MVN - Most Valuable Network

Wisconsin NFL Draft Recap and Hoops Recruit News

It’s NFL draft and basketball recruiting season, here’s a breakdown of Wisconsin draftees and incoming  basketball prospects for 2008 and beyond. 

Four Badgers Selected on Day 2 of NFL Draft

 In order:

Round 4 Pick #131 Philidelphia Eagles

 Jack Ikegwuonu CB  5′10” 194 lbs   mid 4.4-low 4.5 (est. times)  Jr

-this is probably a reach, depending on the true severity of Jack’s knee injury and how his rehab progresses.  Jack Ike was a 2nd round pick with the ability to sneak into the 1st Round with his size/speed/press coverage ability, but blew out his knee in January 2008 while training for the NFL combine.  The injury was initially diagnosed as an ACL/MCL tear with cartilage damage, which was later diagnosed as only an ACL tear.  2008 is shot for Ike, and it remains to be seen what his turn and run ability will be with a reconstructed knee.  Jack’s agent is the contentious Drew Rosenhaus.  Drew maintains Jack will play in 2008, if the Eagles front office is smart they will let Ike heal and rehab properly and see what he has for 2009 and beyond.  IMO Ike would have fit a press coverage style team (like Green Bay) perfectly before the injury, now with a once torn knee playing on turf in Philly a promising NFL career may be cut very short. 

Grade: C

Knee reconstruction will determine Ike’s future.  Risk/reward pick, may at least be able to hold on to nickel/dime package duty in the short term. 

Round 6 Pick #178 New Orleans Saints

Taylor Mehlhaff  K  5′10′ 185 lbs  Sr

 -the 1st kicker selected.  Lefty/soccer style guy who never had a FG or Extra Point blocked at Wisconsin.  Should benefit from kicking indoors for New Orleans vs dicey fall conditions in the Big Ten.  Will provide deep kickoffs and consistent FG’s from 50 yards in.  Good tackler on special teams, and a clutch kicker late in games.  May have gone later in other drafts, but quality kickers were sparse in this one.

Grade: B+

Will not be able to connect from 55+, but from 40 in will be next to automatic.  Kickoff ability with distance and hang time plus effort in tackling makes Mehlhaff a solid pick for the Saints.

Round 6 Pick#181 Carolina Panthers  

Nick Hayden  DT  6′4″  295   5.2  Sr

-will primarily be a 2 down run stopping two gap DT.  34 bench press reps of 225 lbs at Combine.  Not a great pass rusher, motor runs hot and cold, played well as a Senior but was subpar as a Junior.  4.5 sacks in his Sr year with 39 straight starts at Wisconsin.  Will most likely make the Carolina roster due to physical ability and upside (can drop some fat, a moderate rather than a pressing issue but will need to up conditioning to stay in the NFL) but is a long shot to start. 

Grade: B

 Good value this late in the draft, but how long he stays in the NFL will depend on the Panther’s patience in developing Hayden physically and improving his technique.  The raw skills and body frame are there for a lengthy NFL career as a run stopping specialist.

Round 6 Pick #191 Cleveland Browns

Paul Hubbard  WR 6′3″  220  4.5   Sr

- Great size/speed/strength ratio.  Marginal hands at this point.  Sprained knee mid season in Senior year and missed 5 games down the stretch, dropping his draft stock.  Not a lot of production in college, but Wisconsin runs the ball so much that his numbers do not reflect his raw ability.  One on one jump ball weapon in red zone.  Raw:  Hubbard is a Big Ten Champion long jumper and was part of the Championship Badger 400 meter relay team. Track guy 1st, football player 2nd as far as developed ability.

Grade: A

Given his measurables, production as a track star and raw ability, Hubbard has great upside in Round 6.  Cleveland will have to wait years for Hubbard to pay off, but playing alongside Braylon Edwards will show Paul how it is done at WR in the NFL.

