Posts Tagged “Big Ten Basketball”

Dec 29 2009

Wildcats making some noise

Posted by admin in Big 10, Northwestern Wildcats, tags: , , , , ,

Big news from the Big Ten on Monday as one of it’s oft ignored members finally broke back in to the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in almost 40 years

This time we are talking about the Northwestern Wildcats , who have made it a third of the way through their season with a 10-1 record and were named the country’s 25th best team in the latest poll.

The Wildcats have been in fantastic form since an early loss to Butler, who ironically were one of the teams to drop out of the top 25 this week, although the real test of their mettle will come with divisional play which gets going on the road at Illinois on Wednesday night.

Wins over Notre Dame, Iowa State, NC State and Stanford all look good on the resume but that first divisional game against the Illini will probably be a statement one for Bill Carmody’s squad as they look to beat their opponents for the first time in 11 seasons.

“It’s nice recognition for what the guys have done so far,” Carmody told the school’s official website. “I think they feel good about that, just like any other team and players do.

“I hadn’t even thought about it, to tell you the truth. I think it’s good for the guys. You’re going along all this time and it’s someone saying, ‘you guys have done pretty well so far.’”

But there are some huge hurdles to overcome if the Wildcats are to end their run of being the only school from a BCS conference never to make the NCAA tournament not least of which is the fact that there will rarely be a gimme game, according to basketball betting, from now on.

The two most interesting games could come in the middle of January when the Wildcats host Wisconsin and then Purdue, most people’s idea of the Big Ten favourites, and currently ranked No 4.

If Michael Thompson, John Shurna and company get through those two games in a positive way, then dreams of rare stardom might just start to become reality in  Evanston.

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Jun 11 2009

2009 Wisconsin Badgers Basketball Recruiting Class

Posted by admin in 2009 NCAA Recruiting, Wisconsin Badgers, tags: , , , , , ,

Wisconsin Badgers Basketball

Wisconsin Badgers Basketball

There is nothing like being consistent. And when you think of consistency, Coach Bo Ryan and his Wisconsin Badgers should be put on a poster with the word consistent underlined. 

 
Let’s take a look at why shall we? Another 20 win season- consistent. Another trip to the NCAA Tournament, the eighth straight trip for Coach Ryan – consistent. And lo and behold another exit from this years March Madness with a second round loss to Xavier – fairly consistent as this has happened for the fifth time in the last eight years.  

Heading into the off-season has become even more of a challenge as Coach Ryan loses 2 seniors who were big time contributors, Marcus Landry (scoring) and Joe Krabbenhoft (rebounding) . But not to fret, Coach Ryan addressed that issue with his 2009 NCAA men’s basketball recruiting class. Coupled with a solid mix of returning players, it looks as if the fans of the Wisconsin Badgers will be able to look forward to yet another solid year of consistency from its basketball program.

2009 Wisconsin Badgers Recruits.  
#1 Wisconsin Recruit – PF – Mike Bruesewitz

Ht: 6’7”

Wt: 220lbs

ESPN Ranking: n/a 

This is just the type of player that Coach Bo Ryan loves. Bruesewitz is a tough, physical player that does a lot of things well and will only improve as he matures even more. His game is solid on both ends of the floor and he’s not timid at all when going after rebounds. He has shown above average skills as a passer and can deliver the ball consistently with both hands. Although he can hit the 3 given a set, the majority of his offense has been the midrange jumper and his ability to drive into the paint. Defensively Bruesewitz can use his length to guard both small and power forwards effectively and will fit in well with the type of man to man defense that Coach Ryan likes to employ. 

#2 Wisconsin Recruit – SG – Diamond Taylor

Ht: 6’3”

Wt: 170lbs

ESPN ranking: n/a
 

Many scouts will tell you that Diamond Taylor was just as good as any of the shooting guards that came out of the 2009 NCAA recruiting class. The only drawback that was considered was his overall body weight and the thoughts of how he would hold up in the rugged Big 10. Needless to say, Taylor has already started to address the issue by adding more muscle to his frame. As he matures, this no longer will be considered a drawback. Taylor has shown that he can score from anywhere on the floor and is not afraid to create his own shot when needed. He possesses outstanding quickness as a defender and has played in a system that emphasized man to man, exactly what Coach Ryan was looking for. 

Refs: 
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2009-ncaab-wbg&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=54155&season=2009&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d54155%26season%3d2009

http://www.uwbadgers.com/

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