'10 WI SG Vander Blue is a Badger!!!

[Bernini]

Another Blue Commitment Article

4/29
by Mark Miller, WSN Hoops

Monday night around 10:00 p.m., Madison Memorial coach Steve Collins received a call from his standout sophomore guard, Vander Blue.

To say Collins was surprised to hear what Blue had to say on the other end of the telephone would be an understatement.

“Vander surprised me with his decision,” Collins said. “He did it at 10 last night and I got a call from the Wisconsin State Journal at midnight.”

Blue called Collins to let him know he had given the University of Wisconsin a verbal commitment to play college basketball, beginning in the fall of 2010.

And

NY2LA Sports

who should change their name from SiouxCity2Detroit Sports

One of the top Class of 2010 prospects in the Midwest is off the board as Monday night 6'3" SG Vander Blue of Madison Memorial verbally committed to attend the University of Wisconsin and play for Bo Ryan.
Blue is a slashing type scoring threat who can put up numbers in bunches when he gets it going. He's shown the ability to slash to the rim and score as well as the ability to hit the mid range and also the trey ball if left open. Vander is an excellent talent both athletically and skill wise and has tons of room to grow in the coming years.
This is a major grab for the Badgers as Vander is arguably the top prospect in the state and could likely be a top 25-50 national prospect by the end of the summer. Blue was sensational again this weekend as he rocked with the Madison Spartans at the King James Shooting Stars Classic.

Komacki, you were right, the conversation split off into multiple different threads didn't cause it to make a whole lot of sense. So I just transferred all the posts into the General Recruiting talk thread and placed a note at the beginning to show where the conversation derived from.

Hey, I'm still somewhat new at this.

[Bernini]

From the ESPN Briefing Room:

Wisconsin received its first commitment from the class of 2010 on Monday when guard Vander Blue picked the Badgers, according to The Capital Times. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard, who chose UW over Marquette, Kentucky and Indiana, wanted to get his choice out of the way early so he could focus on basketball and school. "I don't want to be one of those people who, in my senior year, is stressing myself out trying to figure out what college I'm going to," Blue said. "I have a great opportunity right in front of me that I can take and will benefit me in the long run. So I can get the decision over with and just have fun for the rest of my high school career and keep my grades up."

According to ESPN's Antonio Williams, Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan has himself a very talented shooting guard in Blue. "He has a great deal of untapped potential," Williams said. "Blue has very good athleticism and leaping ability which he uses effectively in a number of ways. With his quickness and good first step, Blue easily drives past opponents when on the perimeter in the half-court. At times when he gets to the rim though, he needs to use his impressive hops to finish above the rim. He will have more success at the rim once he adds more strength to his frame, which will come as he matures. Blue also has to improve his range and consistency from the perimeter, though he has an adequate jump shot at this point and operates effectively in the mid-range area with pull-up jumpers. He has great lift on his jump shot, but he sometimes shoots on the way down instead of at the peak of his jump. He hits the boards hard exceptionally well for a guard. Blue has a very good motor and competes at a high level.

Blue will fit perfectly in to Wisconsin's scheme. "Ryan loves hard-nosed, intense guards that match his style of play and Blue fits the bill here," Williams offered. "Wisconsin loves to have guards that will challenge on the defensive end of the court and Blue will fit seamlessly with the Badgers with his defensive intensity and competitive nature. Blue's athleticism and quickness gives Ryan a gifted performer from the shooting guard spot that should have the opportunity to put the ball in the basket often. Ryan did a great job of convincing a talent home-grown prospect to stay home for college."

[OnWisconsin07]

Here is a great Q & A with Vander Blue written by the Journel Sentinel.

Vander Blue Q&A - Badgers Blog

Some great quotes:

"I want to be that automatic shooter because I know I can get to the basket any time I want to. I want to be that person like (Davidson's Stephen) Curry. I want my game to better that Curry's. I want to be that automatic shooter. Every time it goes up, I know it's going in." --> sounds like we could have used him in a recent game.

