Wisconsin Badgers Thread

[Kerb Hohl]

https://badgernotes.com/wisconsin-basketball-badgers-fading-kon-knueppel-recruitment

For whatever it's worth.

[MVP2110]

Kon to Duke

[Turk Nowitzki]

That's a rough one to lose out on for Gard and co.

[MikeIsGood]

At no point in time did I expect him to be a Badger. Doesn't mean it doesn't suck, but at least it 'hurts' less?

[Turk Nowitzki]

At no point in time did I expect him to be a Badger. Doesn't mean it doesn't suck, but at least it 'hurts' less?

Maybe I'm off base because I don't follow this stuff as closely as I used to but at one point I think we were looking pretty strong in this one.

[MVP2110]

At no point in time did I expect him to be a Badger. Doesn't mean it doesn't suck, but at least it 'hurts' less?

Maybe I'm off base because I don't follow this stuff as closely as I used to but at one point I think we were looking pretty strong in this one.

The "leader" on this switched many times. Wisconsin, Marquette, Virginia, Alabama, & Notre Dame were all thought to be out front at one point or another

[MikeIsGood]

At no point in time did I expect him to be a Badger. Doesn't mean it doesn't suck, but at least it 'hurts' less?

Maybe I'm off base because I don't follow this stuff as closely as I used to but at one point I think we were looking pretty strong in this one.

I think there was some conjecture around it, but no solid evidence that I saw to suggest we were any sort of favorite once the big dogs came to play.

[Mtsportsfan]

It does stink , seems very hard for Bucky to get the top state players , but when the blue bloods come calling with bigger bags of money we kinda know where he's going ! Miss the days when players want to play for the state team , oh well , at least he didn't go to Marquette ! That would have hurt !

[jute2003]

It's Duke. Whatcha gonna do.

I guess playing close to home wasn't as much of a priority as he once said it was.

[chonestown]

If you can't bring in Kon, how can you expect to keep Giannis?

[MVP2110]

This one seems particularly annoying.

Kon reportedly had built up a really strong relationship with both the Wisconsin staff & Virginia staff that spanned over several years. But then Duke just comes in with no relationship whatsoever in the last couple months and is able to land him. This is obviously a big loss for both Wisconsin & Marquette but it's just annoying how blue bloods basically have their pick of the litter with these guys and there's very little it seems the in state teams can do about it.

[ReasonablySober]

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[HaroldinGMinor]

I know a guy that coaches HS hoops in WI and saw Kon play a bunch in AAU. FWIW, he didn't think he was blue-blood-worthy. Nice player and everything but not as good as Herro. He told me this a few months ago so not sour grapes on his part.

[chonestown]

I know a guy that coaches HS hoops in WI and saw Kon play a bunch in AAU. FWIW, he didn't think he was blue-blood-worthy. Nice player and everything but not as good as Herro. He told me this a few months ago so not sour grapes on his part.

I felt the same. Compared to Jalen Johnson and Mike Foster, Kon ran a distant second. Top 15 is rarefied air and I don't see Kon as that type of guy. He'll succeed in college, but he's not a one-and-done that his ranking suggests.

[mattg]

I know a guy that coaches HS hoops in WI and saw Kon play a bunch in AAU. FWIW, he didn't think he was blue-blood-worthy. Nice player and everything but not as good as Herro. He told me this a few months ago so not sour grapes on his part.

Kon is nowhere in the same vicinity as Herro in high school. Herro was super underrated to be fair, and should have been rated in the top 20 for sure instead of like 40th or whatever he was, but Kon doesn't have any of the on-ball juice that Herro had nor the aggressiveness. Teams can limit Kon from touching the ball and he struggles to get open at times. There's times I've watched Kon where his team is struggling offensively and just wondered why doesn't he go get the ball, ask for a ball screen, or just pull up from deep over a defender who is too short to contest him.

Herro otoh was seeing box and ones and gimmick defenses starting as a sophomore and was just levels ahead offensively in pretty much every single category. Kon's a surprisingly nice defender, bigger/bulkier than Herro was, very fundamentally sound, and his shot is pure, but Herro was on an entirely different level as a HS player. Just look at their scoring volume difference and that by itself tells the story.

That said, it sucks for UW that Kon got rated so highly, because to me he's a clear cut 4 year player and is a total Badgers type of player. Then again, that used to be the archetype that Duke went for prior to them embracing the one and done era.

