'10 WI SG Vander Blue (Marquette Verbal)

[Kingballa12gt]

Originally Posted by Ebay09

I regret to inform you considering the seemingly good news, but when I talked with Vander again in class today, he told me he has decommitted. But I do also have a bit of good news, today he looks as if he wants to get out of the state, and out of the Big 10, so that way he can aviod this whole stink that article in the State Journal yesterday created.

In my opinion Vander has been very good about not reading what is being said about him. The only article he read was the one published in the paper, and he is not happy at all about it. Despite this alleged "academic issue" Vander is not a dumb kid and could read into the intent of the article. As it stands with the UW, Vander feels completely alienated and right now feels that if the article is any indication on how they were going to treat him in Madison, than he feels he made the right move in decomitting. To avoid any potential conflict with his friends at Marquette and family here in Madison, Vander is really looking into his out of state options.

This past season, his favorite college player was Johnny Flynn, so he has intrest in Syracuse if they are interested in him. Also via his AAU coach, he said that Uconn has expressed some intrest in him, and Vander likes that idea also. Still though, I personally think things could be amended with Vander at the UW. It would take a lot of talking out (something Bo doesnt seem real high on doing) but it could happen. As it stands now though, the Badger coaching staff has seemingly moved on to plan B, which from what I understand is still a good option.

By the way, being as I'm new here, if you had any other questions about other Madison Memorial players, feel free to ask. After looking at various sites about recruting, I feel as if this community is the most intellegent and reasonable group of Badger fans on the internet.

That is not what I wanted to hear obviously. But, it's his choice, we can't do anything about it, as much as it'll hurt, it's ultimately up to him. Good to hear if not UW he wants to get out of the state, I'd like to see him go to a title contender so I can watch him evolve into the star he is and will be. Tell him us Badger fans love him and would love to have him, but will support him either way. i know he won't care and you probably won't say it but I thought I'd throw it out there.
- I'll miss you Vander if you leave, such a heartbreak after being commited for a year.

[Mr. Forward]

Originally Posted by Ebay09

Mr. Foward: Yeah Vander did say that it's a dead period now. All he is saying now is where he hope to have interest now. Also I'm not sure how it works, but are teams that offered him a scholie allowed to put it back on the table? He did mention some schools that had interest before his commitment again, but I'm not sure how he would get an offer durring this quiet period.

It sounds like there might be some communication issues - maybe it's because it's a quiet period. Yeah, teams that offered can most definitely put back on the table. In-person recruiting is limited to contact on campus, as part of an official or unofficial recruiting visit... so there are ways to offer.

[TroyD92]

Originally Posted by Kingballa12gt

That is not what I wanted to hear obviously. But, it's his choice, we can't do anything about it, as much as it'll hurt, it's ultimately up to him. Good to hear if not UW he wants to get out of the state, I'd like to see him go to a title contender so I can watch him evolve into the star he is and will be. Tell him us Badger fans love him and would love to have him, but will support him either way. i know he won't care and you probably won't say it but I thought I'd throw it out there.
- I'll miss you Vander if you leave, such a heartbreak after being commited for a year.

100% agree it would be great to see a hometown kid take his school to multiple B10 championships. I really wanted him to come to UW, but as I said if he doesnt think this is the best decision then I will always support kids to do what they think is best.

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by Ebay09

Mr. Foward: Yeah Vander did say that it's a dead period now. All he is saying now is where he hope to have interest now. Also I'm not sure how it works, but are teams that offered him a scholie allowed to put it back on the table? He did mention some schools that had interest before his commitment again, but I'm not sure how he would get an offer durring this quiet period.

Ebay....we appreciate your insight on the situation. Yes, it's depressing and most UW fans would like to live in the blissful ignorance that Rob Schultz painted this afternoon, but in the end, I am glad that we know now instead of later down the road. I think it was obvious to us that something just didn't add up in the whole situation.

It's hard to say exactly what is happening with the scholarship situation. As I have already said, I believe the Glover commit is likely a result of JP not getting his 5th year. This would lead me to believe that there is 1 spot left in the 2010 class...which was created by Vander's decommitment. I've also heard speculation back and forth regarding if Glover was indeed promised a scholarship after the 1st year or if he was just promised the chance to earn one. If he was not promised a guaranteed scholarship after the 1st year, then if JP does leave, there could be 2 spots available in the 2010 class....which may also be a reason for the renewed interest in Wright.

