I admire the Wisconsin basketball program, I really do.
Each year, few outside of Madison give the Badgers the respect they deserve, and every season they prove just how good they actually are.
Head coach Bo Ryan has built an exceptional basketball program, and he has built it on a foundation of defensive principles and sheer toughness. The Badgers outwork teams and come March, you can expect to see UW near the top of the Big Ten and in the field of 64.5.
I expect the Badgers to compete for the Big Ten title year after year, and Ryan’s astounding conference winning percentage speaks volumes. But to be honest, I don’t expect much from UW come tournament time — not with the players currently on the roster.
But Wisconsin doesn’t need to scrap its identity to see increased tournament success. And by no means does Ryan need to change his coaching philosophy. He does, however, need to find a player who can take the Wisconsin program to the next level.
He almost had one.
If Badger fans want to see this team reach new heights, UW will need more than just the gritty, hardnosed players. To make a run in the tournament or dare I say a Final Four, they need a player like Vander Blue.
Blue — the five-star point guard from Madison Memorial High School who has been just about the most talked about athlete in the state of Wisconsin — committed to UW early in the recruiting process, and for a short while it looked like UW had found a prospect with the potential to be that go-to scorer.
But, as we all know, Blue changed his mind, de-committed from UW and gave his most recent pledge to Marquette.
Now as Golden Eagle fans celebrate the arrival of a premier recruit, many Badger fans have tried to find excuses for Blue’s decision to play for Marquette and head coach Buzz Williams.
“He won’t fit in our offense,” “He’s not a team player” and “He isn’t the type of player UW is looking for” are all common Wisconsin fan criticisms of the newest Golden Eagle, but that is all meaningless. The truth is only one man’s opinion matters, and that man is Ryan.
Ryan knows what he wants, and he understands what type of player will work for his program. It was Ryan and his staff that recruited Blue from the beginning and it was UW who enlisted the services of the great Devin Harris to aid the recruiting efforts.
Now Blue’s academics and his ability to meet UW standards have been a touchy topic that is rumored to be a reason as to why Blue is not a Badger. But I don’t know a thing about his grades and I won’t pretend to. All I know is that Ryan wanted Blue and at one point Blue was sold on becoming a Badger.
The legendary coach believed the elite prospect could thrive at UW, even with the tough academics, but the recruiting battle was lost in the end.
As unsatisfying as it may be, I follow UW recruiting and I follow it closely. I accept that UW will not land the nation’s top recruits, and I know that the state of Wisconsin is not exactly the most fertile recruiting ground.
But when a high caliber player comes out of a Wisconsin high school, the state university must take advantage. Elite in-state prospects don’t appear very often, but when they do, UW finally has a chance to land a top prospect.
That’s what makes Blue’s commitment to Marquette hurt so much.
The five-star player from our own backyard was within UW’s grasp and he got away.
Blue said he was drawn to the Big East and the level of competition it provides, but it’s not like he just recently discovered the Big East Conference. Blue has known all along how explosive and competitive the Big East is, but that didn’t stop him from committing to UW and its swing offense in the first place.
Even after exploring options like UCLA and Arizona, where he received the star treatment at some of the nation’s proudest programs, Blue narrowed it down to UW and Marquette. It truly became a recruiting battle for the in-state superstar.
There are just some recruiting opportunities you have got to win — some instances where you need to spend the house, throw everything you’ve got to secure a commitment from your state’s top player.
Williams’ effort paid off, and now UW is scrambling to locate plan B.
Like it or not, in college basketball one player can take a program to the next level. I’m confident UW will remain a solid program without Blue (though the future guard depth now looks pretty scary), but think of what could have been. With a guy like Blue, the Badgers can still play solid defense, they can still maintain sound fundamentals — one player won’t change all that.
What a player of Blue’s caliber can change is the capabilities of a Wisconsin offense that needs someone who can create a shot every now and then. Wisconsin has accomplished so much in the past two years without a player on offense they could rely on — adding that go-to guy to mix would make this team that much better.
We saw how dynamic the Badgers were when Harris ran Ryan’s offense, and it was that combination of team defense and a dynamic scorer that made that squad so dangerous.
Look, I enjoy watching the Badgers compete for Big Ten titles, but after winning multiple conference championships, it’s time to bring in some top talent and take that next step to legitimately compete with the best of the best in college basketball.
It’s all about the NCAA Tournament, and without the talents of Blue, a trip to a Final Four looks an almost insurmountable hill to climb.
Max is a junior majoring in journalism. Think the Badgers will be fine without Vander Blue? Do they need players like him to take the next step as a program? Let him know at [email protected].