Coach: 'Wisconsin trusted their eyes' in eval, pursuit of John Blackwell
Rick Palmer didn't mince words when asked about John Blackwell, his standout guard who announced his commitment to Wisconsin on Friday afternoon.
"Give Wisconsin credit," Palmer told BadgerBlitz.com. "They got this right and many other schools got this wrong."
A 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard from Brother Rice High School in Michigan, Blackwell chose UW over scholarships from Central Michigan, Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois, Oakland, Rhode Island, Toledo, Virginia Commonwealth and Loyola-Chicago, among others. Wisconsin was the first high-major school to offer during an official visit in September.
"Wisconsin’s staff has done a phenomenal job recruiting Johnathan," Palmer said. "They made him and his family feel very comfortable from the beginning. With the changing landscape of high school recruiting - the transfer portal and extra COVID year - I was not at all surprised that Johnathan didn’t wait around.
"The Blackwells were never in a race to see how many offers they could get. They were only concerned about getting the right one."
Blackwell, who averaged 13 points, five rebounds and four assists per game as junior, became the Badgers' first commit in the 2023 class. Palmer noted Wisconsin's early evaluation, as well as the effort put in by lead recruiter Sharif Chambliss.
"So often schools wait for other schools to come recruit to validate their offer," Palmer said. "Wisconsin trusted their eyes and came after him hard.
"Sharif was the lead recruiter and he has very good connections to the AAU program, The Family, which is the team John has played for his whole life. There was a comfort level right away."
According to Palmer, Blackwell, an Associated Press Division 1 All-State pick this winter, should be able to help at both guard spots when he arrives on campus. Connecting at a 53 percent clip from beyond the arc as a junior, he should also add some needed shooting to UW's roster.
"They are getting a highly competitive combo guard," Palmer said. "He’s 6-foot-4, 190 pounds and he and can do it all. He’s athletic enough to finish over the rim, makes the right reads and shot over 50 percent from three-point range for our team the last two years. Off the court, Johnathan is a great teammate, easy to coach and will be a great addition in Madison.
"Johnathan is a gym rat and he lives 100 yards away from the gym. Johnathan has spent many hours in our gym getting to work. He shoots with a ton of confidence and he is almost as good shooting off the dribble as he is on the catch and shoot."
It's difficult to project future rosters in college basketball, but Blackwell could be competing for playing time at shooting guard against veterans Jahcobi Neath, Jordan Davis and Isaac Lindsey, as well as 2022 signee Connor Essegian during the 2023-24 season.
"If Johnathan continues to improve over the next 15 months like he has over the last two years, there is no doubt in my mind that he has the tools to contribute at a high level," Palmer said.
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