Recruiting as of 5/15/25

[MU82]

No offense to Gabe at all but...If he ends up being one of their commits...well, let's just say this class LIKELY wouldn't be anywhere close to what a lot of us thought it had the potential to be at one time. Given the importance of this class to MU basketball in the future AND Wojo...it NEEDS to be a stellar class...likely needs to be the best he's had since he's been at MU...that's just my opinion.

Curious to know what you thought about the recruitment and signing of Novak -- a skinny, unathletic, suburban, 3-star forward. I'm guessing he wasn't "stellar" enough for you.

[Pakuni]

Traditionally speaking , there are only so many qualified unathletic types out there. The odds for success favor a more athletic and dynamic pogo stick type kid with an edge. The percentages bear this out.

The percentages bear this out?
Love to see some data on this.

[Lennys Tap]

Curious to know what you thought about the recruitment and signing of Novak -- a skinny, unathletic, suburban, 3-star forward. I'm guessing he wasn't "stellar" enough for you.

Steve was the #57 (rsci) recruit in his class. Solid 4*. MU beat out Florida for Novak.

[Nukem2]

Steve was the #57 (rsci) recruit in his class. Solid 4*. MU beat out Florida for Novak.

Yeah, Novak was a big time recruit and the local media treated it that way as well.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Steve was the #57 (rsci) recruit in his class. Solid 4*. MU beat out Florida for Novak.

And he was very skinny and not athletic, which was the point.

[Herman Cain]

The percentages bear this out?
Love to see some data on this.

The best basketball league in the world is the NBA. According to this report UnAthletic are 18 percent.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theundefeated.com/features/white-american-nba-players/amp/

[muguru]

Curious to know what you thought about the recruitment and signing of Novak -- a skinny, unathletic, suburban, 3-star forward. I'm guessing he wasn't "stellar" enough for you.

Loved that signing, watched him play in person...and let's be honest, NO ONE shot it like Novak..and let's also not forget he was 6'10".

Look, I have no problems landing Madsen, but not if it means they lost out on Garcia, Suggs, and Davis. Then again at that point, the class could end up being less than overwhelming anyway.

And...as others noted, he was a highly regarded kid.

[Nukem2]

And he was very skinny and not athletic, which was the point.

Well,no.  Poster called him a 3 star, which is obviously wrong.

[MU_Beav]

Loved that signing, watched him play in person...and let's be honest, NO ONE shot it like Novak..and let's also not forget he was 6'10".

Look, I have no problems landing Madsen, but not if it means they lost out on Garcia, Suggs, and Davis. Then again at that point, the class could end up being less than overwhelming anyway.

And...as others noted, he was a highly regarded kid.

Absolutely the most sublime stroke I've ever seen.

[4everwarriors]

Exit 69 in Troy, Michigan is Big Beaver Rd., hey?

[Lennys Tap]

And he was very skinny and not athletic, which was the point.

If that was the point why was a) suburban (code?) and 3* (inaccurate) used?Steve Novak was a big time recruit, at that point the highest ranked guy Crean had ever signed. Mike was giving a very different impression with his post.

[WhiteTrash]

Curious to know what you thought about the recruitment and signing of Novak -- a skinny, unathletic, suburban, 3-star forward. I'm guessing he wasn't "stellar" enough for you.

Novak who? You can't be talking about Steve Novak.

[Silent Verbal]

Curious to know what you thought about the recruitment and signing of Novak -- a skinny, unathletic, suburban, 3-star forward. I'm guessing he wasn't "stellar" enough for you.

I'm guessing this post might be the product of you not living in Wisconsin during the time Novak was a high schooler.  He was a *big time* get for Marquette, one of the most highly recruited players the state had seen in a while.  IIRC, MU beat out Florida and Illinois for his services.  This was of course when Bill Self was at Illinois and they were one of the hottest programs in the country.  Novak was a game-changing recruit for Crean.

[Herman Cain]

Exit 69 in Troy, Michigan is Big Beaver Rd., hey?

Traveled it many times . Still an all time favorite.

[MU82]

Well,no.  Poster called him a 3 star, which is obviously wrong.

I was not trying to mislead. I did a quick google search, and found this from Rivals, which showed him as a 3-star:

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2002/steve-novak-21260

He certainly was not athletic, and a strong breeze could have blown him over. He had one skill -- and he turned out to be elite at that skill. I certainly enjoyed Novak being on the Warriors for 4 years. One of the great shooters any of us have ever seen. There was no Final Four appearance in 2003 without him.

