'10 WI SG Vander Blue (Marquette Verbal)

[badgerbasketball33]

Also when u said vander dropped a bomb on the uw staff are u saying he told the staff he wanted to re open his recruitment?

[whodembadger]

Originally Posted by TroyD92

This situation looks like a big mess to me, Wright would be a great addition no matter what happens with Vander.

Wright wouldn't have the instant impact of a guy like Vander Blue, but my guess would be that he'd be part of the rotation for all 4 years, and probably start 1-2 of them. Very similar player to Vander though from what I've heard.

[Bernini]

Both sides would have motivation to spin what transpired during the meeting.

Vander Blue for pride and to not look like a slacker, and Wisconsin to curb backlash of fans livid about losing out on yet another talented in state player.

I listened to the Rob Schulz interview on 1070, and I know that Wisconsin has wrongfully pawned off losing big time in-state recruits on high academic standards before.

He mentioned Jerry Smith, who chose Louisville primarily because Bohannon beat him to the punch. I don't care what anyone says, the timing was too coincidental.

Also, Jamil Wilson, who Wisconsin just didn't want to wait around for. Wilson had many high major offers which remained on the table until the end of the process, and I don't remember hearing about academic issues during.

I bet the truth is somewhere in the middle for this situation. Like Vander was already having doubts because of the style issue, and Wisconsin used his shaky academics, which wasn't a damning issue before (there were reports back when he committed that they were poor), as a reason to act like they couldn't accept him anyways.

[TroyD92]

Originally Posted by Bernini

Both sides would have motivation to spin what transpired during the meeting.

Vander Blue for pride and to not look like a slacker, and Wisconsin to curb backlash of fans livid about losing out on yet another talented in state player.

I listened to the Rob Schulz interview on 1070, and I know that Wisconsin has wrongfully pawned off losing big time in-state recruits on high academic standards before.

He mentioned Jerry Smith, who chose Louisville primarily because Bohannon beat him to the punch. I don't care what anyone says, the timing was too coincidental.

Also, Jamil Wilson, who Wisconsin just didn't want to wait around for. Wilson had many high major offers which remained on the table until the end of the process, and I don't remember hearing about academic issues during.

I bet the truth is somewhere in the middle for this situation. Like Vander was already having doubts because of the style issue, and Wisconsin used his shaky academics, which wasn't a damning issue before (there were reports back when he committed that they were poor), as a reason to act like they couldn't accept him anyways.

Bern, This situation is a huge mess right now, Its probably best just to let it play out right now, everybody thinks they know but in reality we know virtually know nothing so just like Appleton I will not post until something is confirmed.

[badgerbasketball33]

Well bo has offered cameron wright now. This leads me to believe blue isn't gonna be at uw if his grades improve or not. I dunno about you guys but I could live with wright, seems like a rob wilson type.

[TroyD92]

Originally Posted by badgerbasketball33

Well bo has offered cameron wright now. This leads me to believe blue isn't gonna be at uw if his grades improve or not. I dunno about you guys but I could live with wright, seems like a rob wilson type.

Wrights offer has very little impact on vander.

[Heavystarch]

A lot is swirling around right now, but lets just take a step back. Madison is the school he watched all his life, and they offered. Who wouldn't jump at the offer? Now with plenty of others in his ear about where he could go, style of play, etc, he would almost be foolish to not at least think about other opportunities. Honestly though, Vander would probably be best served to stay here, and hopefully (I think) he will.

- I think his game compares more to DHa than to Hughes, and who wouldn't want to be Devin?
- His Mom wants him to go here, and who wouldn't want to make their mom happy?
- Wisconsin is presumably where he wanted to go, so what could change that to the extent of crossing us off the list?

I'm not saying he is a lock, but he reminds me a whole lot of Lendell Buckner. He just wants to know what else is out there, and who can blame him for it? If he does find that perfect fit, and its not UW, so be it. I just find it hard to believe that you could commit to a school for a year only to all of a sudden dispise it and completely want out. I just think he wants reassurance that he is making the right choice. Just my take

[badgerbasketball33]

Well then the real question is if his grades were better would he be doing this? If no it's probably safe to say deep down he wants to be a badger?

Like you said it though it may be an ego thing. He realizes how good he is and never got the attention he deserves, so now he is gonna try to get it from loisville, Kansas, Michigan state or whoever. If he's doing this then it's probably also safe to say he will come back to uw.

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by Bernini

I hope that side of the story is true for Wisconsin basketball, untrue for Blue's sake.

Cameron Wright would be a perfectly acceptable substitute for Blue. In fact, his game on film resembles Blue's quite a bit. Big for a combo guard, can handle the ball, very fluid mover, has scoring instincts, flashes of excellent vision/awareness on passes, can get off the floor, and exhibits above average lateral quickness defensively. I'm not going to get my hopes up yet though, because he already rejected us once. Not sure what alternatives he'll have at this point though.

If Bo can't secure somebody as talented as Wright in the interim, he should be patient enough to wait and see how kids react to his performance in the World University Games.

I wouldn't say that Wright already rejected us once. His situation was similar to Blue's situation when he committed to UW. He got an early offer from the in-state school and accepted within a few days/weeks. Wright never had a UW offer before now, but UW had been following him when OSU offered and he accepted in 2007.

I would not be upset with a Wright commit. As I said on the rivals board, we could potentially still take both Wright and Blue, but this would mean no Glover on the pay 1 and get 4 plan.

However, I am guessing that Wright's offer is in direct response to Blue's lack of commitment to both UW and his academics.

[OnWisconsin07]

As a Badger fan, it's very disheartening to see a kid that you've been following since he was just a blip on the UW radar decommit from the school you love. A lot of people are going to have knee-jerk reactions and be upset, slandering either Vander or Wisconsin or Bo. I gotta admit that when I first heard about this, I felt like a whiny little high school girl who had just been cheated on.

