UW men's basketball: Anderson commits to Badgers
State Journal staff
It took the University of Wisconsin men's basketball team less than a week to fill out its 2010 recruiting class.
Eau Claire North sophomore center Evan Anderson gave the Badgers an oral commitment Saturday night, his AAU coach Ritchie Davis confirmed early Sunday.
The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Anderson joins Madison Memorial sophomore guard Vander Blue in UW's 2010 class. Blue made an oral commitment to join the Badgers last Monday.
"I made the decision now because I wanted to get it done and I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do," Anderson told wishoops.net, which first reported his commitment.
"Wisconsin was my choice over the rest by a lot. I wanted to stay close to home so my parents can come to watch me play. That was definitely a big thing."
Anderson averaged roughly 10 points and six rebounds per game last season, and helped lead Eau Claire North to an 18-5 record and a berth in the WIAA Division 1 state quarterfinals.
He ranks as the No. 5 recruit in the country for the Class of 2010 according to rivals.com, and ranks No. 10 nationally according to scout.com.
Marquette, Boston College, Iowa State, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and UCLA also reportedly showed interest in Anderson.
"With all the coaching changes going on in college basketball, I think Evan was comfortable knowing (Badgers coach) Bo Ryan would be around for his entire collegiate career," Davis told wishoops.net.
"There were rumors of Wisconsin offering other kids from the Midwest in the Class of 2010, but Wisconsin made it clear from the get-go Evan was their No. 1 guy."