Badger Basketball Recruit Update: 2008/09/10

Info via http://www.scout.com/

5 incoming Freshman for the class of 2008:

Jared Berggren 6′10″ 240 lb  C

Princeton, MN 

4 Stars (out of 5)

#15 Overall Center

Jordan Taylor 6′ 1″  175 lb  PG

St Louis Park, MN

3 Stars

#22 PG

Robert Wilson 6′ 4″ 180 lb SG

Garfield Heights, OH

3 stars

#30 SG

Ian Marklof  7′1″ 255 lb C

San Antonio, TX

3 stars

#35 C

Ryan Evans 6″6″ 185 F

Chandler, AZ

2 stars

Unranked F

2009 Commitments:

Diamond Taylor 6′4″ 165 lb SG

Chicago, IL

4 stars

#20 SG

Mike Bruesewitz 6′7″  210 lb F

Mendota Heights, MN

3 stars

Unranked F

2009 Recruit of Note:

Jamil Wilson  6′6″ 200 lb F

Racine Horlick, WI

5 Stars

#2 F

-being recruited by Kansas and Indiana among other teams, but only Marquette (when Tom Crean was still the Head Coach) and Wisconsin have extended offers so far according to scout.com  His AAU teammate, Wisconsin Playground Warrior Evan Anderson has committed to Wisconsin for 2010.  Technically this means Wisconsin is out of scholarships for 2010, but a transfer or rescinding of a current scholarship may happen to make room for Wilson.

 2010 Commitments:

Evan Anderson 6′11″ 235 lb C

Eau Claire, WI

4 stars

#10 C

Vander Blue  6′ 3″ 180 lb G

Madison, WI

no ranking info available

Notes:

It’s clear that in football and basketball, Wisconsin poaches Minnesota talent at will despite Tubby Smith’s presence for the Gopher hoops squad…..Minneapolis is just not that appealing vs Madison living…..3 hoops recruits above are from MN…Jamil Wilson would be a huge in-state recruiting loss for Bo Ryan, IMO he needs to find a way to at least have a scholarship available for him…..with Tom Crean leaving Marquette, the Golden Eagles may be out of the running for Wilson also……….Evan Anderson on paper is a top tier recruit but needs work before he will be able to compete at the Big Ten level……Wisconsin, with Markolf, Berggren, Anderson, and JP Gavinski will have a large, deep frontcourt for 2010 that suits the Big Ten style of physical play well

Wisconsin Badgers End Season at 31-5 vs Davidson

Tournament Manic Stephen Curry Burns Badgers  in 73-56 Sweet Sixteen Loss

The Michael Flowers/Stephen Curry Defense v Offense showdown ended up a one sided whuppin’ as Davidson’s 3 point ace lit up Ford Field for 33 points on 11 for 22 shooting in the Wildcats win over the Badgers.  Using double and triple screens, Curry hit a barrage of three’s in the 2nd half to end Wisconsin’s’ season at 31-5, denying the Badgers a shot at #1 Kansas on Sunday and the Elite Eight.  The Jayhawks ended Davidson’s 25 game winning streak with a 59-57 win in Detroit, putting Cinderella to sleep but not after she wrecked Big Dance parties for higher seeds Gonzaga, Georgetown and Wisconsin. After playing to a halftime tie of 36, Wisconsin went ice cold scoring only 20 2nd half points.  The game was closer for most of the way than the lopsided final score indicated.  Marcus Landry hit a 2 point jumpshot to make it 48-45 Davidson with just under 14 minutes to go in the 2nd half, when in order:

 -Curry hit back to back three’s

 -Jason Richard’s hit a three

-Davidson collected three straight Offensive Rebounds

-Wisconsin failed to score or rebound the miss on the next possession

-Curry hit another three to make it 60-45 with 10:20 to go

That exchange over 4 minutes sunk Wisconsin’s season.  From there it was panicked, fruitless 3 point chucks for Wisconsin while Davidson scored at a steady clip.  The Badger’s abandoned any attempt to throw the ball inside to score, went broke from the perimeter and in short order it was Tanner Bronson time, but “throw in the towel”  Tanner Bronson time instead of the “game on ice” variety.  Once again, as has been a disturbing trend in Big Ten sports as of late, a national audience sees the Midwests’ best conference hose a game in less than stellar fashion (Ohio State football/basketball National Championships, USC vs Illinois Rose Bowl, USC vs Michigan Rose Bowl, Memphis shredding Michigan State 92-74 immediately after the Badger bow out, etc….)

