Full Breakdown of Each Member of the 2015 Recruiting Class

Andy van Vliet

Position: PF/C

Height and Weight: 6 foot 10 and 200 pounds

Recruiting Stars: Since van Vliet is a Belgian prospect, he is not ranked by any recruiting databases. However, Benjamin Worgull, a reporter and insider for BadgerNation, thinks that he’d be a 3 star recruit.

Other Notable Offers: Washington State, St. Mary’s, Oregon State

Strengths

• He has played on a professional team, the Antwerp Giants. Those Giants have former All-American and Iowa State Cyclone DeAndre Kane, and former Arizona Wildcat star Kyle Fogg. So he has played against college level competition.
• Great shooter.
• Good touch and footwork in the post
• Good driving and transition offense
• Solid ball handler

Weaknesses

• He’s very thin, and won’t be able to bang bodies with other Big 10 big men.

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Short Term Outlook: At 200 pounds, van Vliet is going to get manhandled in the post and on the boards against Big 10 centers. He’s going to need to put on some weight before he can play. But if he does, he should be able to compete for playing time right off the bat. He has the shooting and scoring ability to be a good weapon off the bench. If he can put on some weight over the summer, I’d expect to see him in the rotation. If Bo Ryan isn’t happy with his weight by the time the season rolls around, he’ll take a redshirt year. It all depends on how hard he works in the weight room.

Long Term Outlook: With his scoring ability, van Vliet can be a star. I know, I know. I said the same thing about Iverson and Illikainen. But it’s true. He’s such a smooth shooter, and is basically an overgrown shooting guard. By the time he leaves Madison, he can be an All Big 10 type player.

Player Comparison: At his absolute worst, van Vliet will be like Duje Dukan, a valuable reserve that can put up points in a hurry. That’s a very high floor. But I think he’ll be better than that. He compares to a Belgian version of Frank Kaminsky. I’m not saying he’s going to be that good, but he can get pretty close.

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