Tag: Greg Gard

A freshman is turning heads early for Wisconsin basketball

A freshman has been the standout of early practices for the Badgers according to CBS insider Jon Rothstein

Despite uncertainty surrounding a Big Ten college basketball season, Wisconsin basketball has been practicing for the past few weeks at the Kohl Center.

In this early stage, freshman have been leaving their first impressions upon the coaching staff, with one sticking out in particular as a surprise. According to CBS college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, 2020 signee Steven Crowl has been turning heads in Madison.

After a standout career at Eastview Senior High School, Crowl comes to Madison as another piece in the Minnesota to Wisconsin pipeline. I broke down Crowl’s game over the summer, and after looking through high school tape it was his offensive feel that stood out most, especially as a 6-foot-9 modern big:

Crowl’s passing ability is what surprised me most on tape. At 6-foot-9, 210 he not only made point-guard-like bounce passes in transition, but also had the basketball IQ to make quick interior passes for open layups. The speed of his decision making will help him find early success at the next level. For a big man, he already has the ability to put the ball on the deck. He also has the range to step back and knock down long jumpers. There is not a ton of film of Crowl hitting jumpers off the dribble, although as an open, set shooter he can cash his checks.

Wisconsin’s depth could be their most effective weapon come the 2021 NCAA Tournament, and with added freshman impact, especially from a surprising source, the sky is the limit for the Badgers.

 

 

Rivals ranks Wisconsin outside of the five best coaching jobs in the Big Ten

Four days ago Rivals’ Dan McDonald listed, in order, the best men’s basketball head coaching jobs in the Big Ten Conference…

Four days ago Rivals’ Dan McDonald listed, in order, the best men’s basketball head coaching jobs in the Big Ten Conference.

His top-5 are Indiana at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2, Michigan at No. 3, Michigan State at No. 4 and Maryland at No. 5.

Then, coming in at No. 6 is the Wisconsin basketball program.

Here’s what he had to say about the Badgers’ coaching job:

“Making calls to different college coaches and scouts in preparing this list, the one response that kept coming up was, “You know what’s a really underrated job? Wisconsin.” It’s hard to disagree. Badgers fans love their team, they always win and the state produces some pretty good players that like to stay home. Plus, as a college town, Madison gets rave reviews.”

Though Greg Gard and company recently lost out on in-state four-star 2021 small forward James Graham to the Maryland Terrapins, McDonald is spot on here about the program, its winning history, its ability to keep players in-state and the overwhelming fan support year-after-year.

Maybe the program isn’t a blue blood national title contender every year (though they may be this season), but in arguably the nation’s best overall basketball conference the No. 6 slot seems right for the program.

Report: NCAA exploring four potential start dates for college basketball

As Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported and our friends at Mountain West Wire re-published: the NCAA is currently exploring four…

As Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reported and our friends at Mountain West Wire re-published: the NCAA is currently exploring four potential start dates for the 2020-2021 college basketball season.

With Big Ten football moved to the spring and there still being much uncertainty around when the season will start and what it will look like, any sense of concreteness and presence of a sure-fire plan in either basketball or football will be more than a welcome sight.

Related: Could college basketball be headed towards an NBA-style bubble?

Here’s what the NCAA is currently contemplating for the season:

 

Option 1:

First practices: September 29

First day of the season: November 10

 

Option 2: 

First practices: October 9

First day of the season: November 2

 

Option 3:

First practices: October 14

First day of the season: November 25

 

Option 4:

First practices: October 24

First day of the season: December 4

 

Here are some other key dates on the timetable of planning and starting the season:

  • August 31: Meeting between men’s and women’s oversight committees
  • First week of September: Target date for season model to bring to the Division I council for a vote
  • September 16: Division I council’s vote on how and when to conduct the season
  • Immediately after: Vote by men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees
  • October 13 or 14: Meeting between the NCAA and the aforementioned council

There are numerous unknowns about the upcoming basketball season, but at least it seems like there is a plan in place and clear timeline for when decisions need to be made. Maybe the Big Ten and Pac-12 should take notes on what a deliberate timeline and constant meetings look like.

Even the athletic directors and basketball coaches are chiming in about how they believe the sport should move forward towards playing. Here’s what some of them had to say about how to conduct a successful and safe season:

I don’t think anybody would ever bet on Greg Gard and the Wisconsin men’s basketball team playing games before their classmates on the gridiron. Well, it seems like we’re heading there as Big Ten football pushed their season to the spring and basketball seems to be on a great path towards playing this winter.

Stay tuned in to BadgersWire as we follow the developments and preview the 2020-21 college basketball season.

CBSSports’ recent preseason ranking sees the Badgers fall out of the top 10

CBSSports college basketball analyst Gary Parrish updated his preseason top 25 yesterday after the news that Illinois stars Kofi Cockburn…

CBSSports college basketball analyst Gary Parrish updated his preseason top 25 yesterday after the news that Illinois stars Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu both decided to withdrawal from the draft and return to Illinois for the 2020 season.

The news vaulted the Fighting Illini up 20 spots to No. 7 in the nation while the Badgers fell two spots from No. 9 to No. 11.

Parrish’s poll is now the only at this point that doesn’t have Greg Gard’s team in the nations top 10, as in his rankings the team is now slotted behind Big Ten foes Michigan State, Iowa and Illinois.

Here’s what Parrish has to say about the 2020 Wisconsin Badgers:

Wisconsin got better after Kobe King quit the team in January – evidence being how the Badgers won eight straight games to close the regular season and shared the Big Ten crown with Maryland and Michigan State. Now the top five scorers from the final-game roster are expected back. The best of the bunch might be Micah Potter, who averaged 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 52.8% from the field. He’s among the reasons Wisconsin will be positioned to secure back-to-back league titles.

