2015-16 UW Badger Basketball Discussion Thread

[SpursNBucks]

Looking a few years into the future, that euro looks like Kaminksy 2.0. Needs to put on about 30 pounds though. Dude looks like he's about 150 lbs.

ETA: It would be nice if he could elevate on his jumper though. He has a pretty text book set shot, which can work when you are 6'11, I guess. Silky smooth, however.

He looks concentration camp ultra thin. I think he is going to have to add at least 20 pounds before he can get on the court agaist big 10 competition.In the highlight videos he's playing against a lot of 6 footers- so keep those blocks in perspective.

[SpursNBucks]

Happ will start without question. He's going to be really damn good.

What can anyone tell me about his game and progression- i know people have talked him up.

Does anyone have any answers or theories as to why a team with such big success can't recruit better the last two years?

[tski1972]

Happ will start without question. He's going to be really damn good.

What can anyone tell me about his game and progression- i know people have talked him up.

Does anyone have any answers or theories as to why a team with such big success can't recruit better the last two years?

the kids they've recruited over the last 4 years seemed to have done just fine, what more do you want them to do?

[wapith]

Happ will start without question. He's going to be really damn good.

What can anyone tell me about his game and progression- i know people have talked him up.

Does anyone have any answers or theories as to why a team with such big success can't recruit better the last two years?

This 2015 class may be one of their best ever.

You put too much stock in the rankings. Bo Ryan gets talented players, always has.

[Ill-yasova]

Looking a few years into the future, that euro looks like Kaminksy 2.0. Needs to put on about 30 pounds though. Dude looks like he's about 150 lbs.

ETA: It would be nice if he could elevate on his jumper though. He has a pretty text book set shot, which can work when you are 6'11, I guess. Silky smooth, however.

He doesn't elevate much on his 3 point shot but his pull-up and catch-and-pop midrange jumper gets a lot of lift actually.

[Bernman]

In doing more research even and thinking about it since I first brought this guy up, I think this is a particularly big commitment, and he will help us a lot early.

Firstly, he is quite thin, but it's still over-exaggerated. He's 203 now. His club team continued to list him at 187, and that might have been because they wanted to hide him from NBA scouts and American colleges. His coach was quite angry that he'd be leaving for the States.

Secondly, he doesn't have to play center off the bat, just cuz he's 6'11". Leuer played power forward, and he started making at impact at 210-215. He was only up to 223 at the NBA combine. Van Vliet should get up to 210-215 by the time the B1G season starts.

Thirdly, at 19, soon to be 20, and coming from European pros, we should be getting a mentally and physically mature prospect. I think he has a Poeltl/Sabonis type impact for us, only the power forward and shooting version of that. Guys who are nearly 6'11", longish, can block shots (you keep the shot blocking in perspective, he was doing it at u-20s against Nurkic and co., and against young men in the Belgian B-league), handle, have touch in the post, and shoot from the outside, don't grow on trees.

I think we have a rotation that looks something like this when B1G season rolls around:

Happ/Brown
AVV/(Hayes)
Hayes/Iverson
Hill/Showalter
Koenig/(Hill)

That actually looks pretty good to me. We've contended for B1G titles with less. Sadly, Judas Stone and Maryland are clear favorites now with Sulaimon, and we may not be at the MSU or Michigan level contender either, but we'll be in the mix, and I think could still win it. The system breeds consistency for regular season success and now I think we have adequate horses. Koenig and Hayes will see their roles expanded and could each become stars. Givony of DX raved about Happ, then so did the coaches. That's probably a big 3. Then I think we stole 2 more highly underrated, mature recruits in AVV and the uber-athlete with a great feel in Iverson. Other guys like Hill, Showalter, and Brown can play roles with their defense and/or rebounding. Further down, guys like Schlundt, Pritzl, and Illikainen may contribute in spot minutes helping out in the shooting department if need be. My over/under for conference finish with this squad would be 3.

Good on Bo for not sitting on those 2 open scholarships (like many fans argued it was sensible to do) and thinking outside the box like people like me suggested to fill at least one of them. Now I'm sure he'd take Rowan too, if he qualified soon enough, and wanted in. He got a taste of big-time success in the tourney and wants more sooner rather than later.

[MickeyDavis]

So I'm hearing that van Vliet is a late recruit because he just decided he was going to college. Is that accurate? What other choice was he considering? Are his grades borderline and he had to wait? What other schools were interested in him?

[sidney moncrief]

So I'm hearing that van Vliet is a late recruit because he just decided he was going to college. Is that accurate? What other choice was he considering? Are his grades borderline and he had to wait? What other schools were interested in him?

He visitied 4 schools: Wisconsin, Washington State, St. Mary's, and Oklahoma State.

[xTitan]

Happ will start without question. He's going to be really damn good.

especially with the addition of this van Vliet kid shooting 3s, should open things up for Happ to destroy the rim. Hopefully Nigel and Zak are working on their 3s all summer

Showalter is what he is, energy off the bench, if he has to start I am worried this teams goes back to what it was not all that long ago, 2 guys who can score the ball, the rest who are role players. I already feel sorry for Happ, expectations for this kid are huge by Badger fans, and we are talking a 3 star prospect who has yet to play a college basketball game, good luck kid.

