BadgerBlitz.com dives into its message board to take questions from subscribers in this week's mailbag.
Badger basketball recruiting... Who is being recruited to be the sharp-shooting scorer? Seems like that piece is missing now and into the future.
A sharp-shooting guard/wing with size is probably how Greg Gard envisioned the 2021 recruiting class would wrap up after he landed early commitments from Chucky Hepburn, Matthew Mors and Chris Hodges. Gard likely felt he had that coming in Julian Roper, who was believed to be a strong Wisconsin lean for much of the fall (2019) and winter during that recruiting cycle. But in a bit of a surprise, the three-star guard committed to Northwestern in May of 2020.
After Roper's commitment, the Badgers tried to fill that need with Louis Lesmond (Harvard), Isaiah Barnes (Michigan), Lucas Taylor (Clemson) and, to an extent, James Graham, who landed at Maryland. In the end, Wisconsin earned a pledge from Markus Ilver, who has nice size and can shoot, but I don't know if he's the exact fit UW was looking for last winter. That said, the Badgers weren't going to turn away a 6-foot-8 athlete with a unique skillset at this point on the recruiting calendar.
What I don't have an answer for is why Wisconsin didn't make a run at Brandin Podziemski, an in-state shooting guard who currently lists offers from Illinois, Kansas, Arizona State and Kentucky, among others. The three-star prospect camped with the Badgers in the summer of 2019 but, to my knowledge, UW never followed up with much interest. Podziemski, a 4.0 student, played with Phenom University on the grassroots circuit. That's not necessarily an AAU program the Badgers have had much success with in the past, but it would be speculating to say that played a definitive role in Podziemski's recruitment, or lack thereof, with UW.
This need will carry over into the 2022 class where the staff has early scholarships out to Jaden Schutt and Camden Heide. Newly-offered Rowan Brumbaugh could also fit that mold and he seems to be a more realistic option in comparison to the other two. I also wouldn't be surprised if Wisconsin tried to address this in the transfer market at the conclusion of the season.
