2021 PF/C Chris Hodges pulls in Wisconsin offer during camp

Chris Hodges' morning session during Wisconsin's advanced camp last Saturday was all Greg Gard needed to see.

During a break in the action for lunch, the Badgers' head coach extended a scholarship to the 6-foot-8, 215-pound rising junior from Schaumburg High School in Illinois.

"I think my performance was strong," Hodges told BadgerBlitz.com. "During drills, I saw the coaching eyeing me a little bit, and I think the camp was just to make sure I could play like they expected me to.

"I think I assured them of that with the way I played and that put more behind the offer."

Hodges, a three-star prospects from the Illinois Wolves AAU program, is feeling good about the Badgers early in the process.

"The coaches liked my motor and they liked how I led my team," Hodges, who averaged roughly 16 points and eight rebounds as a sophomore, said. "Defensively, they liked that I can guard the wing and my effort there. They like where my game is at right now and also my potential to keep getting better.

"I like Wisconsin and its definitely a possibility for me. I like the campus and I like the coaching staff. There's a real family atmosphere at Wisconsin."

Playing up an age level for the Wolves this off-season, Hodges is excited to see what new opportunities arrive during the next live period.

"I have offers from Loyola, Miami and Ohio and DePaul," Hodges said. "I'm also hearing from Purdue and things are going well with them. I'm just excited to keep building relationships with schools and I hope some new ones come up down the road. I think some new opportunities will come during the live period.

"I see myself as someone who can step out a little bit. I've worked on that a lot and I think I'm definitely more than just a post player. I tell myself every day that I can get better in every aspect of my game."

In the 2021 class, UW has known offers out to Matthew Mors (Yankton, SD), Chucky Hepburn (Bellevue, NE), Max Christie (Rolling Meadows, IL), Julian Roper (Detroit, MI) and Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Sussex, WI), in addition to Hodges.

From Illinois Wolves head coach Mike Mullins during the spring:

“It’s about getting Chris to become more versatile and face the basket instead of just having his back to the basket,” Mullins told Rivals.com. “Playing up is not easy. Even though you supposedly play up in high school, it’s different on the (AAU) circuit.

“We’re going to play him and develop him to play the 3, 4 and 5. It would be easy to leave him as a 5 in the post. But it’s more challenging for him, at least initially, to go out and guard 3s and 4s instead of battling in the post like he does in high school. We want him to experience all that this year.”