Buuuut....step back, breath....alright, I can understand it. For what it's worth, I get that he wants to be sure of his decision. I also get that it is true that there is a negative perception around Bo and his "style of play". This perception was reinforced with the way our season went this past year. We did not have a reliable decision maker and go-to scorer. Trevon showed flashes, but in the tight situations, he just straight up did not deliver....he made too many quick and poor decisions.

The thing that Vander really needs to understand is that this past year's team is not HIS team. No matter what anyone says, Bo has been upgrading the athleticism....and I hardly doubt that he isn't planning on using this athleticism to speed up play in the future. We've got young, quick, athletic guards, a more mobile center in Bergs ready to step in, and skilled forwards all on their way.

And honestly, Vander needs to look at the recent past Badger teams which have been successful. The key component was the 1 athlete that pulled things together. Vander would fit this mold. As was said, Vander could come in and do similar things to what Devin did. The only true PG we will have when he arrives is JT, so a combo guard such as Vander would see time at both guard positions and would likely develop into the leader and ball handler like Devin....esp in tight situations.

Regarding academics. It sounds like UW at least WAS committed to forming a plan to help Vander succeed in the classrom his senior year. It would truly be sad if this is what ends up keeping Vander from being a Badger. Unfortunately, Wisconsin and his Memorial teachers and advisors can only do so much. Vander needs to meet them in the middle and put in his own effort as well. In the end, it will be worht it, but trying to make a 17 year old kid see that far into the future isn't an easy task.

In the end, Vander, I hope you suit up in a Badger uniform in the future. I'd sure like to cheer for you.

[OnWisconsin07]

Alright, one last thing and then I will probably go back to being quiet on the whole situation.

If Vander or his mom or family read these boards, I am truly sorry that you have had to deal with this in such a media frenzy manner.

And, in the end, realize that Wisconsin and their fans care more about Vander than just as an athlete and winning games. We care about him as an individual and a young man. We value his education and committment to bettering himself both on and off the court. We are not interested in just the Ws on our schedule like other schools who are willing to overlook academics and entrance requirements. Realize that these schools may very well be only interested in Vander the athlete and not Vander the person or Vander the student.

If you are looking for a family that loves him for the person beyond who he is on the hardwood, then Wisconsin is most definitely the place.

[phizz007]

FWIW, Wisc did offer Cam Wright before he verballed to OSU. Apparently he has gotten the offer again now that Blue's schollie has opened up. I would be careful about saying Wright's decision has no effect on Blue's. If Wright verbals, that's pretty much it for Blue. There has never been any evidence that JP or someone else will go off scholarship to open up a 3rd one.

Bo is not the type to kiss a** and he will move swiftly if he doesn't feel Blue still wants to come. That is why there will always be an Elite 8 (maaaybe Final 4) ceiling for his regime. He is not willing to court the top athletes required to win national championships. He sticks to his principles, take it or leave it.

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by phizz007

FWIW, Wisc did offer Cam Wright before he verballed to OSU. Apparently he has gotten the offer again now that Blue's schollie has opened up. I would be careful about saying Wright's decision has no effect on Blue's. If Wright verbals, that's pretty much it for Blue. There has never been any evidence that JP or someone else will go off scholarship to open up a 3rd one.

Bo is not the type to kiss a** and he will move swiftly if he doesn't feel Blue still wants to come. That is why there will always be an Elite 8 (maaaybe Final 4) ceiling for his regime. He is not willing to court the top athletes required to win national championships. He sticks to his principles, take it or leave it.

My bad if Wright was offered a scholarship before. Regardless, UW filled up its 2 open spots within a few weeks, so I do not at all feel slighted that Wright originally picked his home state school very early on. I don't think it is a reflection of his feelings towards Wisconsin, but rather his original love for the Buckeyes.

Also, in regards to JP's scholarship, unless there is another move happening, this is likely the reason for the pay 1, get 4 offer that Glover has/had. This offer was mentioned before the meeting with Blue this week, so I would assume it is unrelated to his situation esp since it seems that UW was not aware that Blue was going to drop the bomb that he did. In other words, where did you think Glover's scholarship was coming from? The reason he would have to pay 1 year is so JP could finish out 4 years and then Glover would be on scholarship starting JP's 5th year.

Of course, I don't know any of this for certain, but this is what I am assuming happened/is happening. We won't know for sure until someone actually commits.

And for the record, I am just saying that potentially the 2010 class could have 3 kids in it if Bo wanted it to. Not saying he will do that or that he should. The staff knows best what each of these player's intentions are, so I'll let them make the decisions. I'm just speculating here and listing the possibilities.

In the end, I hope Blue reaffirms his committment, does well in school, and suits up with the Badgers in 2010.

[Heavystarch]

Originally Posted by phizz007

FWIW, Wisc did offer Cam Wright before he verballed to OSU. Apparently he has gotten the offer again now that Blue's schollie has opened up. I would be careful about saying Wright's decision has no effect on Blue's. If Wright verbals, that's pretty much it for Blue. There has never been any evidence that JP or someone else will go off scholarship to open up a 3rd one.

Bo is not the type to kiss a** and he will move swiftly if he doesn't feel Blue still wants to come. That is why there will always be an Elite 8 (maaaybe Final 4) ceiling for his regime. He is not willing to court the top athletes required to win national championships. He sticks to his principles, take it or leave it.

This is especially true now that Glover has committed. only room for one

[OnWisconsin07]

Originally Posted by Heavystarch

This is especially true now that Glover has committed. only room for one

Agreed. With Glover on board, it would seem that it is now Wright or Blue. No more wiggle room if Glover is being given a scholarship in the future.