"I was looking for a school that had a good academic system because if I don't make it to NBA, if I've got a degree from Wisconsin, I'm pretty sure I can punch my ticket anywhere I want to go because of the high academic standards there. So that was another big key why I picked Wisconsin." --> Smart kid...and realistic with the whole back-up plan. Plus, you don't see many sophomore kids already focused on college academics. Sounds like he did his homework to me.

Also, sounds like he is already making friends fast on the team. He talks about how he calls and texts Keaton and how he likes Jordan and calls him. Hughes is his favorite player though and he hopes to talk with him soon.

"So now I've got to worry about school and stuff. I'm just going to make sure I keep my head clean, keep my head in the books, make sure that my grades stay on point. I'm going to bring some national championships to Wisconsin." --> haha...thatta boy.

I like this kid more and more every day.

[Bernini]

Rivals $

Blue was outstanding at the Sabes Invitational. He was beating players at will with his quick first step and showing off his athleticism with his agile finishes. He stuck the occasional jumper too. He played PG primarily for his team.

[Bernini]

Rivals $

5/26

Blue was subbing for the Illinois Warriors and performed solidly for them with a 14 point outing. Jerry Meyer lauded Vander for his knack of making plays off the dribble and tenacious rebounding.

[Bernini]

Rivals

5/27

Blue scored 21 and 18 in the final two games of the Nike Memorial Day Classic, in addition to playing great defense, to lead the Illinois Wolves to the Championship.

[Heavystarch]

What's more interesting is that Jerry Meyer, the Rivals analyst who seems to head the rankings, star ratings, etc., covered the event. Once an expanded 2010 list comes out I am curious to see where he places Blue after seeing him play firsthand.

[Heavystarch]

Rivals

5/29/08

As expected, Meyer names Blue a top performer at the MDC, in part due to his outside shot.

[Bernini]

Illinois High School Basketball

5/28

Are Anthony Johnson and Vander Blue are the best 16U backcourt in the country? It’s hard to find many doubters after this weekend. “When we are the same page there isn’t a better backcourt. We are unstoppable together,” said Johnson, a 6-3 combo guard from Chicago Whitney Young who, along with the Wisconsin-committed Blue (6-3 G Madison, Wisconsin Memorial) led the Warriors to a championship win at the Nike Memorial Day Classic this past weekend. “That is the best backcourt in the country. When those two guys are on the same page its game over,” said Warriors 16u Coach Jason Kentworth. Blue chimed in saying, “I believe so. When me and him are on the same page I don’t see anybody that can touch us- it’s not even a game.”
Blue played in his first tournament with the Warriors this past weekend and was very pleased, “I wasn’t real sure. I had seen them play a couple tournaments, and I like their style and I knew it was a good team. They seemed a lot better when I am actually on the court with them running through stuff. It’s special because I haven’t got a tournament championship yet this year in AAU. And this is the first tournament with them and I got one. So I will be around more often.” Blue told Illinoishsbasketball.com he is running with 16U Warriors in July, “Oh yeah without a doubt” he said with a reaffirming head nod.
While much of the pub goes to the best backcourt tandem in the country in Johnson and Blue, as well as 6-3 wing Brandon Spearman and 6-5 forward D’wayne Evans, and deservedly so, the 16U Warriors role players deserve recognition too. Julius “Juice” Brown, Antonio Johnson, Don McaVoy, and Rayvonte “Trey” Rice all came up big at the MDC.
“D’wayne (Evans) and Brandon (Spearman) and them always make big plays. Me and AJ bring all the attention, but without them we wouldn’t get the wins because they do all the little things.”

[komacki]

Does anyone know where Blue's academics are at the moment? Over on Sportsline MT just said that he has a 1.0 GPA.

[Bernini]

Originally Posted by komacki

Does anyone know where Blue's academics are at the moment? Over on Sportsline MT just said that he has a 1.0 GPA.

He doesn't have the best role models for teammates.

However, I doubt it. We've shown the tendency not touch anyone who is near that poor in the classroom.

[Heavystarch]

I am not 100% positive, but I am pretty sure he wouldn't have been eligible to play in high school if he had a 1.0 gpa