John Blackwell has been one of the most consistent, efficient and overall talented players on the Badgers roster this season. Currently, Blackwell is first in minutes, first in field goals made, second in points and third in assists on the Badgers roster.
In January, Blackwell finished fourth in the Big Ten in points per game, shooting 41.3% from three. This noticeably efficient percentage was good enough to be 14th among Big Ten players who attempted three or more 3-pointers per game.
Blackwell also has five 20-point games and two 30-point games this season. Not only is he able to consistently score, but he can explode for big outings too.
Blackwell was not considered a highly touted recruit coming out of high school. He got an 88.4 grade, which is generally considered a high three-star prospect. But, he was ranked outside of the top 200 nationally and outside of the top 25 for his position.
These, overall, aren’t bad, but in the long run, Wisconsin was the only “Power Four” school that was interested. A graduate of Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Blackwell played on a loaded roster his senior year. His teammates consisted of Xavier Thomas and Curtis Williams Jr.
Playing around all this talent and being the shortest of the three — an unfair stereotype that consistently hurts a player’s stock year after year — it becomes a little clearer how Blackwell could’ve slipped through the cracks.
At the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy, Sonny Wilson dominated the high school basketball scene in the Detroit area, going on to win Gatorade Michigan Boys Basketball Player of the Year, Associated Press All-State honors and First-Team Detroit Free Press.
But, whenever Wilson faced off against Blackwell, it was one of the only times in his entire high school career he didn’t consistently look like the best player on the floor.
Michigan State and the University of Michigan are ridiculously tough looks to get as a high school basketball player. In the class of 2023, Michigan State brought in the eleventh-best recruit in the country, along with three other four stars who all ranked in the top 125 in the country — two of whom were in the top 50.
Michigan, on the other hand, had a full roster. They only brought in one recruit, who was in the top 150 nationally and was ranked a four-star.
With that in mind, it looked like the perfect opportunity for Wisconsin to swoop in and take an underrated prospect, essentially for free. Up until the Wisconsin offer, Blackwell held offers from Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, Oakland University and Toledo, among a few others.
So, when a school like Wisconsin swoops in, it’s substantially easier for Wisconsin to win the recruiting battle if they really like the prospect and pursue them strongly. It took Wisconsin some effort, but eventually, they convinced Blackwell to commit and enroll, and they haven’t regretted it for even one second.
Blackwell won Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors four times during his freshman year, concluding with a Big Ten All-Freshman Team recognition. This season, he was also named to the Greenbrier Tip-Off All-Tournament Team.
It could be called a swoop of luck or it could be called excellent recruiting from head coach Greg Gard. Likely, it was a little bit of good timing and an excellent find by Gard.
Anyone in the Detroit area watching high school basketball while Blackwell was at Brother Rice knew he was an incredibly talented basketball player. It has been fun to watch this pan out, as Blackwell continues to grow, continues to impress and looks more and more like he is destined for greatness.
