jon Leuer and J.P. Gavinski all standing 6'10" or taller. Because several of those players (add Dave Mader to the list) were not real threats offensively, people don't realize how fortunate UW has been just having those options out on the floor. By adding Anderson to 2008 signees Jared Berggren and Ian Markolf, Wisconsin ensures that this facet of its roster remains strong.

Anderson can be a defensive presence in the middle, a la Stiemsma, and develop his go-to post moves in the next two years. He will never be a Polar Bear-level outside shooter and he knows he needs to work on his perimeter game. Think of Anderson as a combination of several recent Badgers: the shot-blocking ability of Stiemsma, knowledge of some moves on the block (Gavinski) with athleticism closer to Chappell. That's pretty decent for a player not yet a junior in high school.

Amazingly, with the recruiting classes pretty much set for the following three seasons, Wisconsin has a glimpse of what a Badger starting lineup could look like four years down the road. Both Anderson and Blue fill big areas of need in their class and figure to be prominent pieces for UW as early as 2011.

Potential starting lineup, 2011:
PG - Jordan Taylor, Vander Blue
SG - Diamond Taylor, Wilson, Blue
SF - Robert Wilson/Ryan Evans
PF - Mike Bruesewitz, Berggren, Evans
C - Jared Berggren, Evan Anderson, Ian Markolf

Vander Blue Verbals Early

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported late last night that Vander Blue became the first player to verbally commit to Bo Ryan's Badgers for the 2010-11 season. Most had expected Evan Anderson to commit first, but the rumors that Blue would make his choice quickly this spring turned out to be true.

Marquette and Indiana were reported to be the other offers recently extended to the 6'3" guard. Blue was named to the WIAA All-Tournament team as Madison Memorial marched to the D1 title game and will have one more year to team with Jeronne Maymon on another stacked squad before the Spartans truly become Blue's team in 2009. That is probably when his value will truly be judged. Like a number of other Badgers of recent vintage, Blue will now be monitored mercilessly throughout his final two high school seasons. Two other early commitments, Mike Flowers and Greg Stiemsma, both battled injuries after committing to the program and were not as impressive in their final campaigns as you would hope. I hope Blue has better luck.

Garnering commitments so early on a consistent basis is a testament to UW's good reputation as both an academic institution and a perennial basketball powerhouse. It's also a great move for the young men. They no longer have to endure the hounding of college coaches and hangers-on whispering in their ears. A free education is pretty swell, too.

As for Blue, he continued to see his stock rise after leading his team to a 3-1 record at the King James Shooting Stars tournament this past weekend. If Blue can develop his ball handling skills in the near future, he could develop into the point guard that Wisconsin needs in that recruiting class. He already possesses very good athleticism and good offensive instincts, though he needs to become more consistent. Blue said he plans to skip some of the ensuing tournaments this summer to focus on the books.

**Video of NBC15's interview with Blue regarding the announcement**

Prospect Profile: Vander Blue

Vander Blue, G
6'3" :: 180 lbs.
Class of 2010
Madison (WI) Memorial HS [team site]
AAU: Illinois Warriors / Madison Spartans

::: RANKINGS UPDATED MAY 4 :::
Rankings
Scout: 4 Stars * * * * (#6 SG/#34 overall)
Previous: 3 Stars (PG) > 4 Stars (#14 SG/#47 overall > #4/#27)
Rivals: 5 Stars * * * * * (#6 PG/#24 overall)
Previous: NR > 4 Stars (#7 PG/#29 overall > #7/#39 >#7/#26 > #7/#31) > 5 Stars (#6/#22)
ESPN/Scouts, Inc. grade: 95 (#7 SG/#31 overall)
Previous: 68 (#58 SG) > 65 (#63) > 92 (#26) > 96 (#16 > #17 SG/#46 overall > #10/#34)

Honors
2010 First Team All-State (AP)
2010 First Team All-State (Dic. 1, WBCA)
2009 First Team All-State (AP)
2009 First Team All-State (Div. 1, WBCA)
2009 WIAA State Tournament MVP (AP)

Recent Press
4/26: Recruit wrapup: Vander Blue - JSOnline
10/14: Vander Blue set to take official visits to Marquette and Wisconsin - Wishoops.net
8/30: Vander Blue narrows list to 5 - NY2LA Sports
5/13: Blue's academic issues create divide with UW - Cap Times
5/12: Blue backs off commitment to UW - SportsBubbler.com
5/4: Top '10 bigs Sullinger, Smith faceoff - ESPN/Scouts, Inc.
3/20: Blue, Memorial slam Germantown - WiSJ
1/6: Blue's final flurry rallies Madison Memorial past Purple Knights - WiSJ

The Verbal
Blue ditches UW for MU - JSOnline (10/18/09)
Vander Blue commits to Marquette - Sports Bubbler (10/18/09)
Blue goes with heart and commits to Marquette - Wishoops.net (10/18/09)
Vander not Blue about decision - BadgerNation.com (4/29/08)
Vander Blue commits to Wisconsin - JSOnline (4/28/08)
Memorial's Blue commits to Badgers - Cap Times (4/29/08)
Memorial's Blue commits for 2010-11 - WiSJ (4/29/08)
Vander Blue says yes to Badgers' scholarship offer - Wishoops.net (4/29/08)

The Hype
MDC Top 2010 performers - Rivals (5/29/08)
Best Backcourt in the Country? - Illinoishsbasketball.com (5/28/08)
The 16-U Illinois Warriors knock off the Alabama Challenge - ChicagoHoops.com (5/27/08)
Vander Blue Q&A - JSOnline (4/30/08)
More on basketball recruit Vander Blue - JSOnline (4/29/08)
Marquette-bound Maymon thrives at Timberwolves Shootout - Scouts Inc. (1/2/09)
Memorial moves on - WiSJ (2/29/08)
Clear skies for Memorial's Blue - WiSJ (1/25/08)
Do you think Vander Blue is the best freshman in the state - WSN message board (2007)

Video
Interview: Vander Blue Commits to Marquette (10/18/09) - WKOWtv.com
Highlights: Will Vander leave UW Blue? (5/13/09) - NBC15.com
Game: Memorial 56, Racine Horlick 41 @ Kohl Center (3/21/09) - WKOWtv.com
Highlights: State Tournament vs. Germantown - Viddler.com
Game: Memorial 56, Madison East 45 @ Memorial HS (2/26/09) - YouTube
Interview: Buzzed Into Madison (East Pre-Game) - WBUW/YouTube
Game: Memorial 57, Verona 34 @ Memorial HS (1/23/09) - YouTube
Interview: Verbal Commitment (4/29/08) - NBC15.com
Game: Memorial 78, Minnetonka 67 @ Verona HS (1/26/08) - YouTube

Stats
Junior: 2008-09 (Memorial) - Wisconsin State Journal
Sophomore: 2007-08 (Memorial) - Wishoops.net

Photos