Wisconsin Badgers Thread

[Licensed to Il]

Herb, I don’t think we are really that far apart. And you make good points. I think you have an irrational optimism that everything could go right for uw bball. And I have an irrationalism that everything could go right for uw football.

I guess I agree that the path is easier for bball (let’s say they got two four stars and an easy tourney draw). But I think Fickell is a better coach/leader than Gard, and I think the state has fallen in love with football. Shoulder shrug. Stranger things have happened.

[Kerb Hohl]

Herb, I don’t think we are really that far apart. And you make good points. I think you have an irrational optimism that everything could go right for uw bball. And I have an irrationalism that everything could go right for uw football.

"Some stuff goes right for UW basketball" - I think they could be in a Final Four/National Title game by accident.
"Everything goes right for UW football" - I'm still not even sure if they make the playoffs...and if they do, they aren't gonna win it.

That's the difference.

You could have the worst opinion of Gard and believe that Fickell and Longo are the next coming of Saban/Kiffin or Saban/Sark as a combo and I'd still put my chips on Wisconsin basketball to get close to or win a title first due to the nature of the sports.

I guess that's the difference that I think people fail to grasp in football. It's a geographical sport still (kind of) and UW is just absolutely boned there.

[Licensed to Il]

First of all, the “Alabama always wins” argument that some (not you) make is probably obsolete. There is surely going to be more parity in the years to come, and like I said earlier, the NIL stuff will eventually become regulated. Im not going to fight anyone on this, but I feel there is a reasonable chance that the Fickell and McIntosh combo can lead UW football higher than it has been… and that the midwest has enough talent to win championships (cough Michigan). Obviously I grasp how far below Michigan and O State we are.

[Kerb Hohl]

First of all, the “Alabama always wins” argument that some (not you) make is probably obsolete. There is surely going to be more parity in the years to come, and like I said earlier, the NIL stuff will eventually become regulated. Im not going to fight anyone on this, but I feel there is a reasonable chance that the Fickell and McIntosh combo can lead UW football higher than it has been… and that the midwest has enough talent to win championships (cough Michigan). Obviously I grasp how far below Michigan and O State we are.

An older heat map of 1st round talent:


Wisconsin would basically need to own all of Chicago and somehow have the spend or vision to bring kids from Miami or whatever into a cold winter while flying over 15 other better programs than Wisconsin. Sure.

Michigan is a decent argument...they have Detroit/northern Ohio as somewhat "home" territory and aren't far from Chicago. They aren't far from the eastern corridor.

However - Michigan as a state in 2023 has HS 100+ recruits listed on its site and 50+ D1 FBS players.

Wisconsin has 22 listed. ~10 D1 FBS players.

It's an obscene hill to climb.

[ReasonablySober]

First of all, the “Alabama always wins” argument that some (not you) make is probably obsolete. There is surely going to be more parity in the years to come, and like I said earlier, the NIL stuff will eventually become regulated. Im not going to fight anyone on this, but I feel there is a reasonable chance that the Fickell and McIntosh combo can lead UW football higher than it has been… and that the midwest has enough talent to win championships (cough Michigan). Obviously I grasp how far below Michigan and O State we are.

An older heat map of 1st round talent:


Wisconsin would basically need to own all of Chicago and somehow have the spend or vision to bring kids from Miami or whatever into a cold winter while flying over 15 other better programs than Wisconsin. Sure.

Michigan is a decent argument...they have Detroit/northern Ohio as somewhat "home" territory and aren't far from Chicago. They aren't far from the eastern corridor.

However - Michigan as a state in 2023 has HS 100+ recruits listed on its site and 50+ D1 FBS players.

Wisconsin has 22 listed. ~10 D1 FBS players.

It's an obscene hill to climb.

All you need is a QB and you're in play for the National Championship.

[Kerb Hohl]

First of all, the “Alabama always wins” argument that some (not you) make is probably obsolete. There is surely going to be more parity in the years to come, and like I said earlier, the NIL stuff will eventually become regulated. Im not going to fight anyone on this, but I feel there is a reasonable chance that the Fickell and McIntosh combo can lead UW football higher than it has been… and that the midwest has enough talent to win championships (cough Michigan). Obviously I grasp how far below Michigan and O State we are.

