National Signing Day

Welcome Evan Anderson, Josh Gasser and last-minute commitment Duje Dukan to the Wisconsin family officially as all three signed their national Letters of Intent today. Dukan verballed to Bo Ryan on Tuesday to give the Class of 2010 one ballhandler, one shooter and one big man. The class is not wowing the media, but a classic and balanced group of Badgers.

While in past seasons Wisconsin has been ahead of the curve in recruiting, the team only has one 2011 verbal commitment at this time, with many more scholarship spots to fill. In addition to this year's high school juniors, the staff will be hitting the pavement hard in the 2012 class as well, going after guys like Peoria's Bobo Drummond.

And, oh yeah, Wisconsin spanked UW-Superior in their final exhibition tune-up on Wednesday, 80-47, behind the near triple-double of Trevon Hughes. [box score] I don't put much stock in these exhibition games. Since I didn't follow the game I cannot comment on it, but the regular season is now just a few days away.

I was not able to catch the game since I am in New York all week, but I was able to watch ex-Badger Marcus Landry for the first time as an NBA player. It was also my first trip to the basketball mecca that is Madison Square Garden. The New York Knicks found another way to give a game away. Landry saw action in the final minute or so, and thankfully avoided entry into Club Trillion. He played just enough to commit one foul, corral one rebound and hoist one jumper. It was a good time -- $10 tickets and plenty of room to maneuver courtside after halftime.

On a final NBA note, Milwaukee rookie Brandon Jennings continues to remove all doubt that he will be a star in this league, scoring 32 points in a win over Denver. Most of the internet is abuzz over this early candidate for Rookie of the Year [video], though not all agree. Jennings he may end up being a shoot-first point guard, but so what? He is actually bringing *gasp* excitement back into the Bucks equation. I would buy a ticket to a "Jennings game" any day over a "Michael Redd game."

So It Begins

A new season is finally underway, as the 2009-10 Wisconsin Badgers step into "real" action for the first time against Bemidji State, a name which hockey fans are already familiar with. In fact, I am listening to the game right now. Wisconsin premiered out a full-court press early in the first half and Ryan Evans is having a personal block party from the sound of it.

The biggest storyline heading into the game was whether fans would pay the $2.99 to watch the game on BigTenNetwork.com or just listen to the radio like me. For what it's worth, when you cannot do either, you can always count on the in-game blog at UWBadgers.com.

Duje Dukan, the 6'8" sharpshooter who received Bo Ryan's latest scholarship offer, is supposed to be in attendance tonight. Who knows, maybe Wisconsin will have another verbal commitment by the morning. With future backcourt depth still in flux, the latest 2010 scholarship offer was a curious one. Dukan would be a great weapon to have, but definitely is not the combo guard that many are looking for.

Another option for guard depth next year could be dismissed freshman walk-on Jeremy Glover. According to the Wisconsin State Journal today, Glover could potentially return to the team as a "practice-only" player if he wins his recent appeal.

Big Ten media day archive
In case you missed it, here's a collection of links from last Thursday's Big Ten Media Day in Chicago. There are no new coaches in the league this year. That stability can go a long way in determining how well the conference measures up to all the preseason hype.

Preseason Favorites and All-Big Ten First Team (BigTen.org)

Interviews
Coaches, via Big Ten Network:
Bo Ryan
Tom Izzo
Bruce Weber
Matt Painter
Thad Matta
John Beilein
Bill Carmody
Ed Dechellis
Todd Lickliter
Tom Crean (n/a)
Tubby Smith (not in attendance after recent death of his father)

Complete Coaches Transcript (BigTen.org)
Badger Interviews (Sports Bubbler)

UWBadgers.com
Here's the quote that got everone giddy from this News & Notes piece:

"One of things Coach Ryan mentioned to the Big Ten Network that might surprise people is that he's excited to see Hughes and Jordan Taylor get out in transition a little. While I wouldn't expect the Badgers to run-and-gun, the team might have the athleticism this year to push the tempo a bit. The team actually played with a 25-second shot clock when they were playing pick-up ball over the summer. The idea being to look for a shot quicker and remove the tendency to walk the ball up the floor."