[Bernman]

So I'm hearing that van Vliet is a late recruit because he just decided he was going to college. Is that accurate? What other choice was he considering? Are his grades borderline and he had to wait? What other schools were interested in him?

He's an international player (Belgian) and his alternative was to continue playing overseas in Belgium and move up the pro ranks. He was in a very similar situation as Poeltl and Sabonis, who were also internationals, and didn't pop up on recruiting radars until about this time last year.

I don't really know what's going on as far as his schooling now, but anecdotally he cares about academics, will be 20 so had 1.5-2 years more than the average recruit to accumulate all his core requirements, and he's confident he'll be admitted.

[emunney]

So I'm hearing that van Vliet is a late recruit because he just decided he was going to college. Is that accurate? What other choice was he considering? Are his grades borderline and he had to wait? What other schools were interested in him?

Other choice is/was staying in Europe, probably with his current team in the Belgian League (Port of Antwerp).

[xTitan]

In doing more research even and thinking about it since I first brought this guy up, I think this is a particularly big commitment, and he will help us a lot early.

Firstly, he is quite thin, but it's still over-exaggerated. He's 203 now. His club team continued to list him at 187, and that might have been because they wanted to hide him from NBA scouts and American colleges. His coach was quite angry that he'd be leaving for the States.

Secondly, he doesn't have to play center off the bat, just cuz he's 6'11". Leuer played power forward, and he started making at impact at 210-215. He was only up to 223 at the NBA combine. Van Vliet should get up to 210-215 by the time the B1G season starts.

Thirdly, at 19, soon to be 20, and coming from European pros, we should be getting a mentally and physically mature prospect. I think he has a Poeltl/Sabonis type impact for us, only the power forward and shooting version of that. Guys who are nearly 6'11", longish, can block shots (you keep the shot blocking in perspective, he was doing it at u-20s against Nurkic and co., and against young men in the Belgian B-league), handle, have touch in the post, and shoot from the outside, don't grow on trees.

I think we have a rotation that looks something like this when B1G season rolls around:

Happ/Brown
AVV/(Hayes)
Hayes/Iverson
Hill/Showalter
Koenig/(Hill)

That actually looks pretty good to me. We've contended for B1G titles with less. Sadly, Judas Stone and Maryland are clear favorites now with Sulaimon, and we may not be at the MSU or Michigan level contender either, but we'll be in the mix, and I think could still win it. The system breeds consistency for regular season success and now I think we have adequate horses. Koenig and Hayes will see their roles expanded and could each become stars. Givony of DX raved about Happ, then so did the coaches. That's probably a big 3. Then I think we stole 2 more highly underrated, mature recruits in AVV and the uber-athlete with a great feel in Iverson. Other guys like Hill, Showalter, and Brown can play roles with their defense and/or rebounding. Further down, guys like Schlundt, Pritzl, and Illikainen may contribute in spot minutes helping out in the shooting department if need be. My over/under for conference finish with this squad would be 3.

Good on Bo for not sitting on those 2 open scholarships (like many fans argued it was sensible to do) and thinking outside the box like people like me suggested to fill at least one of them. Now I'm sure he'd take Rowan too, if he qualified soon enough, and wanted in. He got a taste of big-time success in the tourney and wants more sooner rather than later.

I'll take the under on your 3rd place prediction this year, I realize Bo hasn't finished below 4th place in the Big Ten, but this team is going to struggle mightily scoring points and for the first time in a while, will have nothing near a true rim protector. You mentioned MD, UM, MSU, but I also believe that Purdue and Indiana will field a more talented team than UW.

[MickeyDavis]

Cool, thanks, I didn't know anything about this guy.

As for Showalter I've seen him play since 1st grade. I think he's perfect as a 6h/7th guy off the bench. He plays HARD, put him in when the other team is a bit tired. I don't think I want him starting.

[Bernman]

Showalter is what he is, energy off the bench, if he has to start I am worried this teams goes back to what it was not all that long ago, 2 guys who can score the ball, the rest who are role players. I already feel sorry for Happ, expectations for this kid are huge by Badger fans, and we are talking a 3 star prospect who has yet to play a college basketball game, good luck kid.

Showalter is plenty athletic, so can go to wherever his hard and smart work takes him. His peak potential certainly isn't as an energy bench player just because that's where he's gotten to at this point. Like my man Badgerlander said, he should shoot a ton of 3's in the offseason, and then maybe he's the perfect 3 and d guy for them. Both Hill and Showalter are good athletes who can d you up, so whoever wins that job might come down to who develops their 3 better. Although Hill probably has the edge at this point due to somewhat better 3-shooting and supplementary handling duties, especially if you're going to play Hayes at the 3. My projection would be for Hill to start at the 2, with Showalter to back him up usually and playing balls to the wall to make the most of his more limited minutes, but when the shooting isn't enough from either Bo calls on Schlundt or Pritzl in spot minutes.

