Wisconsin Badgers Thread

[MikeIsGood]

I've seen a couple times that we've lost players to Iowa State. Did we offer these player(s) and they chose Iowa State, or did we not offer them and they turned out to be player(s) with Iowa State? The latter is a much different problem. It's still a problem y'all can take issue with, but it's a lot different.

[ReasonablySober]

I've seen a couple times that we've lost players to Iowa State. Did we offer these player(s) and they chose Iowa State, or did we not offer them and they turned out to be player(s) with Iowa State? The latter is a much different problem. It's still a problem y'all can take issue with, but it's a lot different.

In the case of Xzavion Mitchell (2025) he was offered by Wisconsin.

[RogerMurdock]

Hey, slightly off-topic, but I figured people in this thread might be good ones to ask.

My daughter is a senior in high school and just got the happy news last week that she got into Wisconsin! Pretty sure it's #1 on her list right now, since somehow, even living in the Atlanta area, she didn't get into UGA (I'm sweating tuition at the moment). She also got into Minnesota, so we're doing a Gopher/Badger combo tour the week of April 7.

Will probably be in Madison for parts of two days - driving from the Twin Cities one morning, touring, staying overnight, then leaving the next day, back to Minnesota. Anything we should definitely check out (aside from the obvious school landmarks) on campus or in the city?

I was born there and moved to Milwaukee when I was three, so we'll at least drive by my old house.

[MickeyDavis]

Hey, slightly off-topic, but I figured people in this thread might be good ones to ask.

My daughter is a senior in high school and just got the happy news last week that she got into Wisconsin! Pretty sure it's #1 on her list right now, since somehow, even living in the Atlanta area, she didn't get into UGA (I'm sweating tuition at the moment). She also got into Minnesota, so we're doing a Gopher/Badger combo tour the week of April 7.

Will probably be in Madison for parts of two days - driving from the Twin Cities one morning, touring, staying overnight, then leaving the next day, back to Minnesota. Anything we should definitely check out (aside from the obvious school landmarks) on campus or in the city?

I was born there and moved to Milwaukee when I was three, so we'll at least drive by my old house.

The campus is pretty great. Definitely check out Memorial Union. It won't be great weather so there won't be anything going on outside the union by the lake but it's pretty cool. If she's thinking of staying in a dorm you could walk by some of those. There are some by the lake (I stayed in Sullivan) and some near the Kohl Center. I really like the campus.

[RogerMurdock]

We'll probably end up doing a self-guided tour, as right now, there are no tours available. I would guess we wouldn't be able to enter a dorm, but yeah, we'll walk by. Stuff like the student union is clearly on our to-do list. She was admitted to the School of Education, so we'll check that out, in addition to the usual campus stuff.

[Ryan5UW]

Not many things make me feel older than driving around campus and seeing how much has changed from when I was at UW.

Congrats on her getting in! Good luck with the weather. School of Education I think is a little closer to the downtown dorms, but realistically she could stay at either if you want to check out both areas to give her a feel for what they'd be like.

[MickeyDavis]

We'll probably end up doing a self-guided tour, as right now, there are no tours available. I would guess we wouldn't be able to enter a dorm, but yeah, we'll walk by. Stuff like the student union is clearly on our to-do list. She was admitted to the School of Education, so we'll check that out, in addition to the usual campus stuff.

You should be able to schedule a dorm tour and see a room(s). At least that used to be the case.

[Kerb Hohl]

A good formula for success would be every year to land:

- the #1 or 2 in-state recruit
- an out of state recruit around the same level
- maybe a sleeper if someone blows you away that yr
- 1-2 mid-major standout transfers to replace your own recruits who don't work, or regardless

I don't get the point in not using all your resources available to build a roster.

Hello, I'll respond to the 2007 team blueprint:

2024: #1 guy is Kon, they tried and lost (money). #2 guy is Nick Janowski at Nebraska (bench scrub that will probably transfer to a mid-major). Everyone else sucks.

2023: Momcilivic. A mistake by UW and MU passing on him, but Nolan Winter is functionally just as good (you can debate that). Everyone else from WI HS is irrelevant in this class.

2022: Trimble - probably another $ thing. He's meh. Everyone else sucks except for Rohde. Bond went to UVA and transferred down. Rohde was good at UST and has been average on crappy UVA teams.

