'10 WI C Evan Anderson is a Badger!

[Heavystarch]

Rivals $

4/23/08

Anderson plans to make his decision in about two months. Will decide between the same 8, some of which are UW, Kentucky and Kansas (all offered in person)

[Kingballa12gt]

If we get Anderson and Jamil which i think we will im calling it: Final Four:2010

[Heavystarch]

Rivals $

4/28/08

Real Deal standouts. Anderson was listed as one of the top performers, and was praised for defensive presence around the rim.

[cyismydog]

Evan recently unofficialy visited Marquette.

[Heavystarch]

I don't know why Anderson is at all a stiff. At the Real Deal Rivals singled him out as one if not the most impressive prospect there, and a month ago when he visited Kansas, one of the great talent evaluators out there, Bill Self, handed him an offer. I think Anderson will be a monster in the blocks on offense and have a Stiemer-like defensive presence.

At his absolute basement, I still see him having an overall better impact than Butch, who was a major contributor for three years.

His cieling? I don't think he has much of an outside shot, so maybe a more athletic Roy Hibbert. I pray daily for his commitment

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by Heavystarch

I don't know why Anderson is at all a stiff. At the Real Deal Rivals singled him out as one if not the most impressive prospect there, and a month ago when he visited Kansas, one of the great talent evaluators out there, Bill Self, handed him an offer. I think Anderson will be a monster in the blocks on offense and have a Stiemer-like defensive presence.

At his absolute basement, I still see him having an overall better impact than Butch, who was a major contributor for three years.

His ceiling? I don't think he has much of an outside shot, so maybe a more athletic Roy Hibbert. I pray daily for his commitment

I don't know how his basement could be Brian Butch. Butch had great range and skills for a big man. He also played with passion. His drawbacks were his poor footwork and strength. Anderson has the same below average footwork that Butch had. He has strength, but if you don't have passion, it doesn't amount to being useable. He only did average six rebounds per game in high school, so obviously he's not fully utilizing his strength/size. He doesn't have an understanding of how to play in the post on offense, as evidenced by his 8 point per game output. I played with a kid in 8th grade (R.I.P., died of an overdose in his early 20's) who was just so much bigger than all of his opponents, probably 6'7" or so, but he'd get blocked by kids over half a foot shorter because his arsenal comprised solely of a telegraphed right-handed hook with little lift. Size can only get you so far. If Evan Anderson has no offensive game right now, nor can he rebound, who is to say he'll ever gain those skills? Shot blocking? Didn't he only average around 2 per game? And that doesn't project to near as high of a total in college when he isn't playing relative dwarfs and when he doesn't have the lateral quickness to get in position. I think Berggren blocked around 7 shots per game at 6'10" this season.

Anyways, here's a couple older pictures and an article about Evan from 8th grade, if anyone's interested:



The Next Big Thing

[Kingballa12gt]

^^And that was when he was 14, wow I really hope we can land this kid, then the 2010 class would be looking really, really good with two top 30 national potential guys.

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by Kingballa12gt

^^And that was when he was 14, wow I really hope we can land this kid, then the 2010 class would be looking really, really good with two top 30 national potential guys.

But the thing that bothers me is, why is it taking him so long to get acclimated to his height? He's been almost his exact current height for 3 years, yet his production is still ordinary. He actually regressed this season.

[Bernini]

Rivals $
CatsPause.com

5/2

Recaps his past visit to Kentucky. Liked their tradition and that he'd have a friend in Dakotah Eaton. Is looking to go far in the NCAA tourney. Has no favorites. Wisconsin being the home school may or may not give them an advantage.

[komacki]

Originally Posted by Bernini

Has no favorites.

You sure? : P

Mark Miller has it up over on WSN that Anderson has given Bo a verbal commitment. Miller says that Anderson called Bo "late Saturday night," so it must not have been more than a few hours ago.

I'd kind of love to see the Kentucky fans' reaction to this.

[MrRandyWatson]

Article on verbal, welcome Evan

Wisconsin High School Basketball - Boys / Youth Basketball - Boys

[komacki]

Originally Posted by MrRandyWatson

Article on verbal, welcome Evan

Wisconsin High School Basketball - Boys / Youth Basketball - Boys

In the interest of saving your mouse a click, Watson's article is the same one I linked to.

So, who feels like talking in circles about Wilson and Williams for a while until the 2011 recruiting heats up? ; )

[MrRandyWatson]

Oops, you must have made the edit to your post while I was posting mine. Sorry for the double post, it's my first day.

Sports

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by komacki

You sure? : P

Mark Miller has it up over on WSN that Anderson has given Bo a verbal commitment. Miller says that Anderson called Bo "late Saturday night," so it must not have been more than a few hours ago.

I'd kind of love to see the Kentucky fans' reaction to this.

It just goes to show you how much worth some of the quotes in articles have. Often recruits are simply telling the interviewer what they want to hear. I've written a few articles where I've interviewed recruits, and experienced it first hand. Some interviewers will even ask leading questions to extract the responses they want, in order to appease the fan bases they're pandering to (not myself). Consider the source, and listen to the factors the recruit or the average recruit would consider.

We were right to assume the last couple months that Evan was a Wisconsin lean based on all the factors involved. When a big white guy from Wisconsin is going to decide early, I think we all know where he's heading at this point.

I would also like to welcome Evan Anderson to Wisconsin....even though I was doubting his ability. I'll be rooting for you to prove me wrong!

And also, welcome to Mr. Randy Watson.

So, who feels like talking in circles about Wilson and Williams for a while until the 2011 recruiting heats up? ; )

It's a long time until signing day 2010, Komacki. I don't think we're contriving relevant topics by talking about exceptional talents like Wilson, Williams, Davis, or even Kyle Kelm.

[Bernini]

A couple more articles on Anderson's commitment:

JS Online

Now Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan and his staff can work on filling up the 2011 freshman class. Too early, you scoff?
Perhaps, but barring an unexpected change on the roster, UW has filled the 2010 class with the commitment late Saturday from Eau Claire North sophomore center Evan Anderson.
The commitment, reported by Wisconsin High School Basketball - Boys / Youth Basketball - Boys, is the second and likely final one for that class. Madison Memorial sophomore guard Vander Blue recently committed to UW.
Recruiting rankings can be dubious barometers but the 6-foot-11 Anderson is rated the No. 5 player nationally in his class by Rivals.com and No. 10 by Scout.com.
Anderson played one season at Stanley-Boyd High School before transferring to Eau Claire North.
As a sophomore last season, Anderson helped North to the WIAA Division I state quarterfinals. He finished with 12 points six rebounds and four blocks in a first-round loss to Wauwatosa East, the eventual state champion.
Several big-name programs had extended scholarship offers to Anderson, including: Kentucky, Kansas, Boston College and Marquette.

I'm amused by the discrepancy between his actual statistics in these articles. He's averaging anywhere from 8 to 12 points. Those are some generous approximations.