I agree that things keep looking better and better in terms of raw talent at UW. That said, I still think MSU currently has slightly better talent. The scary thing is how undermanned MSU looked against Memphis. It was men against boys out there. It looked like the Tigers had 5 inches at every postion and they had more speed and agility. I just don't see UW ever having the kind of talent like Memphis, Kansas, or UNC had this yearKU mathed up well with Memphis AND they are a good team. I think memphis would have destroyed Wisconsin however I think UW would have matched up decently with UNC and KU. It is all about matchups and not necessaarily talent. Again I go back to my UCLA thing, I mean UCLA has NBA talent up and down the roster but they don;t matchup well with a memphis, and neiterh would UW. That is the problem, and again I restate what I said before, UW can matchup well and beat about 98.5% of the teams in CBB and they willl be a top 15 to top 10 team yearly because of it, however if we want to start beating and or competeing that other 1.5% then we need to "tweak" something. Sort of liek some of the traditional Big Ten powers in football need to "tweak" something if they are going to be able to keep pace with those spread offenses.
Very few teams have the capability to match up with everyone. I'm not sure if it goes beyond Memphis and Kansas. Perhaps Davidson as they beat UW and Georgetown, and played UCLA, UNC and Kansas very tight. I'm satisfied if UW puts a team on the floor that has a chance to win on every night and I think that is the case. Will they win every night? Nope, but I assure you that every time I watch a UW basketball or football game I at least have hope and feel UW has a chance to beat ANYONE! That is a statement not many fans of many programs can say. I have no doubt that Brett and Bo will have teams next year that will be prepared to compete and be competitive with anyone in the nation. Will they win everygame? Probably not, but then again who will? Nobody in basketball or football won every game they played this year.
Is this a recent development as rumor had it Wilson had been favoring UW all along. Of course with the somewhat surprising addition of Evans yesterday does Bo know something and is Wilson thinking of going elsewhere now and Bo felt the need to shore up that position with the knowledge Wilson was thinking of going elsewhere. Hmmmmm?? I still think we have a shot at Wilson but obviously we have to free up a schollie to do so.Its being reported that Wilson is debating either MSU or UW now that Crean is out at Marquette. He is good friends with Korie Lucious who is going to play for the Spartans, and they are supposedly liking the thought of playing with each other at the next level. UW is still most likely his favored school but MSU is recruiting him pretty vigorously and they are now def. in the picture. The signing of Evans made me shake my head because it reduces our chances of getting Wilson, but i hear he (Evans) is willing to walk on so idk. Can someone explain the scholarship situation because according to scout.com we are offering to Wilson, Royce White, and Jordan Prosser...but Diamond Taylor and Mike Bruesewitz have already committed to play...so unless Gullikson loses his scholarship and Gavinski transfers i dont know how this will play out.
Gullikson lost his scholarship. Evans has it for next year. It's been rumored that it could be for next year only and then Wilson would get it.
Remember, Bo can offer to whoever he wants (Crean has offered to half the state), and either way don't use Scout to keep track of who has been offered. Use Recruiting Planet. Here's who the Badgers have officially offered to for 2009:
Rodney Williams - Probably going to end up at Minnesota (his dad is pushing the Gophers, he likes Wisconsin's atmosphere a lot) but would be almost as big a get as Wilson, considering transferring to Oak Hill Academy for his senior year
Royce White - His academic problems and dismissal probably ended Bo's interest in him
Jordan Prosser - Favors Iowa, Purdue, and UW, Bruesewitz's commitment likely closed the door on him
Kyle Rowley - Was in Milwaukee this past weekend and was reportedly wearing a Wisconsin basketball shirt around
Nick Russell - Probably got crossed off the list by Diamond Taylor's commitment
Here's the likely ways that a scholarship could open up for the 2009 season:
Ryan Evans gets the scholarship for next year and has to play it by ear after that. If this does happen it would mean that Bo would have 14 scholarship-deservable players on the roster (if you include Gavinski). I'd have to say this is the most likely.
Someone decides to transfer. Could be Gavinski or Jarmusz, but I don't see it happening.
An underclassmen jumps to the draft after next year. The only one I can see even having the possibility of doing this would be Hughes, and I just don't see it happening.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention. I really think that next year's team will be forced to be more offensive oriented, though I don't know if "forced" is the right word. Maybe that should say "next year's team will be more offensive oriented by nature." Take a look at this past year's starters and how each player measured up as better offensively v. defensively:
Trevon Hughes: push, maybe weak offense
Michael Flowers: defense
Joe Krabbenhoft: defense
Marcus Landry: push
Brian Butch: offense
That's 2 for defense, 1 offense, and 2 push. Now look at next year's starters:
Trevon Hughes: push, maybe weak offense
Jason Bohannon: offense
Joe Krabbenhoft: defense
Landry: push
Leuer: offense
That's 2 for offense, 1 defense, and 2 push.
I don't think Bo will have a problem with this. The defense will only be very good instead of nation-leading, but the increase in offensive production will balance that.
So we have just one available scholarship for next year?
I just use scout to see who our targeted players are every once in a while. I would love to get Rodney Williams. I know he is probably going to Minnesota but he is the best player in his state and he is severely underrated. He is kinda like Jerrone Maymon...the best player in the state but gets overshadowed by slightly less skilled guys like Jamil Wilson.
komaki/Sconnie i completely agree with you on how the team will function next year...its getting better in terms of speeding up the play, but there isnt that player in that starting lineup that can change a game yet.
So we have just one available scholarship for next year?