Again, who knows? Wright is said to be visiting Wisconsin in the next month. I am guessing that much more light will be shed on Vander's situation leading up to that time and subsequently thereafter if Wright leaves enamored with UW.

Also, I really REALLY hope that Vander realizes that Rob Schultz is one person. He published a shotty piece of journalism which many true Badger fans do not agree with. Regardless of where Vander stands academically, this should not have been made public. No details of the meeting should have been released. Those in attendance are all people who Vander trusted. In the end, Rob is a journalist....his job is to break news and increase traffic on his sites and increase sales of papers....and unfortunately that goal got away from him and he disrespected a local family. He most certainly does not represent the Badger community.

I'm still hoping that this situation can be salvaged. But in the end, if Vander wants to look elsewhere, there is little that we as fans can do. Good luck to him. Ebay, keep us updated if you hear anything further.

[TroyD92]

Originally Posted by OnWisconsin07

Ebay....we appreciate your insight on the situation. Yes, it's depressing and most UW fans would like to live in the blissful ignorance that Rob Schultz painted this afternoon, but in the end, I am glad that we know now instead of later down the road. I think it was obvious to us that something just didn't add up in the whole situation.

It's hard to say exactly what is happening with the scholarship situation. As I have already said, I believe the Glover commit is likely a result of JP not getting his 5th year. This would lead me to believe that there is 1 spot left
in the 2010 class...which was created by Vander's decommitment. I've also heard speculation back and forth regarding if Glover was indeed promised a scholarship after the 1st year or if he was just promised the chance to earn one. If he was not promised a guaranteed scholarship after the 1st year, then if JP does leave, there could be 2 spots available in the 2010 class....which may also be a reason for the renewed interest in Wright.

Again, who knows? Wright is said to be visiting Wisconsin in the next month. I am guessing that much more light will be shed on Vander's situation leading up to that time and subsequently thereafter if Wright leaves enamored with UW.

Also, I really REALLY hope that Vander realizes that Rob Schultz is one person. He published a shotty piece of journalism which many true Badger fans do not agree with. Regardless of where Vander stands academically, this should not have been made public. No details of the meeting should have been released. Those in attendance are all people who Vander trusted. In the end, Rob is a journalist....his job is to break news and increase traffic on his sites and increase sales of papers....and unfortunately that goal got away from him and he disrespected a local family. He most certainly does not represent the Badger community.

I'm still hoping that this situation can be salvaged. But in the end, if Vander wants to look elsewhere, there is little that we as fans can do. Good luck to him. Ebay, keep us updated if you hear anything further.

I think this is starting to look like Bohannon vs Smith version 2. I think the staff will keep the offer to Vander on the table, but if he doesnt jump on it before Wright then too bad Vander(I really hope this doesnt happen but thats what its looking like) Also Ebay you should tell Vander that all the stuff he reads on sites like Rivals and Scout, and that moron Shultz. They are just trying to generate buzz for their sites, and that doesnt represent the vast majority of Badger fans.

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by TroyD92

I think this is starting to look like Bohannon vs Smith version 2. I think the staff will keep the offer to Vander on the table, but if he doesnt jump on it before Wright then too bad Vander(I really hope this doesnt happen but thats what its looking like) Also Ebay you should tell Vander that all the stuff he reads on sites like Rivals and Scout, and that moron Shultz. They are just trying to generate buzz for their sites, and that doesnt represent the vast majority of Badger fans.

Good point, TroyD, about the message boards and blogs. Definitely let Vander know that a lot of those types of sites are interested in sparking debate (positive or negative) to increase traffic. Unfortunately, the free boards at a lot of these sites are the worst as they attract the non-paying, young, and uneducated posters who enjoy starting fights and creating rumors.

The other problem with these sites and blogs is that often those that know anything are usually above the banter and do not post. In a way, the truly bball knowledgeable fans do not want to waste their time arguing....so, it may seem like there are so many negative fans on these sites, but the truth is that the quality fans are just not bothering to post anything.

[breadtree]

Ebay, I'm curious, does Vander know that you're posting all of this on here and on badgerbeat.com? If so, why doesn't he just comment publicly himself? If not, aren't you betraying his trust a bit?

Originally Posted by Ebay09

Mr. Foward: Yeah Vander did say that it's a dead period now. All he is saying now is where he hope to have interest now. Also I'm not sure how it works, but are teams that offered him a scholie allowed to put it back on the table? He did mention some schools that had interest before his commitment again, but I'm not sure how he would get an offer durring this quiet period.

