Feeling Blue

By now most Badger fans have heard that Vander Blue has reopened his commitment. Not going to lie to you or try to deny how I'm feeling about this: very bummed. Vander is an exciting player, and a hometown player, maybe one of those transcendant Devin Harris- or Alando Tucker-type players.

Maybe hyperbole, but whatever. Last year was difficult to stomach at times, and Vander seems like the kind of kid who could get us over the rough spots we saw during our ugly losses.

Now it might not happen. Let's take a look at a few of the points.

1. The fact that this is happening should not be surprising. Any time a kid commits to a school that young (before his junior year), there's a lot of time for stuff to change. He can grow bigger or get much better. A coach can leave a program. A coach he likes better can land somewhere else. His buddy might go somewhere else.

It appears some of these things may have happened in Blue's case. If we're going to be in on high-ceiling recruits, this is going to happen. Win some, lose some.

Can't blame Vander for checking out his options. You can be a little miffed that he committed so early, but in his defense that's the way college coaches are playing the game nowadays. At the time he wasn't a top-tier recruit, and we're a top-tier local program, but the way he's improved, he might now be on the radar of the national name brand programs. As much as it would gall me to lose him to North Carolina or Kansas, can't blame him for looking.

2. And if we lose him to Marquette ... sweet Jesus, I'll be honest, that'll kill me and I'll be really upset. But all of the usual Internet sniping back in forth between Badger and Gold fans on message boards and comments on blogs is childish and unproductive, as usual. Please don't get into that here.

3. Much of the sniping stems from Rob Schultz's report in which an unnamed source says the sticking point is academics. First, shame on Schult'z source for going public with information that paints Vander is an unflattering light. If he's got the wrong attitude about or struggles with academics, so be it, but that should be a private matter. And of course, with the implication that Vander will follow Jeronne Maymon to Marquette, this has predictably devolved into a UW=hard, MU=easy discussion. Can't imagine it's this simple.

4. What really galls me, and what seems to have taken a back seat to this new academic-focused report, is the theory that Vander doesn't think he can thrive in Bo's system. Baloney. Look at Devin, a true guard, who was a prolific scorer and lottery pick. Look at Alando, an All-American and first-round pick. Hell, look at Kirk Penney, who found a way to score big in the system.

Sure, sometimes this system produces a bunch of guys averaging 9 to 12 points per game. We won 31 games two years ago with this setup. But special talent, NBA talent, shines through. Bo and the Swing don't keep that kind of talent bottled up.

5. Even though the prospect of Vander coming to Madison still exists, we'll still be a successful program even if he doesn't. Just maybe not as successful as if he ends up wearing red.

For what it's worth, Mark Stewart reported this afternoon that Vander had not formally decommitted, but I wouldn't read too much into that.

So far, Blue and his family aren't talking. You know what? They shouldn't. Vander's a high school boy in the midst of making a really important decision, respect his privacy.