Badgers Lose Trevon Hughes to Injury Early: Jason Richard’s Shows Cousy Award Skills

Two very different point guard performances in this game, as Jason Richards dished out 13 assists with an impressive zero turnovers. Richards showed why he is a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s best point guard annually. Wisconsin suffered a huge loss early in the 1st half as Trevon Hughes tweaked an ankle and left the game for good, leaving Michael Flowers as the impromptu 1 Guard and putting Jason Bohannan in the lineup for the duration of the game. Flowers does not have the dribble drive ability of Hughes, and with Davidson’s tough man to man perimeter Defense it was difficult for Wisconsin to get open looks or clean passing lanes into the post.  Had Hughes not been injured, he could have provided better D on Richard’s instead of the gritty but not as laterly quick Bohannan. Slowing Richard’s down would have taken Curry’s scoring down a notch, and with Hughes’ ability to draw fouls on offense plus his D it would have been a much closer game.  Marcus Landry also injured his leg early on, but was able to play through the discomfort.  The injury definitely affected Landry along with tough interior D from Andrew Lovedale, as he finished with only 7 points in 31 minutes of play.   Davidson simply had the hot hand from the perimeter in the 2nd half vs dead fish chucking Wisconsin playing with one starter out and another clearly injured. 

Davidson has shown that it easily deserved better than the 10 seed it drew via the Tournament Selection Committee: in retrospect the Wildcats’ should have been a 5 seed no problem (instead of Michigan State).  It is rather inexplicable that early season close games with UCLA, Duke and current National Champion favorite North Carolina plus the NCAA best 20 game winning streak to finish the season didn’t count for more.

Successfull Season All Around Despite NCAA “Upset”

Despite the Davidson loss and getting another ill timed injury in the NCAA Tournament (Hughes this season, Brian Butch the previous) the Wisconsin Badger basketball program still finished with an impressive .838 winning percentage, a Big Ten Tournament Championship and the Big Ten regular season title, and two NCAA Tournament wins.  Head Coach Bo Ryan has elevated the Badger’s way up from the Steve Yoder mediocrity of the 1980’s and consistently puts Wisconsin in the top tier of the Big Ten.  A deep NCAA tournament run would go a long way in gaining national press respect and could potentially aid in landing more top notch recruits, but even with the Tourney shortcomings of the past two seasons, Wisconsin is able to bring in players that will keep the program competitive, and as a fan that’s all you can ask.  Between the Bagders and the Marquette Golden Eagles, the state of Wisconsin has two perennial Top 25 teams that will keep Cheesehead basketball on the national radar for years.  Here’s to a great season and many more for the Grateful Red and Wisconsin Badger basketball.

 Notes

Wisconsin will graduate:

-Michael Flowers

-Brian Butch

-Tanner Bronson

-Greg Steimsma

which comprises two starters and a very key post reserve.  Wisconsin will not be as good next year, though they should stay in the Top 5 in the Big Ten and produce a Tournament Bid……the loss of Flowers will be hardest to fill in the short term, but it will be interesting to see what Morris Cain can bring for his Senior year……Cain has been buried behind Flowers for most of his time in Madison: still, he showed some flashes early this season in non-conference games…….at 1st glance it would appear that Marcus Landry, Trevon Hughes and Jason Bohannan will be doing most of the scoring for Wisconsin next season, with Joe Krabbenhoft and Jon Lauer chipping in also…..should still be fairly balanced scoring, but more perimeter oriented than this season……………the next blog will profile recruits for 2008 and beyond