2021: Here's the class but it's a bunch of caveats. PBJ probably unattainable. Didn't want Hunter, got Chucky instead. Hunter left ISU. Podziemski is a very interesting story being buried at Illinois and turning into a pro at Santa Clara. Maybe? Joplin was a solid player they missed on. Also Kobe Johnson.

2020: Jalen Johnson (unattainable), Johnny Davis (good), garbage after that

2019: Garbage. And Wisconsin correctly passed on all of them.

2018: Herro (we know the story), Haliburton (may have been lost due to Herro story), Hauser (they tried, Marquette is fine?)

2017: Kobe King and then garbage

2016: Kostas (not interested?), Sam Hauser (a story there on Bo botching that), garbage

2015: Stone (Money) , Ellenson (Marquette, weird relationship)

tldr; Unless you are expecting them to get the Jalen Johnson types, what have they actually missed? A few guys went to Marquette (and left early), Haliburton was a miss maybe due to Herro (and left early), Hunter was maybe a miss but they had Chucky. Milan was a misfire and they replaced with Winter.

[Kerb Hohl]

Like, I go through that list and probably the other guys they ended up with and I doubt it makes almost any difference unless you are convinced that Jalen Johnson was dying to forgo a gigantic bag of cash but it was just that pesky boring offense that got in his way.

I think the theory on Herro/Haliburton is they didn't offer Haliburton thinking they were all set at guard with Herro, Herro left late, Haliburton was already basically locked in with ISU.

The only history rewrite I'd like to see is Haliburton on the 2019 or 2020 teams (loss to Oregon/no tournament). Otherwise anything realistic seems like minimal difference? Especially in this era when the Hausers left Marquette and Hunter left ISU.

[Kerb Hohl]

I've seen a couple times that we've lost players to Iowa State. Did we offer these player(s) and they chose Iowa State, or did we not offer them and they turned out to be player(s) with Iowa State? The latter is a much different problem. It's still a problem y'all can take issue with, but it's a lot different.

In the case of Xzavion Mitchell (2025) he was offered by Wisconsin.

He was a lower 3-star recruit that rose up the boards near the later stages when I would imagine UW had been less involved (no idea). Similar story to Kinziger that Wisconsin got and in some services is rated higher than Mitchell, both late risers.

Again, it has been a strange set of circumstances that has led to only the Wisconsin HS guys being the ones that actually play at ISU of late, but outside of Milan, Hunter (one year), and Lipsey - Otzelberger might as well have not bothered HS recruiting. His rotation this year:
1: Transfer from Buffalo
2: Transfer from St. Mary's
3: Transfer from UNLV
4: Lipsey
5: Milan
6: Transfer from Wazzu
7: Transfer from UNI
8: Transfer from Wazzu/Seattle

His bench is littered with all of the (fairly highly rated) HS recruits that are now sophomores/juniors and averaging 1 ppg that will probably transfer out to make room for his next crop of starting transfers.

His previous years had similar rotations of 75% transfers. History tells us that the guys we're freaking out about losing to him will either not make a dent there or be effective elsewhere (Hunter, Grill)

[Kerb Hohl]

We'll probably end up doing a self-guided tour, as right now, there are no tours available. I would guess we wouldn't be able to enter a dorm, but yeah, we'll walk by. Stuff like the student union is clearly on our to-do list. She was admitted to the School of Education, so we'll check that out, in addition to the usual campus stuff.

Yeah, Memorial Union, State Street...go by the SE dorms (they're nice as hell now, closer to the action) - I'm partial to those due to location, but you can't go wrong with Lakeshore, either.

[humanrefutation]

I'd echo most of the recommendations here in terms of what to see. Both unions are worth a visit. Memorial and College libraries. State Street and the Capitol. Spend some time on lakeshore, too, as that is really where the campus shines, IMO. Head up to picnic point. It's gorgeous in the spring.

In terms of dorms, I lived in both SE and Lakeshore, and I'd strongly recommend Lakeshore dorms, tbh, especially now that they've really upgraded that part of campus. Beautiful. Quiet. Lots of nature. Less hectic than the southeast dorms. Community vibe. For a first year student, you can't go wrong with Bradley, which is a dorm which caters specifically to first year students and has lots of really cool programming opportunities.

For southeast, I'd lean towards Chadbourne (central location, learning community, right by the ed school), but Ogg and Smith are nice, too. Stay away from Sellery and Witte, IMO.

[Licensed to Il]

Hey, slightly off-topic, but I figured people in this thread might be good ones to ask.