Wisconsin Survives and Adds Signees

Wisconsin 64, UW-Whitewater 47
In last night's final exhibition, Wisconsin overcame a frisky UW-Whitewater squad in the final 10 minutes to post a deceptive 64-47 victory. The Warhawks made the Badgers earn it.

Keaton Nankivil got the start again, with Jon Leuer first off the bench. The ensuing substitutions went like this: Tim Jarmusz second, then Jordan Taylor ... *long stretch of no subs* ... Rob Wilson, Kevin Gullikson ... and finally Ryan Evans got in during the last minute. There is a solid 8-man rotation being set here, with Wilson, Gullikson and one of the bigs (hopefully) getting playing time as the situation dictates.

I am almost 100% sure that Ian Markolf will redshirt, but not as certain about Evans. He could use one since Wilson and Jarmusz seem equipped to get the extra PT on the wing. Based on some of Bo Ryan's comments after the game, I am hoping that Jared Berggren sees some action this year. Bo mentioned that as far as freshman go, "Jared is not that far behind," which seemed like one of Bo's typical sly, half-compliments. Redshirts must be determined by Sunday's opener.

Looking at the statistics, it was hard to tell why Wisconsin had such trouble with Whitewater. The Badgers dominated the rebounding department in the second half, which is usually how such games go. The 12 turnovers was a bit too high for an exhibition game and that total including four traveling violations. Ick. Taylor struggled early with three TOs, but settled down. Leuer had four TOs as well and was seemingly benched after his last one.

Besides the turnovers, I noticed that Trevon Hughes still does not appear to be 100 percent healthy. A glaring weakness last night was the ability to penetrate the defense, which Hughes usually provides. Only Jason Bohannon accomplished this with much effectiveness. Conversely, however, J-Bo had trouble sticking with his man on defense. It was not all his fault, though, as the team defense left a lot to be desired at certain points. I think it goes without saying that this team will not be as tough defensively as last year's edition. Bohannon logged a ton of minutes because Hughes sat with some questionable foul trouble. J-Bo's mark, Warhawk guard Miles McKay, sprung for a game-high 16 points. Bohannon eventually fouled out, though he was also on the raw end of some calls in terribly over-officiated game -- thanks Ed Hightower!

: : :

Wisconsin adds two on signing day
Today Mike Bruesewitz and Diamond Taylor signed national Letters of Intent to play for Wisconsin. Now that both are officially in the fold, Bo Ryan is finally allowed to comment on each of these players from the Class of 2009.

Rivals.com tabbed Bruesewitz as the Big Ten's top incoming power forward for next season. While not on many people's radar when he verballed, Badger fans have warmed to the idea of having a successor to Krabbenhoft running around the court. It sounds like Bruiser's game is a perfect match for the swing offense. Bo on Bruesewitz:

"While always possessing a competitive fire and desire to win, he has recently made huge strides in his perimeter game out to the 3-point line. His improving perimeter ability combined with his post skills and work ethic make him a more complete player that will allow him to continue to excel when he gets to Madison."

The staff clearly views Diamond Taylor as a combo guard. Bo on Taylor:

"It has been neat to watch Diamond develop from a camper who attended our basketball camps when he was first entering high school to the great young man he is today. His versatility and knowledge of the game will allow him to play multiple perimeter positions at our level."

Second Badger Named to Watch List

Trevon Hughes was among the 31 players recently nominated for the Bob Cousy Award*, which goes to the nation's top point guard. Honestly, that's quite an honor considering the struggles Hughes went through last year.