31st Win Takes Wisconsin Badgers to Sweet 16

Kansas St Bounced 72-55: Next Up is Cinderella Davidson

The 31-4 Wisconsin Badgers got a huge 25 point game from Point Guard Trevon Hughes and an unexpected scoring lift from Senior reserve Center Greg Stiemsma (14 points, 7 rebounds in 14 minutes of play) to overcome All American Michael Beasley and Kansas St in Omaha on Saturday afternoon.  Given his team’s lack of corresponding Offensive firepower, Beasley will probably take the paycheck and declare for the NBA draft this spring.  Beasley is an almost guaranteed Top 3 draft pick barring injury or incident, and has the best chance of being the #1 selection given the rest of the 2008 draft class.  Wisconsin did not so much stop all around baller Beasley (23 points & 13 rebounds) and highly touted but dual ACL torn F Bill Walker (18 pts & 6 rbs) and they did shut down everyone else.  The rest of K State was 6 for 23 from the field for a shaky 26%, and the entire team was 0-13 from 3 point range.  

 Trevon Hughes finally beat a bad ankle, sore right wrist and a shooting slump all in one game.  Although still looking a bit gimpy after pushing his tweaked right ankle hard, Hughes had the breakout game of his collegiate career with a personal season high tying 25 points.  Most of those buckets came from beyond the arc, where Trevon was 4-9.  Putting together timely outside shooting with an ability to get to the rack and finish or draw fouls, Hughes was the best perimeter player in the game by far.  His demonstrated combination of elite ball handling ability (many crossovers on the way to the basket Saturday for Trevon), clutch shooting, and tough D are what made Hughes such a highly sought after recruit.  It remains to be seen if Trevon can run these types of high production games back to back, but if he does vs a high scoring guard oriented team like Davidson and then against a premier team in Kansas with the world watching, Trevon Hughes and Wisconsin basketball will gain much deserved national accolades and aspiring  point guards across America may start considering Bo Ryan’s winning percentage and Hughes’ success when choosing colleges. 

Davidson Wildcats: Another 2 Man Crew to Test Wisconsin’s #1 Overall Defense

Backcourt Supreme Jason Richards and Stephen Curry each busted 30 points at Georgetown, pulling off a huge 74-70 upset on Sunday vs a much larger and deeper Hoya team that did not take care of the ball in their usual careful fashion. After dispatching of Beasley and Walker in the Kansas St game, the Badgers were most likely preparing for a Georgetown team that featured good inside-out scoring with Center Roy Hibbert, Point Guard Jonathan Wallace, and 3 versatile forwards in DeJuan Summers, Jessie Sapp and Patrick Ewing Jr.  After the Hoyas gave up 2o turnovers and shot 47% from the free throw line, not even shooting 63% from the field and 56% from deep could save talented but now over Georgetown from getting bounced by a 1o Seed.   So, who is Davidson, why are they here and is Wisconsin their next upset or does that #10 seed get its comeuppance?

Davidson Real Quick

* Davidson is in North Carolina, about 30 minutes north of Charlotte

+ the Wildcats hold the nation’s longest current winning streak at 24

+ a 28-6 record includes losses to:

* North Carolina by 4 (home)

* Duke by 6 (home)

* UCLA by 8 (road)

+ Stephen Curry is the son of former NBA sharpshooter Dell Curry

-no player over 6′8″

-has two scorers in Richardson and Curry:  not much else

-if cold from the perimeter, it’s over: one shot and out vs Wisconsin rebounding

Davidson runs it’s players through the paint on offense onto the wings, where picks and the ball await them outside the 3 point line.  Alot of catch and shoot offense.  If it’s going in, Davidson can hang with almost anyone, especially when ubershooter Curry is feeling it.  If Curry and/or Richardson are off, they will not be able to outrebound Wisconsin due to size and the Badger’s consistent emphasis on boxing out.  Defensively, they are a man to man team that will crowd the ball and try to get steals or at least harass passes.  This is better than playing off and being taken on the drive or shot over consistently, because that is what would happen if they didn’t step up in the opposition’s face. 

