High school basketball in the state of Wisconsin has exploded over the last decade. Even specifically in the last few years, the high school talent level in the state is different than ever before. Historically, five-star basketball prospects are not offensive lineman in Wisconsin. They do not grow on trees.
Over the past few years, however, Wisconsin has seen elite high school basketball talent. Tyler Herro is a name that most Badger fans do not want to hear. The former 2018 five-star recruit infamously de-committed from Wisconsin in favor of Kentucky after John Calipari swooped into the picture. It’s hard to argue with his decision, as the former Whitnall star was having a solid rookie year with the Miami Heat before the NBA suspended the season. In the 2020 class, Jalen Johnson is the top-ranked player in the state of Wisconsin. The 6-8 forward is a consensus five-star product, and eventually signed with Duke. UW made their play for the Milwaukee native, but eventually lost out to the Blue Devils.
Looking forward to 2021, Patrick Baldwin Jr. is one of the top-ranked prospects in the history of the state of Wisconsin. Listed as number three overall nationally by ESPN, 247sports has the Sussex Hamilton star leaning towards Duke.
The trend of this story is easy to see: Wisconsin high school basketball is at an all-time best and the Badgers are missing out on most of the top players in the state. But the question I want to ask is would UW be better off at making aggressive plays for five-star recruits? Wisconsin basketball has a brand. That brand is defined as we over me. Being a Badger is about winning and building community over a number of years at the college level. Being a Kentucky Wildcat is about making it to the next level. There’s nothing wrong with either way of running a program. They are simply different styles.
Did Herro make the best decision for himself? Absolutely, and I think that it is hard to look at his results and think anything differently. At the same time, are the Badgers really better off throwing time, energy, and resources at trying to steal five-star recruits from Duke and Kentucky, even if those players are in-state? Or is a school that does not have the basketball brand of a Duke or Kentucky better off recruiting players that will not only buy into the program on day one, but also play at UW for multiple years? I think the latter is where Wisconsin is better off. We have seen examples of this in Greg Gard’s 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes. There are players coming into this program that are going to be excellent Badgers, and be at Wisconsin for four, maybe even five years assuming a redshirt or two. We even see it on the players returning next year, many of which made massive leaps from 2018-19 to this past season.
Also, does the fact that Wisconsin is not the best place for a one-and-done recruit mean that the Badgers cannot develop talent? No, not at all. In fact, it is hard for me to think of a player over the last decade (I am a young guy) that Wisconsin has ruined in terms of NBA potential. Sam Dekker was the highest recruit of that decade, and he went 18th overall in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Kentucky and Duke are excellent at what they do, and over the past decade Wisconsin has proved to be excellent at what they do. There are multiple ways to build a successful college basketball program. Should the Badgers turn away a five-star recruit who wants to play in Madison? Of course not. But it does not have to be the focus of Badger recruiting for this team to find success. Wisconsin should not be Duke or Kentucky. The Badgers should be the best version of themselves that they can possibly be.