An older heat map of 1st round talent:


Wisconsin would basically need to own all of Chicago and somehow have the spend or vision to bring kids from Miami or whatever into a cold winter while flying over 15 other better programs than Wisconsin. Sure.

Michigan is a decent argument...they have Detroit/northern Ohio as somewhat "home" territory and aren't far from Chicago. They aren't far from the eastern corridor.

However - Michigan as a state in 2023 has HS 100+ recruits listed on its site and 50+ D1 FBS players.

Wisconsin has 22 listed. ~10 D1 FBS players.

It's an obscene hill to climb.

All you need is a QB and you're in play for the National Championship.

First of all, I vehemently disagree with this. I'm not sure that Trevor Lawrence throwing to a WR corps led by Nick Toon and an average defense can win a title.

Lamar Jackson got nowhere near a national title. Cam Newton may be the best example, but it was still in a talent-rich area.

But yeah, so far we're looking great there. I hear you're a big TVD guy. Easy to get elite QBs to Wisconsin as we've seen.

[BUCKnation]

It's been kind of a golden era of instate basketball recruits and Wisconsin hasn't been able to keep almost any of them. I guess Marquette hasn't really either, but still it's a shame to see all these 4/5* star guys end up at Duke or Iowa State

[Kerb Hohl]

It's been kind of a golden era of instate basketball recruits and Wisconsin hasn't been able to keep almost any of them. I guess Marquette hasn't really either, but still it's a shame to see all these 4/5* star guys end up at Duke.

Basketball is different. Doesn't matter where they come from and roster size, etc dictate weird stuff. Players are still somewhat regional but schools like WIsconsin rarely get the top guy in-state. Historically in CFB, you can keep that guy at home (though that may have changed in recent years).

Football - sure, OSU may grab their QB and 2 WRs from California and Texas, but their 10th-30th best players still can be build from high 4-star and 5-star players from Ohio + Michigan/Pennsylvania/Indiana/Kentucky because there is generally a roster spot for them and players stay regional more often.

[humanrefutation]

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[ReasonablySober]

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[midranger]

Know nothing about the kid past his size and a couple
Videos. I love it.

[MVP2110]

Sort out of the blue pickup. I'm sure the Kirk Penney connection helped a lot on this one. These international pickups are interesting and tougher to judge so it's sort of just wait and see

[chonestown]

Sort out of the blue pickup. I'm sure the Kirk Penney connection helped a lot on this one. These international pickups are interesting and tougher to judge so it's sort of just wait and see

Had not heard anything about UW being in on him. Not one peep.

ETA: Sounds like Kurt said Wisconsin is Australian for New Zealand for beer. Attaboy, Kurt.

[midranger]

I’m sure there’s a market inefficiency that can be exploited if you’re able to bear the extra effort and expense of recruiting internationally.

We haven’t been able to keep any kids in state since Dekker, so gotta try something.

[MVP2110]

I believe international players are ineligible for NIL deals under current US Law which is probably why we're seeing an uptick in international recruiting. In theory they'll be easier to retain due to this

[MVP2110]

I’m sure there’s a market inefficiency that can be exploited if you’re able to bear the extra effort and expense of recruiting internationally.

We haven’t been able to keep any kids in state since Dekker, so gotta try something.

The overall point stands, but I would say to keep an eye on Kinzinger. 4 star top 100 guy from De Pere who is commited.

[chonestown]

Periodic reminder that Carolina and Duke were sniffing around Koenig. Blue-blood interest probably more indicative of a recruit's standing as opposed to numerical ranking.

[AussieBuck]

I’m sure there’s a market inefficiency that can be exploited if you’re able to bear the extra effort and expense of recruiting internationally.

We haven’t been able to keep any kids in state since Dekker, so gotta try something.

Haven't paid attention for a while but St Marys used to recruit from Australia a bit. All you'd need to do is hook into the Australian Institute of Sport. Central point for our high school talent to find and they come knowing how to play team basketball.

[ReasonablySober]

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Cool.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Interesting strategy in this new NIL world to intentionally target so many international players.

EDIT: per this article he's taking the place of the Serbian big man Vukovic we had originally signed, not really clear if his not coming over is just for now or if he's not coming at all

https://247sports.com/college/wisconsin/article/wisconsin-badgers-basketball-signs-italian-center-ricardo-greppi-for-2024-25-season-234496090/