My daughter is a senior in high school and just got the happy news last week that she got into Wisconsin! Pretty sure it's #1 on her list right now, since somehow, even living in the Atlanta area, she didn't get into UGA (I'm sweating tuition at the moment). She also got into Minnesota, so we're doing a Gopher/Badger combo tour the week of April 7.

Will probably be in Madison for parts of two days - driving from the Twin Cities one morning, touring, staying overnight, then leaving the next day, back to Minnesota. Anything we should definitely check out (aside from the obvious school landmarks) on campus or in the city?

I was born there and moved to Milwaukee when I was three, so we'll at least drive by my old house.

Check out the Baake Rec Center, it stands where the Nat used to be. It is gorgeous. Walk the lakefront. The two main Unions. Walk to State Street at night. If the weather is warm, and students are outside, she’ll pick UW. If the weather sucks, its a tougher sell.

[StickeeFingaz]

I'd echo most of the recommendations here in terms of what to see. Both unions are worth a visit. Memorial and College libraries. State Street and the Capitol. Spend some time on lakeshore, too, as that is really where the campus shines, IMO. Head up to picnic point. It's gorgeous in the spring.

In terms of dorms, I lived in both SE and Lakeshore, and I'd strongly recommend Lakeshore dorms, tbh, especially now that they've really upgraded that part of campus. Beautiful. Quiet. Lots of nature. Less hectic than the southeast dorms. Community vibe. For a first year student, you can't go wrong with Bradley, which is a dorm which caters specifically to first year students and has lots of really cool programming opportunities.

For southeast, I'd lean towards Chadbourne (central location, learning community, right by the ed school), but Ogg and Smith are nice, too. Stay away from Sellery and Witte, IMO.

I lived in Witte my freshman year in 2008-2009, and if I wasn’t there, then I was at Sellery. Had a lot of fun but um, my class attendance record wasn’t great.

To be honest, I can’t believe those dorms are still standing.

[BUCKnation]

I'd echo most of the recommendations here in terms of what to see. Both unions are worth a visit. Memorial and College libraries. State Street and the Capitol. Spend some time on lakeshore, too, as that is really where the campus shines, IMO. Head up to picnic point. It's gorgeous in the spring.

In terms of dorms, I lived in both SE and Lakeshore, and I'd strongly recommend Lakeshore dorms, tbh, especially now that they've really upgraded that part of campus. Beautiful. Quiet. Lots of nature. Less hectic than the southeast dorms. Community vibe. For a first year student, you can't go wrong with Bradley, which is a dorm which caters specifically to first year students and has lots of really cool programming opportunities.

For southeast, I'd lean towards Chadbourne (central location, learning community, right by the ed school), but Ogg and Smith are nice, too. Stay away from Sellery and Witte, IMO.

I lived in Witte my freshman year in 2008-2009, and if I wasn’t there, then I was at Sellery. Had a lot of fun but um, my class attendance record wasn’t great.

To be honest, I can’t believe those dorms are still standing.

Sellery and Witte have both been remodeled. In fact, there isn’t much that is old now outside of some of the lecture halls.

They’d be coming into wisconsin at a really nice time with all relevant living spaces (dorms, dining halls, gyms) being either new or recently remodeled.

[chonestown]

Hey, slightly off-topic, but I figured people in this thread might be good ones to ask.

My daughter is a senior in high school and just got the happy news last week that she got into Wisconsin! Pretty sure it's #1 on her list right now, since somehow, even living in the Atlanta area, she didn't get into UGA (I'm sweating tuition at the moment). She also got into Minnesota, so we're doing a Gopher/Badger combo tour the week of April 7.

Will probably be in Madison for parts of two days - driving from the Twin Cities one morning, touring, staying overnight, then leaving the next day, back to Minnesota. Anything we should definitely check out (aside from the obvious school landmarks) on campus or in the city?

I was born there and moved to Milwaukee when I was three, so we'll at least drive by my old house.

Congrats!

I lived in SE for two years. Save for a year, never left Madison.

It's obvious, but walking the Lakeshore path and State Street make sense. What one person might find isolating and removed, another might find quiet and restful. What one person might find vibrant and energetic, another could find claustrophobic and noisy. Lakeshore vs SE is that dichotomy.

For quick visits, I'd recommend the Chazen Art Museum (which I rate more highly than the MMOCA). Bascom Hill is a great walk. The carts on Library Mall are a great grab-and-go food option, my personal fave being Caracas Arepas. Allen Centennial Garden, over by the Bakke/Lakeshore is a nice stop. These are both free.

