Last week I watched games involving Duke, Louisville, and Ohio State, and saw highlights of Marquette's game against UConn. Each one of those games featured a guy who we were serious players for -- some more serious than others. I couldn't shake the feeling that if any one of these guys was in a UW jersey we'd be right there at the top of the conference this year.
Every school would have guys like these, but indulge me:
Evan Turner, Ohio State -- As I understand it his choices were down to us and Illinois, so of course he chose OSU. This guy has the best all-around game in the Big Ten, scoring, rebounding, ball handling, passing. Right after he chose to go elsewhere, Tim Jarmusz committed.
Jerry Smith, Louisville -- The talk was that Jerry had set a press conference at Wauwatosa East to announce he was coming to Madison but called it off and reconsidered. We ended up getting Jason Bohannon instead. But a friend tells me that Smith didn't go elsewhere just because we had J-Bo and Pop; he would have come, but we had used up all of our available scholarships after J.P. Gavinski committed so early. Having Smith as another 3-point shooter sure would be nice, wouldn't it? J-Bo could come off the bench and be more effective against second teamers or defenders with tired legs.
Jon Scheyer, Duke -- We weren't as close to Scheyer in this class as we were to Smith, not that close at all really, but we were in his finalists along with Duke, Illinois, and Arizona. He's a less athletic, shorter version of Turner, but he would play a lot of important minutes for us.
Wesley Matthews, Marquette -- For his first three years in college I thought Wes was fairly overrated, and riding James' and McNeal's coattails in a forced Big Three situation. But he has really picked up his game this year and become outstanding. That last scholarship that he passed on went to Mickey Perry, who didn't last long in Madison.
The traits these guys exhibit -- outside shooting, athleticism, go-to guy attitude -- would fill voids on this year's team. Any one of them would have helped us to 4-5 more wins at this point in the season.
Monday, March 2, 2009
What would these guys do for us?
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3 comments:
I agree and especially wish we could have gotten Turner but none of these guys would be a major low post presence, and that is what I think we have needed the most. Boy, Gavinski does show you what is dangerous about handing our offers super early though. I don't know, Smith come across as kind of a gunner. Maybe not the best fit.
Word, man. JBo really doesn't seem like a true starter to me, so to have someone (anyone, really) who is more athletic on the court for the tip in place of him would be a plus.
As per your comments about Turner, he's also one of the best in the Big 10 at turning the ball over. Turner doesn't seem to value possessions and that would piss Bo off to the highest degree.
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