According to Mike Lee Basketball, Marquette has offered Onalaska guard Matt Thomas a scholarship. Thomas is a 2013 recruit.
Link: http://www.mikeleebasketball.com/blog/thomas-receives-offers-from-marquette-boston-college/
ESPN Profile: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/126850/matt-thomas
Glad to hear it. Matt Thomas, now let's try for Luke Fischer, Nick Fuller, Deonte Burton and Bronson
Koenig. Hopefully we can get J. P. Tokoto and snatch Sam Dekker from Wisco. We tried to recruit players from the east and south most of them shunned MU at the announcement date. Let's get deep into Illinois and the Detroit area.
Sorry I missed Austin Mecca and Duane Wilson. Yes, we need productive bigs. Canada's
Anthony Bennett. 'nough said.
Tokoto has committed to UNC and Koenig may not be far from becoming a Tar Heel as well.
Quote from: texaswarrior74 on August 06, 2011, 10:15:06 PM
Tokoto has committed to UNC and Koenig may not be far from becoming a Tar Heel as well.
Something tells me there's some sarcasm from Earl. But I will say, Wisconsin hoops is looking better now than it has in a long time. A number of legit 4-star prospects, and quite a few borderline 5-stars like Blue, Tokoto, Jamil, and who knows, maybe Looney.
My guess is that quite a few of these offers are currently conditional. But guys like Burton, Koenig, and Looney, you do everything you can for that commitment. There are some guys that could really be something special. I think it would be really nice if we could place Wilson or Blue in the NBA. Might go a long way in terms of in-state recruiting. Plenty of guys can look at Matthews, Lazar, and JFB and dream of the NBA, but when you start doing it with guys who your recruits have known for years and whose AAU and high school teams they have played for/competed against, I think you can do a lot to start getting the top in-state recruits.
Quote from: brewcity77 on August 06, 2011, 08:21:54 PM
According to Mike Lee Basketball, Marquette has offered Onalaska guard Matt Thomas a scholarship. Thomas is a 2013 recruit.
The Thomas offer was three weeks ago... multiple reports back on 7/16.
Quote from: brewcity77 on August 06, 2011, 10:23:02 PM
Something tells me there's some sarcasm from Earl. But I will say, Wisconsin hoops is looking better now than it has in a long time. A number of legit 4-star prospects, and quite a few borderline 5-stars like Blue, Tokoto, Jamil, and who knows, maybe Looney.
My guess is that quite a few of these offers are currently conditional. But guys like Burton, Koenig, and Looney, you do everything you can for that commitment. There are some guys that could really be something special. I think it would be really nice if we could place Wilson or Blue in the NBA. Might go a long way in terms of in-state recruiting. Plenty of guys can look at Matthews, Lazar, and JFB and dream of the NBA, but when you start doing it with guys who your recruits have known for years and whose AAU and high school teams they have played for/competed against, I think you can do a lot to start getting the top in-state recruits.
I think 'if we could place' Blue in the NBA that would be more than really nice....closer to unbelievable or miraculous.
I know, I know, all he needs to do is develop that shot of his and he is right there. One can dream.......
I might be naive in the recent gold-rush of talent in Wisconsin, but all these offers to Wisconsin kids seems completely out of left field doesn't it? Does anyone think there's more to it than these are the best players out there that we are targeting? Anyone think there was some sort of mandate from the higher powers to improve the perception of the program by going this route?
Quote from: dw3dw3dw3 on August 07, 2011, 11:16:25 AM
I might be naive in the recent gold-rush of talent in Wisconsin, but all these offers to Wisconsin kids seems completely out of left field doesn't it? Does anyone think there's more to it than these are the best players out there that we are targeting? Anyone think there was some sort of mandate from the higher powers to improve the perception of the program by going this route?
No. It has been reported many places that there is a wave of good talent coming out of Wisconsin in the next few years. Buzz is offering kids he thinks can play. Their location is a happy coincidence.
Quote from: tower912 on August 07, 2011, 12:08:13 PM
No. It has been reported many places that there is a wave of good talent coming out of Wisconsin in the next few years. Buzz is offering kids he thinks can play. Their location is a happy coincidence.
Agreed. The state of WI really is up and (mostly) down in terms of depth of high Div I basketball taent. WI is not a consistent producer of high level talent. Get 'em when you can...!
Quote from: dw3dw3dw3 on August 07, 2011, 11:16:25 AM
I might be naive in the recent gold-rush of talent in Wisconsin, but all these offers to Wisconsin kids seems completely out of left field doesn't it? Does anyone think there's more to it than these are the best players out there that we are targeting? Anyone think there was some sort of mandate from the higher powers to improve the perception of the program by going this route?
It concerns me also. Buzz's early strength was recruiting junior colleges. while I do not necessarily want a team of junior college transfers, I still hope we are looking for the key player there. I have no idea how good these Wisconsin players are. My concern would be that Buzz is losing in other recruitings areas and is now being forecede to recruit closer to hime. MU has to recruit nationally.
Quote from: bilsu on August 07, 2011, 07:02:58 PMIt concerns me also. Buzz's early strength was recruiting junior colleges. while I do not necessarily want a team of junior college transfers, I still hope we are looking for the key player there. I have no idea how good these Wisconsin players are. My concern would be that Buzz is losing in other recruitings areas and is now being forecede to recruit closer to hime. MU has to recruit nationally.
I'm not worried about that. Just look at the makeup of our team. We have guys from California, Georgia, Alaska, Canada, Wisconsin, Virginia, West Virginia, Texas...Buzz is proving he can recruit anywhere. And look at the in-state guys we're looking at. JP Tokoto, Bronson Koenig, Deonte Burton, and Kevon Looney are clearly high-majors. Guys like Luke Fischer, Nick Fuller, Toby Hegner, Philip Nolan, Duane Wilson, and Matt Thomas are getting high major looks not just from in-state but out of state as well.
I think we're finally getting to the point where we can recruit anywhere. Are we UNC or Duke? No. But we are getting top-100 commits from across the country. After signing guys like Anderson, Mayo, Ferguson, and the Taylors, I don't think Buzz is daunted by the idea of having to travel to reel someone in. If he's looking at local guys, I fully believe it's because they're worth looking at. In addition, it's possible that he believes one way to lessen the likelihood of someone transferring is to keep them closer to home. Considering his comments on 40%, and the transfers we've had out, I'm guessing he wants to have some 4-year guys as protection from transfers.
Quote from: bilsu on August 07, 2011, 07:02:58 PM
It concerns me also. Buzz's early strength was recruiting junior colleges. while I do not necessarily want a team of junior college transfers, I still hope we are looking for the key player there. I have no idea how good these Wisconsin players are. My concern would be that Buzz is losing in other recruitings areas and is now being forecede to recruit closer to hime. MU has to recruit nationally.
I'm sorry but this is way off base. We are pulling top 100 kids from across the country. And remember, offering Wisconsin kids early isn't new for Buzz. He offered Kyle Kelm before his junior year. (He is now at UWM.) If things don't pan out, the kid won't end up here.