Nope, we're all full for 2009. Landry and Krabbs are graduating, Diamond Taylor and Mike Bruesewitz are coming in. A scholarship may open up due to any of the three scenarios I listed up there. 2008 is full as well.
Remember, Bo can offer to whoever he wants (Crean has offered to half the state),
I should have continued that sentence by saying that ...
As long as he only has 13 players on scholarship at any one time. Let's say Bo found a complete unknown for 2009 and had to have him. He could offer that player even though he doesn't have a spot available and sign him as long as a spot was opened up by the time the 2009 recruits showed up for practice.
That's why Bo can still have so many offers out on the table despite technically not having any room for the recruits. It's also why Marquette will show up as having offered to every prospect that's a freshman and older that looks like they might be good. You can't oversign in basketball like you can in football. In football you can sign more kids than you have spots open in case of some commits not gaining eligibility, but you can't in basketball. But you can put out as many offers as you like.
I would love to get Rodney Williams. I know he is probably going to Minnesota but he is the best player in his state and he is severely underrated. He is kinda like Jerrone Maymon...the best player in the state but gets overshadowed by slightly less skilled guys like Jamil Wilson.
Williams would be nice, and he's certainly up there with the best player in Minnesota. Wouldn't it be nice for Bo to land him, and then have him win the POY next year? Taking back-to-back POYs from Tubby would be nice. I don't know if I'd call Wilson less skilled than Maymon, though. Wilson does have a better outside shot, and Maymon is helped by being on a better overall team. It is very close, but I'd still give Wilson the edge. Any it's a moot (mute?) point either way, because Maymon still has plenty of work left to do if he's going to qualify.
its getting better in terms of speeding up the play, but there isnt that player in that starting lineup that can change a game yet.
Speed up the game? Maybe, but mostly because the defense will be scored upon easier. I don't think the pace on offense will change all that much, I just expect them to be able to put up a few more points. I think that Hughes has the ability to take the game in his hands and be that guy, but he's not quite there yet. And are we forgetting Landry @MSU from a couple years back? If he finds a way to call that player back and keep him here then he's the B10 POY hands down.
Its being reported that Wilson is debating either MSU or UW now that Crean is out at Marquette. He is good friends with Korie Lucious who is going to play for the Spartans, and they are supposedly liking the thought of playing with each other at the next level. UW is still most likely his favored school but MSU is recruiting him pretty vigorously and they are now def. in the picture
Wilson really is smart. By putting off his commit date he avoided getting caught in the Marquette change over, and he's receiving interest from everywhere now. Wisconsin is obviously still one. Marquette, with master recruiter Buzz Williams now at the helm, is another. Crean has already contacted him and let him know that he wants Wilson at Indiana. Izzo is trying to get him to MSU. All four teams that made the Final Four this year are actively pursuing him, and he also has offers from Ohio State, Tennessee, and Purdue (I don't know how current those last three are). I know that being in-state schools were major bonuses for UW and MU, but that does not mean that someone else doesn't have the perfect pitch for him.
Also, I've kept forgetting to make this "point" for over a month. No one on the Badgers has a tattoo. I can't remember the last Badger that did (Chappell's scripture on his biceps don't count). Would Bo really risk ruining his teams image with Wilson, who has tats on both arms?
(Please notice the use of quotation marks around the word *point* in the first sentence there before calling me an idiot.)
There is a point to Komaki's remark about the lack of tats on Badger players. I'm not judging individuals based on tattoos but Bo has always looked to develop players into his system over time and the players that come in know that. Who was the last real starter to leave early before Devin Harris? Rashard Griffith? (I could be forgetting someone.)
Even if they are juniors and seniors, Bo challenges his upperclassman earn their spots on the floor. Recruits like OJ Mayo or Eric Gordon aren't likely to choose Wisconsin for just that reason, though Bo's not so dumb as to overlook a young star in any season.
But really talented youngsters like Gordon etc. have their sights already set on the NBA, and good luck to them, pro basketball is a brutal dream to reach. And certain kids with a range of talent all the way up to great will like Bo's system because they understand the whole package. With a growing resume of Sweet 16s, the Badgers will attract more I hope.
Wilson does have a better outside shot, and Maymon is helped by being on a better overall team. It is very close, but I'd still give Wilson the edge. Any it's a moot (mute?) point either way, because Maymon still has plenty of work left to do if he's going to qualify.All i have to say is watch Maymon play AAU ball. Its no secret that he hates playing in the post...He is a very very good outside shooter, a lot of people dont recognize that because Memorial uses him strictly in the post. Note: he is also left handed but he shoots with his right just to practice it, and he has been doing in for the last year so he can master shooting with both hands. Maymon is better and he will be better than Wilson in college. Oh yeah he also won MVP of the Adidas Phenom camp (100 top High School Players) by scoring 56 points in his teams championship game appearance.
Does anyone remember that the Badgers have been significantly injured/incomplete in the last 3 tournaments? And that Trevon Hughes was our leading scorer in the KState game? Or that the Davidson game was tied at halftime, before RIchards and Curry wore JBo and Flowers out? Or that Davidson took the eventual national champions down to the last shot?
To argue that the Badgers are less talented or limited by Bo's system or are "worse" than other top programs is just stupid, impressionable whining. NONE of the last three national finalists have had to deal injuries/suspensions to their starters come tournament time, and if the Wisconsin is dealt similar fortunes, I see no reason why they can't have similar success.
All in all, my point is this:
Bo Ryan's program is as good as any in the country!!!!
Watch the games, not the halftime show!!!!