As far as Happ goes, he should be projected to do quite a bit for the Badgers. Hayes was a 3-star, didn't take a redshirt year, and wasn't MVP of a U-18 tourney where he got massive praise from a neutral in the know like Jonathan Givony of DX. The point about him being 3-stars to argue there is too much belief in him is a poor one.

[xTitan]

Showalter is what he is, energy off the bench, if he has to start I am worried this teams goes back to what it was not all that long ago, 2 guys who can score the ball, the rest who are role players. I already feel sorry for Happ, expectations for this kid are huge by Badger fans, and we are talking a 3 star prospect who has yet to play a college basketball game, good luck kid.

Showalter is plenty athletic, so can go to wherever his hard and smart work takes him. His peak potential certainly isn't as an energy bench player just because that's where he's gotten to at this point. Like my man Badgerlander said, he should shoot a ton of 3's in the offseason, and then maybe he's the perfect 3 and d guy for them. Both Hill and Showalter are good athletes who can d you up, so whoever wins that job might come down to who develops their 3 better. Although Hill probably has the edge at this point due to somewhat better 3-shooting and supplementary handling duties, especially if you're going to play Hayes at the 3.

As far as Happ goes, he should be projected to do quite a bit for the Badgers. Hayes was a 3-star, didn't take a redshirt year, and wasn't MVP of a U-18 tourney where he got massive praise from a neutral in the know like Jonathan Givony of DX. The point about him being 3-stars to argue there is too much belief in him is a poor one.

Showalter has been in the program for 3 years, he is what he is, an energy guy, who is a decent defender, because he can jump doesn't mean he is fast or even quick, IMO you simply over rate him. I can't see Showalter as a starter on Big Ten championship caliber team as you believe, this team is, I also do not remember seeing Jordan Hill play, this is another kid with huge expectations who has yet to step on the court. The problem with comparing Hayes to Happ is that Hayes had two first round NBA draft picks, along with solid vet leadership to take a ton of pressure off of him, Happ will be starting with more pressure and higher expectation than Hayes ever did.

[xTitan]

Cool, thanks, I didn't know anything about this guy.

As for Showalter I've seen him play since 1st grade. I think he's perfect as a 6h/7th guy off the bench. He plays HARD, put him in when the other team is a bit tired. I don't think I want him starting.

Van Vliet: "I talked to the coaching staff several times and the plan is for me to come in and immediately play and help the team." #Badgers

[Badgerlander]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25151921/observations-look-for-kadeem-allen-to-blossom-for-arizona

-- Big Ten fans should become familiar with the name Ethan Happ. The 6-9, 230-pound power forward redshirted this past season for Wisconsin, but seems primed to have a major role for the Badgers following the losses of both Sam Dekker and Frank Kaminsky. Happ was exceptionally strong all year in practice and while he's yet to play a college game, he has the feel of a player who will come out of nowhere and immediately produce for Bo Ryan.

Fran Fraschilla ‏@franfraschilla Apr 17
See @JonRothstein on Ethan Happ bandwagon. 6-8 redshirt at Wisconsin would have played a lot anywhere else in Big Ten. Loved him at practice

badgermbb
4 weeks ago
Josh Gasser on redshirt Ethan Happ: "He's smart. He plays hard. He's got a really bright future." #OnWisconsin #Next #Badgers

[tweet]https://twitter.com/TheScoreWQAD/status/590212266487730177[/tweet]

[Bernman]

Showalter has been in the program for 3 years, he is what he is, an energy guy, who is a decent defender, because he can jump doesn't mean he is fast or even quick, IMO you simply over rate him. I can't see Showalter as a starter on Big Ten championship caliber team as you believe, this team is, I also do not remember seeing Jordan Hill play, this is another kid with huge expectations who has yet to step on the court. The problem with comparing Hayes to Happ is that Hayes had two first round NBA draft picks, along with solid vet leadership to take a ton of pressure off of him, Happ will be starting with more pressure and higher expectation than Hayes ever did.

Dukan, even with his warts, was a dramatically better player his last two years than his first three. It's not uncommon at all for players in this program to improve significantly in your 3rd year playing. And a lot has to do with learning to either not make mistakes because you've been taught thru substitutions or not giving a crap anymore and just playing your game and if he takes you out so be it. Showalter is more in the latter category because with his athleticism but not being overly skilled he's not your typical Bo Ryan player. If he's not flying around and taking chances, he's not bringing a lot, unless he learns to shoot, which many guys in the program learn to do with repetition and technical advice.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Hindsight is obviously 20/20, but if Happ is instantly a stud this year, he should have been playing last year. Other than Kaminsky, Wisconsin was not that deep in the front court, especially if Happ is more of a physical presence than Dukan was.

[PkrsBcksGphsMqt]

Happ looked familiar to me but I couldn't place it right away. I think I found his doppelganger...