Bottom Line

Davidson falls to Wisconsin, 75-63.  Michael Flowers will shut down Stephen Curry, and Brian Butch/Marcus Landry will get points in the paint vs smaller Davidson post players.  The ball ends for Cinderella in what will have to suffice as home court for Wisconsin (Ford Field in Detroit) this Friday, 3/28 at 6:10 EST on CBS.

Notes

-Michael Beasley has nothing to come back to at Kansas State, except balling with Bill Walker, who would probably prefer the rock to himself for one more season at Kansas State (Walker played with OJ Mayo in high school and could use some time as The Man to inflate his draft stock)……Beasley has a complete game: good post moves, a fast accurate shot from inside and out, good footwork, nice touch from the free throw and NCAA 3 point line, great 1st step to draw fouls and double teams…….

-Bill Walker was 7-11 from the floor and picked up his game noticeably after a Technical Foul in the 2nd half ……..Walker and Brian Butch got tangled up with a ball, Walker got a shot in on Butch & Butch shoved Walker to the floor, getting an immediate T and personal foul……foolish on both parts, though Walker was more clever in hiding his shot……..retaliation always gets caught, rarely initiation…….Walker has strong scoring ability going to the basket and a nice outside touch, though it is streaky…….even with ACL tears in both knees, he can play in the NBA but probably needs another injury free college season to get into the Top 25

-Greg Stiemsma is certain to grab scouts attention after watching his 14 point 7 rebound performance vs Kansas St………Greg will finish his career at Wisconsin with minimal minutes but with his shot blocking ability, bulk, free throw touch, perimeter passing and increasingly better scoring performances he will get some post draft work and perhaps NBA D League work next year………if not, Europe will be calling…….if Paul Mokeski can have an NBA career, Greg has a shot

-Michael Flowers turned the ball over an uncharacteristic 5 times vs Kansas St…….1/2 of the Badgers’ total turnovers………mostly by rushed passes……sometimes those passes end up being made plays, but Bo Ryan values possessions too much to let that slide into the next game

#5 Wisconsin Badgers Sweep Big Ten Title and Tournament

Earn #3 Seeding in Midwest Bracket with 61-48 Win over Illinois

29-4 Wisconsin hammered the not much fighting left in ‘em Illini for the 3rd time this season and claimed the Big Ten Tournament on top of an outright Big Ten regular season championship.  For a team that was picked preseason to be unranked and in the middle of the Big Ten race, Wisconsin has far surpassed expectations and has molded itself into a low turnover/high free throw/tough D winning machine.  While it’s clear that recent wins over Northwestern, Michigan and Illinois showed that the Big Ten has it’s soft programs, the Michigan State 65-63 classic on Saturday also demonstrated that this current Badger team has what it takes to grind out wins on the road:  clutch play at the end of games and an ability to take the oppositions’ best perimeter scorer away with Michael Flowers’ D.

Badgers Get Hosed Out of Rightful #2 Seed: Texas, your in our Seat

The 67-66 #5 Wisconsin win over #8 ranked/#2 seeded Texas on December 29th at Austin, without then leading scorer Trevon Hughes, plus the Big Ten Title and Tournament win should have given the Badgers the final #2 seed with (in order) Tennessee, Georgetown and Duke.  IMO Duke should have gotten Texas’ spot in the South Region, Georgetown should have the #2 spot in the West, and Wisco should be preparing for UMBC in the Midwest.  Texas would then be the #3 seed in the Midwest, and a rematch of that buzzerbeater 12/29 game could have potentially taken place.  As is, Wisconsin will have a fairly tough road to any late Tournament action given the Midwest Bracket.

