No. 10 in the books?
Friday, we posted in the Badgers’ Den that commitment No. 10 was in for Wisconsin. Many were able to correctly connect the dots and the prospect was indeed three-star cornerback Madison Cone, who was on an unofficial visit with his mother and godfather.
As of Friday night, we were waiting for Cone to make his pledge to UW public, but that never happened. When we reached him that evening through text message to inquire about the commitment, Cone responded: “The visit was great but so have (visits to) other schools. So when I get home I'll sit down with my family. I should be announcing soon, though. I was waiting until after I took this visit.”
So where exactly does Cone stand at this point? The coaching staff considers him a commitment and an official announcement should come sooner rather than later. There are certainly no guarantees in recruiting, but Wisconsin feels they have one of the possible two cornerbacks it is looking for in this class.
A bit more intel on Cone… The 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior from East Forsyth High School in North Carolina understands Wisconsin is limited on spots and likely didn’t want to lose his chance to be part of this class. We’re also told Virginia Tech wasn’t in a position to accept his verbal at this time and Duke, another big-time player in his recruitment, cooled a bit as of late.
Those factors, we’re told, made Cone more serious about bumping up his visit to Wisconsin rather than waiting for an official this fall. And during his trip, the business school and academics at UW, according to a source, won Cone and his mother over.
I’m not an expert at reading between the lines, but a recent tweet from Cone could sum up his last few weeks:
Mason set to announce Tuesday
Three-star linebacker Ben Mason, who picked up a scholarship from the Badgers during a visit this spring, is scheduled to make his decision Tuesday. While Wisconsin is high atop his list of potential schools, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior is going to pick Michigan, according to multiple sources.
Linebacker clearly isn’t a huge position of need in this class, though it appears the staff is looking to add someone on the inside to pair with Izayah Green-May on the outside. Atop that list in Florida linebacker James Houston, who still has the Badgers in his top group despite seeing his offer sheet explode this offseason.
Wisconsin, which was the first school to offer, hosted the three-star prospect this spring and is still slugging it out for his commitment. Simply put, the staff has done an excellent job to stay in Houston’s top group. There’s also a strong desire for Houston to play with his cousin, three-star defensive tackle George Ellis, in college. Ellis technically picked up a scholarship from assistant coach Inoke Breckterfield at the same time as Houston last year. But with spots limited in this class, a source indicated that UW may not be in a position, at least heading into the summer, to take a defensive tackle in 2017. It will be interesting to see if that changes any time this fall.
Basketball recruiting
Since he picked up an offer this winter, Nathan Reuvers has quickly elevated himself to the No. 1 priority for Wisconsin in the 2017 class. Competition for the 6-foot-10 forward from Minnesota, though, has built up considerably since the live evaluation period in April with new scholarships from North Carolina State, Marquette, Princeton, Harvard and Northwestern, among others, in the last few days.
While he has yet to narrow his focus, we’re told the Badgers are still in the driver’s seat. Reuvers’ camp is aware of the ideal “fit” Wisconsin presents, both on the court and academically and Gard is making sure they know how important he is to their recruiting efforts. Notre Dame is still the school to watch here, but the Irish may not be an automatic pick should they offer, which was the case at the start of the year. Head coach Mike Brey recently watched Reuvers at a tournament in Atlanta.
If Wisconsin can pair Reuvers with Kobe King and another guard, someone like Parker Stewart, in the 2017 class, Gard, we’re told, would likely bank the final scholarship and use it on a very talented 2018 class. Joey Hauser, Tyler Herro and Isaiah Kelly currently have offers from that group, but there are a number of prospects the staff is intrigued by, a list that includes Nate Laszewski, who has strong ties to the school.
Should the staff have to extend more offers to the current juniors, a few prospects to watch include Sasha Stefanovic, Sebastian Much, Andrew Platek, Sterling Manley, Delonte Brown, Anthony Longpre, Goanar Mar, Nojel Eastern and Brad Davison, among others. Still a long ways to go, though.
Odds and ends
*Speaking of Hauser, the 6-foot-8 forward from Stevens Point is having a huge start to the AAU season with the Iowa Barnstormers. Look for Gard to get him on campus this month.
*Nigel Hayes was recently invited to the NBA draft combine in Chicago from May 11-15. We’re hearing the junior is still 50/50 in regards to his future.
*Ohio State running back commit Todd Sibley recently had his offer bumped down to a greyshirt by the Buckeyes coaching staff. Sibley is a prospect the staff recruited previously, but the focus right now, we’re told, is on Georgia standout Deon Jackson.