[Heavystarch]

I actually like that Vander is taking his time, it shows maturity. He doesn't want to rush to a snap judgment, and if he makes it official, I think he wants to have his decision well thought out. At least he isn't making a knee-jerk reaction from Badgerbeat - I doubt Schultz will be privy to any breaking information from here on out after that faulty first story he put out.

[breadtree]

But that's what I'm struggling with here. From Ebay's comments, it sounds like the decision has been made, but Vander just isn't telling anyone publicly. That's the part I can't get my head around. If you were actually decommited and were OK with having your friend tell people on random internet message boards, why not call the Journal-Sentinel and tell them your side of the story? I would be clamoring to put Schultz in his place by giving the actual facts.

Originally Posted by Heavystarch

I actually like that Vander is taking his time, it shows maturity. He doesn't want to rush to a snap judgment, and if he makes it official, I think he wants to have his decision well thought out. At least he isn't making a knee-jerk reaction from Badgerbeat - I doubt Schultz will be privy to any breaking information from here on out after that faulty first story he put out.

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by breadtree

But that's what I'm struggling with here. From Ebay's comments, it sounds like the decision has been made, but Vander just isn't telling anyone publicly. That's the part I can't get my head around. If you were actually decommited and were OK with having your friend tell people on random internet message boards, why not call the Journal-Sentinel and tell them your side of the story? I would be clamoring to put Schultz in his place by giving the actual facts.

I get where you're coming from, breadtree. It's something that's been bothering me as well. But as fans and internet msg board posters, we do need to realize that although it's frustrating that #1 Vander and his family owe us nothing in terms of clarification and #2 there is obviously a lot of stuff going on that we do not know about.

If Ebay is in fact Vander's buddy and this is all true (no knock on you Ebay...just very easy these days to post on msg boards behind screennames), then it would seem that the decision is made. However, the silence to me means that there are probably a lot of very sensitive issues that must be dealt with.

FAMILY....we all know that Rita was/is a big UW supporter, so Vander obviously wants to be careful how he goes about addressing his decommittment from Wisconsin....slamming Schultz may be tempting, but I am guessing this isn't a top priority.

UW COACHES....how can a kid not feel guilty when he is essentially abandoning the program which was the 1st to believe in him and stood by him and likely already invested a lot of time into guiding him? Maybe exploring other options is in Vander's best interest, but you've still got to believe that he has a heart and realizes he's going to be disappointing more than a few people in the program with whom he's bonded.

It's a tough situation and it's likely that Vander or his family will come out and comment on it sooner rather than later, but like Heavy has said, you've got to hand it to him for at least learning from his last knee jerk reaction. I'm assuming that he's trying to go about things the right way this time around....which would mean discussions with his family, UW coaches, etc before anything official is released.

[coyote_5]

Originally Posted by breadtree

But that's what I'm struggling with here. From Ebay's comments, it sounds like the decision has been made, but Vander just isn't telling anyone publicly. That's the part I can't get my head around. If you were actually decommited and were OK with having your friend tell people on random internet message boards, why not call the Journal-Sentinel and tell them your side of the story? I would be clamoring to put Schultz in his place by giving the actual facts.

I think maybe everybody should settle down and remember this is the internet. How much stock we are willing to put into what anonymous people say is entirely up to the individual. Personally, I do my reading with a healthy dose of skepticism. :shrug: You pickin' up what I'm layin' down?

[breadtree]

That's pretty much what I was getting at.

Originally Posted by coyote_5

I think maybe everybody should settle down and remember this is the internet. How much stock we are willing to put into what anonymous people say is entirely up to the individual. Personally, I do my reading with a healthy dose of skepticism. :shrug: You pickin' up what I'm layin' down?

[breadtree]

Fair enough. I'll tell all the single women I know to go out with Ebay09.

Originally Posted by Ebay09

I'm fine with any skeptics I have on here. I understand that I hold no credibility right now and its up to you as the reader to believe what ever you want. I just thought I would tell the people of this site because in the past you seemed to understand the process and what really goes into recruiting. When this does become official this week, you will all know where you heard it first.

[OnWisconsin07]

Ebay...has he informed the UW coaching staff yet and we're just not hearing about it b/c of the politics of recruiting and not being able to comments on kids yet?

[U Dub Dub]

this report is right in line with everything Ebay has told us....

Wisconsin High School Boys Basketball / Youth Boys Basketball