Matt Heldt

[Dawson Rental]

Right on Jerel, technically right on Wade but misleading. The reason we only had DePaul and Illinois St to beat out for Wade was that he was a Prop 48 non qualifier who was ineligible for a scholarship at any BCS school. Crean convinced Fr Wild and admissions to take Wade in spite of his academic shortcomings and the rest, as they say, is history. Al, TC and Buzz were all aided by a university that made exceptions for players with less than perfect academic backgrounds. Those who celebrate what they perceive to be a departure from that policy should be careful what they wish for.

Wade is the ultimate example.  Jae Crowder is the one that really resonates with me.  What a great representative for the school in every way. I get discouraged when I think that the door will be shut on someone like him in the future.

[mu-rara]

Heldt averaged 18.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots per game as a junior at Neenah and was named co-Player of the Year in the Fox Valley Association. He led the Rockets to a 26-2 record. His offers to date ...

Davidson, Drake, Green Bay, Lehigh, Marquette, Milwaukee, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, Toledo.

He is definitely a HM D1 recruit and will get additional offers soon.

His profile on WisSports.net ...

http://www.wissports.net/roster_players/3637968

Thanks Mark, but I'm going with Brand X.

[GGGG]

Right on Jerel, technically right on Wade but misleading. The reason we only had DePaul and Illinois St to beat out for Wade was that he was a Prop 48 non qualifier who was ineligible for a scholarship at any BCS school. Crean convinced Fr Wild and admissions to take Wade in spite of his academic shortcomings and the rest, as they say, is history. Al, TC and Buzz were all aided by a university that made exceptions for players with less than perfect academic backgrounds. Those who celebrate what they perceive to be a departure from that policy should be careful what they wish for.

Athletes basically are admitted under the "if the qualify by the NCAA, they are admitted to Marquette" philosophy.  The only real departure from that policy has been with JUCO athletes who don't have much chance to graduate in two years, and therefore harm the APR scores.

Outside of that, the philosophy is basically the same it has been for awhile.

[brandx]

Thanks Mark, but I'm going with Brand X.

And exactly what is that you are "going with"? I haven't made a single critical remark about him. As a matter of fact, I said specifically, I'd like to see him sign.

Oh wait, I said Stone is a better player. What a bunch of idiots all of the scouts and I are.

[Lennys Tap]

That's also a bit misleading.  It wasn't known throughout Wade's recruiting process that he would not be eligible immediately.  He was recruited by the schools you mention as well as Bradley I believe.  In the end, his top choice would have been DePaul except when he talked to them about the possibility of not being eligible he didn't like their answer, which was not very supportive.  By contrast, Crean assured Wade that he would be 100% committed to him regardless of his eligibility.  This tipped the scale in favor of Marquette.  Say what you want about Crean for taking another job, but he supported Wade throughout a very difficult period in his life - from being ineligible his freshman year, his mother's struggles with drugs, becoming a father, and ultimately pushing him to make the jump to the NBA.

Misleading in what way? The reason that he wasn't recruited much by the BCS conference schools wasn't lack of ability (he was a late bloomer but did finish #55 in Bob Gibbon's rankings) but lack of sufficient ACT scores. Had he passed his ACTs the big schools would have come after him. IIRC DePaul recruited Dwyane but when Imari Sawyer committed they were out of scholarships. TC assured Wade he would be 100% behind him regardless of qualifying only after Fr Wild and Admissions agreed to make a one time exception for Dwyane - that decision wasn't TC's to make. TC was by all reports a solid mentor for Wade and they remain close but that's beside the topic that was being discussed.

[MuMark]

http://www.ny2lasports.com/article_one.aspx?articleid=2143