She should also consider what's important to her in regards to location. I loved being next door to the dining facilities and rec complex. There's a sizeable grocery next to Chadbourne. Lakeshore works for some people, but depending on where classes are, the walks are long and depending on time of year are dark and cold. When it's nice, it's absolutely spectacular, can't deny it.

Regardless of where she goes to school, she should make a point to get off campus. The UW area is great, but I wish I had done more exploring, whether it was going to shows, out of the way restaurants, biking and hiking, whatever.

And finally, the amount of free programming/discounted activities at UW is staggering. It's meant to be taken advantage of. Shannon Hall at Memorial Union puts on great programming scheduled by students and costs peanuts to attend if you're a student. Take advantage!

[DingleJerry]

Women's team seems to have hired their coach. From Missouri who has seemingly been the UW of the SEC the last few years. Not sure I really get it. We'll see of course, but gut hot take reaction to me is yet another thing I'd bash the AD for. As of now, I'd say we're quite lucky he didn't listen to the loud fans a few years back and fired Gard. Pretty much everything he's touched has gone badly so far so hopefully Gard outlives him.

[MVP2110]

Yikes

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[Kerb Hohl]

Women's team seems to have hired their coach. From Missouri who has seemingly been the UW of the SEC the last few years. Not sure I really get it. We'll see of course, but gut hot take reaction to me is yet another thing I'd bash the AD for. As of now, I'd say we're quite lucky he didn't listen to the loud fans a few years back and fired Gard. Pretty much everything he's touched has gone badly so far so hopefully Gard outlives him.

Norman Rockwell meme: I don't know why everyone hates McIntosh so much.

The dirty little secret is that with trying to win at football (literally funds the program), basketball, hockey for both, volleyball - you can't super-fund everything. Sorry, women's basketball and track.

He's going all-in on football as he should, he hired a big name coach to try to win in the new era, which I think has been littered with about as crappy of luck as he could. I understand the gripes about trying to do the air raid in Wisconsin (I shared this concern initially)...but outside of some crappy beatdowns to Iowa/Minnesota, Fickell drew a murderers row schedule in year 2 with a bare cupboard of talent and never got to use his starting QB in a big game.

People are blaming Mac when it's simply just the new system.

It's known that I've always been a Gard guy, but it wouldn't be impossible to believe a big money hire would also be successful in basketball, where you are much less at the whims of a QB injury or hilariously stacked schedule basically cancelling a season.

[DingleJerry]

Women's team seems to have hired their coach. From Missouri who has seemingly been the UW of the SEC the last few years. Not sure I really get it. We'll see of course, but gut hot take reaction to me is yet another thing I'd bash the AD for. As of now, I'd say we're quite lucky he didn't listen to the loud fans a few years back and fired Gard. Pretty much everything he's touched has gone badly so far so hopefully Gard outlives him.

Norman Rockwell meme: I don't know why everyone hates McIntosh so much.

The dirty little secret is that with trying to win at football (literally funds the program), basketball, hockey for both, volleyball - you can't super-fund everything. Sorry, women's basketball and track.

He's going all-in on football as he should, he hired a big name coach to try to win in the new era, which I think has been littered with about as crappy of luck as he could. I understand the gripes about trying to do the air raid in Wisconsin (I shared this concern initially)...but outside of some crappy beatdowns to Iowa/Minnesota, Fickell drew a murderers row schedule in year 2 with a bare cupboard of talent and never got to use his starting QB in a big game.

People are blaming Mac when it's simply just the new system.

It's known that I've always been a Gard guy, but it wouldn't be impossible to believe a big money hire would also be successful in basketball, where you are much less at the whims of a QB injury or hilariously stacked schedule basically cancelling a season.

Football has gone horribly. The new training facility has been a mess with embarrassing missteps along the way. The multi million hire of football gameday shakeup last year was a disaster. Fan treatment and the greediness of how they're running everything is turning off tons of fans. The KC remodel ticked off tons of long time donors stabbing them in the back. The 'vibe' in town is not great right now. Its pure greed/money, which yea is part of the reality now, but its not being handled well at all. Pretty much the first positive thing in several years was this bball season, just think if we'd fired the coach like so many wanted and a guy who's effed up everything he's touched so far didn't get the hire right and the last two years of hoops were bad instead of generally good.

ETA: forgot to note, all my friends and I cancelled our season tickets for next year and I'd be shocked if we're the only ones