The college basketball season is now scheduled to tip off in exactly 100 days with the Badgers entering the season with the most national hype they’ve had since the 2014-15 team that had just come off a Final Four appearance.

They do have another roadblock in the Big Ten now, though, as Illinois’ recent news will make it even more difficult for Gard and company to repeat as Big Ten champions, as well as it further aiding the Big Ten’s argument for the nation’s best conference.

The Badgers close to the top in yet another preseason ranking

Yesterday CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein released his latest “Rothstein 45 for 2021” and had the Badgers as the No. 5 team in the…

Yesterday CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein released his latest “Rothstein 45 for 2021” and had the Badgers as the No. 5 team in the country.

As seen above, the four teams ahead of the Badgers–in order–are Villanova, Baylor, Iowa and Virginia, with Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Duke and Creighton rounding out the top 10.

This ranking continues an offseason of ranking and media love for Greg Gard’s team as they were recently the highest-seeded Big Ten team in Joe Lunardi’s bracketology and the No. 7 team in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25.

The biggest story surrounding the team is the fact that they return nearly all of their meaningful contributors from last season while welcoming in an impressive freshman class.

But the biggest thing for me about this team? They are in nearly every writer’s top 25 without having an NBA Draft prospect in their starting five.

Though Villanova is at the top of Rothstein’s rankings also without an NBA Draft prospect, nearly the entire top 10 has at least one or two players set to hear their name called next year.

It obviously still needs to come to fruition on the court, but Gard’s team is poised for a big season in the most Wisconsin way ever–stellar defense, consistent offense and no players set to join the NBA ranks.

Wisconsin basketball the highest seeded Big Ten team in the latest ESPN Bracketology

The Badger are up their with the Big Ten’s best in the latest bracketology

ESPN college basketball insider Joe Lunardi released his latest Bracketology column on July 15, and the Badgers are projected as high as they have been by any publication.

In the mock 68 team NCAA tournament, Lunardi placed the Badgers as a two seed in Wisconsin’s favorite west region. The Badgers were on the same seed line as Michigan State, who landed as the two seed in the east region. The Big Ten led the bracket with nine teams in, tied with the ACC who also had nine squads in the field.

Here are the other Big Ten teams that made it in:

Illinois- 9 seed

Rutgers- 6 seed

Purdue- 7 seed

Ohio State- 4 seed

Michigan- 7 seed

Iowa- 3 seed

Indiana- 6 seed

Highlights from 2021 commit Chucky Hepburn’s Jammin’ in July opener

Evan Flood of 247Sports was on the Wisconsin basketball beat yesterday as he attended the opening round of Jammin’ in July–an AAU…

Evan Flood of 247Sports was on the Wisconsin basketball beat yesterday as he attended the opening round of Jammin’ in July–an AAU basketball tournament in Ames, Iowa–to watch three-star class of 2021 commit Chucky Hepburn and Team Factory face off against Minnesota Heat.

Hepburn is one of three commits in Greg Gard’s class of 2021 and is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 134 recruit in the country, the No. 20 point guard and the No. 2 player from his home state of Nebraska.

The Bellevue, Nebraska native chose the Badgers over Creighton, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and others and is a pivotal piece in what is shaping up to be an impressive 2021 class for Gard and his staff.

The Wisconsin commit finished the contest with 23 points and five assists as his team fell to Minnesota Heat in a “hard-fought game.”

Here are the highlights from Hepburn’s appearance.

Badgers extend an offer to 2022 three-star center

Wisconsin offers in the class of 2022 are popping up everywhere with the latest being to three-star center Joe Hurlburt…

Wisconsin offers in the class of 2022 are popping up everywhere with the latest being to three-star center Joe Hurlburt.

The Enderlin, North Dakota native is unranked by 247Sports but has a three-star grade on Rivals.com and currently has offers from schools including Iowa, Colorado, Minnesota and Iowa State.

The offer is the third in the Badgers’ 2022 class and was followed closely yesterday by three-star shooting guard Jaden Schutt becoming the school’s fourth offer in the class.

Greg Gard and his staff are still on the class of 2021 recruiting trail–already with the No. 7-ranked class in the country and No. 4 in the Big Ten–as they look to continue the momentum of their No. 29-ranked 2020 class.

 

For everything Wisconsin basketball recruiting follow @thebadgerswire on Twitter.

Badgers offer 2022 shooting guard from Illinois

Greg Gard and his staff have been hot on the recruiting trail this week and that work continued yesterday when they extended an offer…

Greg Gard and his staff have been hot on the recruiting trail this week and that work continued yesterday when they extended an offer to class of 2022 shooting guard Jaden Schutt.

The Yorkville, Illinois native is not yet ranked by 247Sports but has a three-star grade from Rivals.com, is their No. 146-ranked recruit in the class of 2022 and currently has offers from schools including Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois and Nebraska.

The offer is the fourth known offer in the Badgers’ class of 2022 with their 2021 group already ranked in the top-10 nationally and No. 4 in the Big Ten.

Badgers offer four-star 2021 small forward

Greg Gard and his staff continued their recruiting efforts yesterday by offering four-star 2021 small forward James Graham…

Greg Gard and his staff continued their recruiting efforts yesterday by offering four-star 2021 small forward James Graham.

Graham is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 56 prospect in the country, the No. 10 player at his position and the No. 2 player from his home state of Wisconsin.

The Milwaukee native also holds offers from Florida State, Maryland, Michigan State, Vanderbilt, Iowa, Indiana, Butler, Marquette and many others.

Adding Graham would be massive for Gard’s 2021 class and the next five years of the program as Gard has already landed three three-star recruits for 2021 and has his class at No. 6 in the nation and No. 3 in the conference.