Midwest Bracket: Badger Centric Preview

The 1st game vs 23-8 Big West Conference champs Cal State Fullerton should be a tough match early, but given the 3 Guard/2 Forward scheme of CSF a lack of post size will eventually catch up to the Titans vs Brian Butch/Marcus Landry/Greg Stiemsma.  CSF does not have a player over 6′6″, is near the bottom of the Big West Conference in defense, and has not played a top tier team this season.  The Titans do score 86 ppg, but given the Badgers’ #1 overall D nationally at 54 ppg, CSF is essentially done before they hit the floor.  Once CSF goes a bit cold from the arc, they will not be able to rebound, and if Wisconsin can consistently feed their frontcourt players the ball deep in the post, this match should be a clinic in Brian Butch 5 ft bank shots.

Given a win vs CSF, the next opponent would be either #6 seed Southern Cal or #11 Kansas State.  Kansas State has the nation’s best player and probable #1 Draft Pick in Freshman F Michael Beasley, and he is exactly the type of player who can give the Badger’s fits: a quick post player who can score (like DJ White from Indiana).  Beasley could draw quick fouls on Brian Butch early, limiting the Badger’s offense and rebounding.  K State’s weakness is depth, as beyond talented but twice ACL torn F Bill Walker and key reserve G Jacob Pullen. there is not much scoring from the rest of the Wildcats.  If I had to pick Kansas St or USC as the Badger’s next opponent, I would gamble on being able to reasonably contain Beasley and Walker instead of facing a more balanced USC team.

USC has it’s own super frosh in G OJ Mayo, and beat #1 seed UCLA on the road in January 72-63.  The talent is there, and Tim Floyd is a savvy coach who can custom gameplan for an opponent with the best college coaches.  However, USC also suffers from depth problems, and if Wisconsin can draw post fouls on the Trojans, Mayo alone may not be enough to overcome the Badgers stingy D.  Mayo’s O vs Flowers’ D would be a great showcase for both players, and could potentially vault Flower’s NBA draft stock into the early to mid 2nd round range with a good showing.  USC is tough, but given the Badger’s ability to draw fouls, USC may find itself getting outshot on free throw attempts by double digit margins.

This is the NCAA Tournament and crazy stuff happens, but IMO #2 seed Georgetown will win it’s 1st two games guaranteed.  #7 seed Gonzaga is too inconsistent a team this season to be a threat, the Hoyas are too tough inside/out, and have played a much rougher schedule to be upset early.  This leaves a Wisconsin/Georgetown faceoff in Detroit.  Both teams have nice balance, tough D and great coaches.  Georgetown is an elite team and would be a favorite over Wisconsin, though the way both these teams play it would be close game with a final score in the mid 50’s, with lots of physical play inside and hard to come by points.  Late free throws could swing this game either way, as would fouls on Roy Hibbert, Brian Butch or Michael Flowers.

#1 seed Kansas (31-3)  is a powerhouse that mastered the Big 12 this season.  Leading their conference in both Offense and Defense, this is a Top 5 team that beats themselves through turnovers rather than being outplayed.  If the Wisco D can get 17-20 turnovers out of Kansas and only give up the ball 5-8 times themselves, they would have a shot.  Someone would also have to catch fire on the perimeter offensively for Wisconsin, as the interior man to man D for the Jayhawks is vicious.  Kansas is a balanced, deep team that consistently puts other teams away early and would be a huge upset for Wisconsin.  It should be noted that Kansas did lose to Texas on the road 72-69 in February, so given Wisconsin’s win at Texas there would be some hope for Bucky.  Detroit is not exactly a home game, but the crowd would most likely be in the Badger’s favor, and all three Kansas losses have been on the road.  The Badger’s best bet vs Kansas would be to not play them at all, and have #5 seed Clemson knock them off before the Detroit games. 

I’ll save San Antonio speculation for a later column, but it’s clear that Wisconsin has a trying route to the Final Four and it will take health, outside shooting and an A game every night to make a deep run through the Midwest bracket and have a shot at The Unthinkable.  The scoring balance, Defense, turnover ratio, coaching, free throw margin, and post season momentum are all there, but with Georgetown, Kansas, and North Carolina standing in between Wisconsin and the Championship Game, it will take the best effort Wisconsin basketball has ever seen to reach the pinnacle of college hoops.