Live evaluation period primer: Wisconsin Badgers' 2023 recruiting board

The Wisconsin coaching staff will be traveling across the country this week with the July evaluation period opening on Wednesday.

BadgerBlitz.com takes a look at UW's commits and top targets in the 2023 class, as well as potential offers, inside.

CALENDAR BREAKDOWN

July 6-9, 2022: Evaluation Period

July 25-30, 2022: Evaluation Period

July 31-Aug. 5, 2022: Quiet Period

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin coaching staff have locked up two commitments in a class that has room for at least one more scholarship player. With big man Gus Yalden and guard John Blackwell on board, the recent focus has been on the wing, where the Badgers have already hosted Gehrig Normand and Jamie Kaiser for official visits. UW is expected to be front and center for both this month.

Committed to: Wisconsin

AAU Team: City Rocks (EYBL)

The Word: Gus Yalden, a four-star talent from The Asheville School in North Carolina, committed to the Badgers in mid-May. He was the first prospect Wisconsin offered in the 2023 class.

“Being from Appleton, Wisconsin basketball just means more,” Yalden said. “I grew up a fan. I’ve been to Camp Randall and the Kohl Center a million times. It’s a place that my family calls home, and there’s no place like home. I’m really excited to go back and to be a Badger.”

"The Wisconsin staff set their sights on Yalden early in the recruiting process, and with good reason. The four-star forward’s style of play transitions very well into the Big Ten, and he brings versatility to the floor every time he steps foot on one. Yalden knows what he is. He’s not an elite athlete, and doesn’t have the quickest of feet, but he plays to his strengths as well as any forward in the country.

"He understands angles and has an array of post moves and counter moves that he uses depending on the defender. Yalden also brings playmaking to the table as a forward, being very comfortable passing out of the post, on the perimeter, and from the top of the key. His vision, combined with his ability to stretch the floor, gives him a unique skill set compared to the other forwards in 2023. The four-star makes winning plays, has contagious energy, and should be a fan favorite in Madison."

-Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Travis Graf

Committed to: Wisconsin

AAU Team: The Family (EYBL)

The Word: John Blackwell was the first commitment for Wisconsin in the 2023 recruiting class. Assistant Sharif Chambliss served as the lead contact for the 6-foot-4, 185-pound shooting guard from Brother Rice High School in Michigan.

"Coach Chambliss played a big part in my recruitment," Blackwell told BadgerBlitz.com. "He was there for me and I felt like if I needed anything, he was a phone call away. Coach Chambliss came up here twice to see me and went out of his way during his season to get up here, which meant a lot.

"Coach Gard was constantly checking up on me to see how school was going and asking about my family. He came to my first this past weekend during the live period - he was front and center at our EYBL game. So Wisconsin was there showing love from the jump for me. They gave me my first opportunity to play at that level and I didn't forget that. They were constantly contacting me and seeing how I was doing. It was more than just about basketball because they got to know me and my family."

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. He could be the only backcourt player UW takes in the rising senior cycle.

"Wisconsin’s staff has done a phenomenal job recruiting Johnathan," Blackwell's head coach, Rick Palmer, told BadgerBlitz.com. "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."