Friday, we posted in the Badgers’ Den that commitment No. 10 was in for Wisconsin. Many were able to correctly connect the dots and the prospect was indeed three-star cornerback Madison Cone, who was on an unofficial visit with his mother and godfather.
As of Friday night, we were waiting for Cone to make his pledge to UW public, but that never happened. When we reached him that evening through text message to inquire about the commitment, Cone responded: “The visit was great but so have (visits to) other schools. So when I get home I'll sit down with my family. I should be announcing soon, though. I was waiting until after I took this visit.”
So where exactly does Cone stand at this point? The coaching staff considers him a commitment and an official announcement should come sooner rather than later. There are certainly no guarantees in recruiting, but Wisconsin feels they have one of the possible two cornerbacks it is looking for in this class.
A bit more intel on Cone… The 5-foot-10, 165-pound junior from East Forsyth High School in North Carolina understands Wisconsin is limited on spots and likely didn’t want to lose his chance to be part of this class. We’re also told Virginia Tech wasn’t in a position to accept his verbal at this time and Duke, another big-time player in his recruitment, cooled a bit as of late.
Those factors, we’re told, made Cone more serious about bumping up his visit to Wisconsin rather than waiting for an official this fall. And during his trip, the business school and academics at UW, according to a source, won Cone and his mother over.
I’m not an expert at reading between the lines, but a recent tweet from Cone could sum up his last few weeks:
Mason set to announce Tuesday
Three-star linebacker Ben Mason, who picked up a scholarship from the Badgers during a visit this spring, is scheduled to make his decision Tuesday. While Wisconsin is high atop his list of potential schools, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound junior is going to pick Michigan, according to multiple sources.
Linebacker clearly isn’t a huge position of need in this class, though it appears the staff is looking to add someone on the inside to pair with Izayah Green-May on the outside. Atop that list in Florida linebacker James Houston, who still has the Badgers in his top group despite seeing his offer sheet explode this offseason.
Wisconsin, which was the first school to offer, hosted the three-star prospect this spring and is still slugging it out for his commitment. Simply put, the staff has done an excellent job to stay in Houston’s top group. There’s also a strong desire for Houston to play with his cousin, three-star defensive tackle George Ellis, in college. Ellis technically picked up a scholarship from assistant coach Inoke Breckterfield at the same time as Houston last year. But with spots limited in this class, a source indicated that UW may not be in a position, at least heading into the summer, to take a defensive tackle in 2017. It will be interesting to see if that changes any time this fall.
Basketball recruiting
Since he picked up an offer this winter, Nathan Reuvers has quickly elevated himself to the No. 1 priority for Wisconsin in the 2017 class. Competition for the 6-foot-10 forward from Minnesota, though, has built up considerably since the live evaluation period in April with new scholarships from North Carolina State, Marquette, Princeton, Harvard and Northwestern, among others, in the last few days.
While he has yet to narrow his focus, we’re told the Badgers are still in the driver’s seat. Reuvers’ camp is aware of the ideal “fit” Wisconsin presents, both on the court and academically and Gard is making sure they know how important he is to their recruiting efforts. Notre Dame is still the school to watch here, but the Irish may not be an automatic pick should they offer, which was the case at the start of the year. Head coach Mike Brey recently watched Reuvers at a tournament in Atlanta.
If Wisconsin can pair Reuvers with Kobe King and another guard, someone like Parker Stewart, in the 2017 class, Gard, we’re told, would likely bank the final scholarship and use it on a very talented 2018 class. Joey Hauser, Tyler Herro and Isaiah Kelly currently have offers from that group, but there are a number of prospects the staff is intrigued by, a list that includes Nate Laszewski, who has strong ties to the school.
Should the staff have to extend more offers to the current juniors, a few prospects to watch include Sasha Stefanovic, Sebastian Much, Andrew Platek, Sterling Manley, Delonte Brown, Anthony Longpre, Goanar Mar, Nojel Eastern and Brad Davison, among others. Still a long ways to go, though.
Odds and ends
*Speaking of Hauser, the 6-foot-8 forward from Stevens Point is having a huge start to the AAU season with the Iowa Barnstormers. Look for Gard to get him on campus this month.
*Nigel Hayes was recently invited to the NBA draft combine in Chicago from May 11-15. We’re hearing the junior is still 50/50 in regards to his future.
*Ohio State running back commit Todd Sibley recently had his offer bumped down to a greyshirt by the Buckeyes coaching staff. Sibley is a prospect the staff recruited previously, but the focus right now, we’re told, is on Georgia standout Deon Jackson.