[MickeyDavis]

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[MVP2110]

Sounds like Nolan Winter & Kamari McGee really impressed in the scrimmage today. Storr & Klesmit also had some nice moments

[chonestown]

Impressions from the scrimmage, take these with a grain assault.

Red team had Chuckie, Essegian, Wahl, Yalden and Hodges. White team had Crowl, Storrs, Winters, Blackwell, McGee, Gilmore and Klesmit.

McGee did look good, but it was largely defined by what he did on defense. He had four strips/steals in the first half and was matched on Chuckie, the highlight occurring early on an on-ball thievery leading to a lob to Storrs for the dunk shot. Not breaking news, but he's just so short and he doesn't have outsize speed like other pocket rockets. Vocal out there and was emphatic in directing traffic. I feel better about him spelling Chuckie, but there's always going to be worries.

Chuckie is noticeably slimmer. Errant from long range, but worked the back down and midrange. The streak is back. Uncharacteristically loose with the ball and McGee took advantage. No worries about him.

Wahl's been around long enough to have an NBA-ready body. Doesn't have the skill set for the next level, but credit where due. Last year he hit three 3s and looked good doing so. Ended up an aberration. Can't remember much from this scrimmage, he will benefit as much as anybody from the addition of Storrs and Winters. Should excel as a secondary option.

Essegian was bad from distance but good off the bounce. Clearly been in the weight room. Faded down the stretch last year, so hopefully he powers through March this year. Didn't really force much last night, just wasn't hitting

Storrs as advertised. Had two dunks, including the lob breakaway. Doesn't have a straight up-and-down J, kinda drifts forward as he goes up, but seems effective. Seemed shorter than the 6'7" I thought he was listed at. Don't know who the last wing was who played like him. Dekker was a long strider. Didn't see enough ball handling to determine if he could play some 2, too small to play 4.imo

Klesmit, next to Storr, is probably the second best finisher going to the rim. Obviously, does it in a different manner. Still has the shtty Fox River Valley mustache, which I love as a one-time resident of the land of pulp and curd.

What you have with Nolan Winters is a big with touch and fluidity, okay. Shot is pure upon release. Didn't look frail out there and has the frame to cultivate mass. Base is as big as Crowl right now. More of a Leuer than Crowl comp, but has more length. Could see him in lineups with Crowl this year. Already comfortable with his elongated body.

Augustus Mass Transit, that right there is my dude. Paltry numbers in the box score. Had one on the block post conversion. Has the footwork already. Good shooting motion with touch. Tried a semi-no-look pass on the break that didn't go as planned, but the dude looks to serve. Drew two fouls on Crowl with aggressive post defense. Completely baited him. If he gets time, will absolutely be hated by other fanbases. Hard to explain if you don't see him in person. Just lets his nuts hang and is clearly feeling himself. I wish he'd fully engage his inner Marshall Henderson but can't see it happening with Gard, cue the RS. Problem is, he is short. 6'7" seems about right. Massively slimmed down and is merely husky at this point. Bad posts all around on buckyville but the worst indicated he still looked "thick" and was marginally light. Christ on toast, a year prior looked like he was primed to be Teen Wolf's running partner.

Blackwell, on the other hand, looked bigger than advertised. Probably the height of Chuckie, looks like an incoming free safety recruit for Fickell. Will eventually guard 3 positions. Not scared out there. At all. The Mike Flowers comps are app pro po.

Hodges and Silver will not get off the pine. Gilmore caught the Holy Spirit and scored three in a row. Should get all the time that Gard hands to him. He is who he is but plays the role to the utmost and I can respect that.

Someone on the baseline held up a fire emoji. Some may think this was an homage to NBA Jam and some may think it's Gard on the Hot Seat Confirmed #firegard.

There was a musical chairs interlude with four elementary school-aged children and one very much pre-K girl. She survived one round and was eliminated by a boy twice her size. The boy got roundly booed.

Chones out.

[MVP2110]

Wisconsin comes in as the 1st team outside of the Top 25 AP Poll.

Big Ten teams in the top 25

-Michigan St 3
-Purdue 4
-Illinois 25

Non conference teams in the top 25
-Marquette 5
-Tennessee 9
-Arizona 12

[ReasonablySober]

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