8/15/2019 basketball Edit

PF/C Chris Hodges is No. 1 for Wisconsin Badgers in 2021 class

Jon McNamara • BadgerBlitz

Editor

Jon McNamara is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has covered UW athletics since 2002 and has worked at Rivals.com since 2006.

Head coach Greg Gard received his first commitment in the 2021 class Thursday night from Chris Hodges.

A 6-foot-8, 215-pound junior from Schaumburg High School in Illinois, Hodges earned his offer at the Badgers' camp in June. The three-star prospect committed to UW over scholarships from DePaul, Rutgers, Loyola (IL) and Miami (OH), with strong interest coming from Illinois and Purdue, among others.

"I think my performance was strong," Hodges told BadgerBlitz.com in June. "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 plays for the Illinois Wolves AAU program during the off-season.

"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."

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.”

Wisconsin could have as many as four more spots still available in the 2021 class. Currently, known offers are also out to Matthew Mors (Yankton, SD), Jackson Grant (Olympia, WA), Chucky Hepburn (Bellevue, NE), Max Christie (Rolling Meadows, IL), Julian Roper (Detroit, MI), Bryce Hopkins (Oak Park, IL), Logan Duncomb (Cincinnati, OH) and Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Sussex, WI).