[brewcity77]

Look, I have no problems landing Madsen, but not if it means they lost out on Garcia, Suggs, and Davis. Then again at that point, the class could end up being less than overwhelming anyway.

It's highly unlikely Madsen will have any impact on those three. Different positions and roles. And maybe Minnesota kids will want to play together so Madsen could be a positive in some of those recruitments. At worst recruiting him is probably a net zero for those guys.

[Pakuni]

The best basketball league in the world is the NBA. According to this report UnAthletic are 18 percent.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/theundefeated.com/features/white-american-nba-players/amp/

Actually, according to this report, 18 percent of NBA players are white. Doesn't say anything about athletic/unathletic.
Oh, wait, I get it. You're saying white players are "unathletic types" and black players are "dynamic pogo sticks."
Congrats on the most racist nonsense spewed here since "traditionals."

Anyhow, I'll wait for the data that says "unathletic types," can't succeed in college ball, since that's what we're talking about here.

[Pakuni]

I'm guessing this post might be the product of you not living in Wisconsin during the time Novak was a high schooler.  He was a *big time* get for Marquette, one of the most highly recruited players the state had seen in a while.  IIRC, MU beat out Florida and Illinois for his services.  This was of course when Bill Self was at Illinois and they were one of the hottest programs in the country.  Novak was a game-changing recruit for Crean.

Novak was a very good get, but let's not get carried away.
Travis Diener (RSCI #40) a year earlier was a bigger and more important recruit. And he along with some guy from a high school in Oak Lawn, Illinois were the game-changing recruits for Crean.

[dgies9156]

I was not trying to mislead. I did a quick google search, and found this from Rivals, which showed him as a 3-star:

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2002/steve-novak-21260

He certainly was not athletic, and a strong breeze could have blown him over. He had one skill -- and he turned out to be elite at that skill. I certainly enjoyed Novak being on the Warriors for 4 years. One of the great shooters any of us have ever seen. There was no Final Four appearance in 2003 without him.

And no Kentucky game either. Had it not been for Steve Novak, we would have lost to Missouri on the first weekend of the tournament.

[Mr. Sand-Knit]

Curious to know what you thought about the recruitment and signing of Novak -- a skinny, unathletic, suburban, 3-star forward. I'm guessing he wasn't "stellar" enough for you.

3 star??!!  The journalist does it again,  Changes facts to fit an agenda.  So sad 82.

[ATL MU Warrior]

Well,no.  Poster called him a 3 star, which is obviously wrong.

Re-read it. You are correct.

[The Sultan]

The idea that Novak was unathletic and had one skill is flat out wrong too. For a college player he had just fine athleticism and a very good overall game. He had one *elite* skill, which is why he made the NBA.

[TedBaxter]

It's highly unlikely Madsen will have any impact on those three. Different positions and roles. And maybe Minnesota kids will want to play together so Madsen could be a positive in some of those recruitments. At worst recruiting him is probably a net zero for those guys.

I still think of the Madsen's as Wisconsin natives.  Gabe holds the all-time scoring mark as an opponent against my old high school, which he set as a freshman at Bloomer High School.

For those that don't know.  The father, Luke Madsen, was at one time the second all-time leading scorer at Menomonie High School  behind some guy named John Ellenson.  John graduated from MHS in 1986 and Luke in 1991.

[Lennys Tap]

Novak was a very good get, but let's not get carried away.
Travis Diener (RSCI #40) a year earlier was a bigger and more important recruit. And he along with some guy from a high school in Oak Lawn, Illinois were the game-changing recruits for Crean.

Of course Wade was (by far) his most IMPORTANT recruit. Everyone knows that, I would never say anything else.

Re highest rated (at the time), I stand corrected. Travis (also a 4*) was indeed 17 slots higher. Bigger and more important? I agree, though it's very close.

[Herman Cain]

Actually, according to this report, 18 percent of NBA players are white. Doesn't say anything about athletic/unathletic.
Oh, wait, I get it. You're saying white players are "unathletic types" and black players are "dynamic pogo sticks."
Congrats on the most racist nonsense spewed here since "traditionals."

Anyhow, I'll wait for the data that says "unathletic types," can't succeed in college ball, since that's what we're talking about here.

Probability of success for any individual kid that is recruited is small. The stats show that the probability for playing in the NBA, where the best players play, is 5:1 in favor of athletic types. So why gamble and hope you can get one of the handful of unathletic types that work out .