Committee members must have been watching the three gems Hughes delivered against IPFW, Illinois and at Minnesota (the exception being the four turnovers against the Gophers). Taking care of the ball was a central problems in Pop's sophomore season. If you notice, the games in which Hughes was able to limit his turnovers, he was also virtually non-existent offensively -- neither scoring nor assisting others.

Improving on last year's subpar 1.17:1 assist-to-turnover ratio will be the barometer for success with Hughes. If he can turn in more performances like he did last February versus Michigan State, and harness his explosiveness, Hughes will live up to and maybe even surpass the modest preseason hype he has received.

The good news for Hughes came on the heels of Marcus Landry's inclusion on the preseason Wooden Award watch list. Landry and the rest of the big, bad Badgers will take on "lowly" UW-Whitewater in their exhibition finale tonight at the Kohl Center. No one is expecting a stunner like the one UW-Platteville delivered to Bradley this past weekend, but the Warhawks are a legit D3 powerhouse. I guess it's not a bad time to be from Whitewater, eh Stanley?

*Ed. note: The deadline for schools to nominate players for the Cousy Award is Jan. 10, so you will see this list grow quite a bit. Marquette and Michigan State fans can back away from the ledge now ...

: : :

Wednesday is national signing day, which means high school seniors Diamond Taylor and Mike Bruesewitz will officially pledge themselves to the Cardinal and White. Speaking of which, Rob Schultz of the Capital Times digs into the recruiting practices of Wisconsin under Bo Ryan. The article leaves you with an impression of an efficient coaching staff, especially when you see the fiscal comparisons that Schultz uncovered. Of the five Big Ten programs that responded, Ohio State, Indiana, Purdue and Iowa have all spent more than double the dollar amount that Wisconsin has in recruiting for men's basketball over the past two seasons.

With regards to recruiting, the bottom line when discussing the "Wisconsin way" is that Bo would probably rather be a distinguished turtle than a tainted rabbit. Slowly and steadily, Ryan has built the Badger program, avoiding the large character risks and maintaining program-wide morale and camaraderie. He does this by focusing--right away--on players who want to be Badgers; those who don't let their own agendas get in the way of the team's agenda. So while other programs can currently tout better tournament records and Final Fours on their resumes, I have faith that Bo is building for the long haul. Some day, UW will wind up on top of the whole heap, if only for one shining moment.

Cheesy right? Well, this is Wisconsin. Enough rah-rah for now ... I'll save it for tonight's game.

Exhibition Opener

The first starting five of the year consisted of Trevon Hughes, Joe Krabbenhoft, Marcus Landry, Brian Butch and Greg Steimsma versus Edgewood College on Sunday night. Michael Flowers came off the bench quickly with Jason Bohannon though, and made an immediate impact. One would guess that Flowers will be in the starting lineup in place of Krabbenhoft to start the regular season.

Rumor has it (alarm!) that Flowers has been upset about being placed at shooting guard while he really desires to play the point this season. That's not likely to happen with Hughes impressing enough as a floor general to justify starting him and Krabbenhoft ready to reprise his sixth man, jack-of-all-trades role from last year.

Unfortunately, I was not able to see any of the exhibition game with Edgewood, but people are already drooling over Jon Leuer, who used a meaningless game against a Division III opponent to catapult himself from the team's most obscure freshman baller to its most hyped.

Poor Leuer is already on the short list of Badger players fighting an uphill battle for my admiration and respect. In my opinion, Leuer needs to improve dramatically to see much floor time as a first-year player. In fact, I even suggested after the Red vs. White scrimmage that he should think about redshirting. I still see a funky, slow-developing release on his shot and a perimeter-oriented game. His perimeter focus is not bad (in fact it will come in handy down the road), but Krabbenhoft and and Landry have a lot of minutes at the small forward spot already wrapped up.

As Leuer continues to fill in his tall frame and confirm his early reputation as a nice shooter, I am able to admit I was wrong ... about the reshirting. You just cannot sit a guy who can explode and exploit a matchup like Leuer has the potential to do. I really want to be wrong about this kid.