Wisconsin Basketball 2017 Recruiting Class Ranks Well

Wisconsin men’s basketball has three recruits in the final Top 247 player rankings for the class of 2017

Evan Flood from 247Sports reports that incoming Badger freshmen Nathan Reuvers, Brad Davison, and Kobe King all rated highly in the composite rankings.

Nathan Reuvers (6-9, 210), PF, Lakeville, MN 247Sports Composite: **** 0.9721

"Reuvers came in at No. 52 in the rankings and the nation’s No. 12 ranked power forward. As a senior, he averaged 19.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 58 percent from the floor, including 41 percent from 3-point range."

(the highlight video shows some glimmers of Ethan Happ to his game with his ability to handle the ball and block shots while maintaining his verticality albeit against smaller opponents. Reuvers does knock down a couple threes. He’ll likely have to continue to get stronger to contribute in the paint in conference play).

Kobe King (6-3, 175), SG, La Crosse, WI 247Sports Composite: *** 0.8995

"Making a jump in the rankings, four-star shooting guard Kobe King (La Crosse, Wis.) moved up to No. 113. King is tabbed as the nation’s No. 21 ranked shooting guard in the 2017 class."

(King shows a quick first step enabling him to glide to the rim under control and finish at the rim with either hand. No doubt he will have to play at a slower pace than a highlight video would suggest. King is 3 inches taller than D’Mitrick Trice which will help him on dribble drives)

Brad Davison (6-3, 190), PG, Osseo, MN 247Sports Composite: **** 0.9429

"He is the nation’s No. 23 ranked point guard per 247sports."

(see the 1:18 for a wet jumper that looks a lot like a Koenig-clock-expiring-step-back-dagger. A little Koenig to his game at the 2:10 mark with his passing and finishing as well. Davison gets his feet set quickly when shooting to enable a quick release. He does a nice job keeping his head up in traffic to find the open man).

The 247Sports composite team rankings have Wisconsin ranked as second in the Big Ten just one spot behind Purdue.

More from Wisconsin Basketball

With the loss of Jordan Hill along with senior starters Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes, Zak Showalter, and Vitto Brown the Badgers will need to replace a tremendous amount of production. Losing Brown also creates an opening at lead vocals.

That quintet produced a high volume of minutes, points, rebounds, field goals, and assists.

60.6 percent of total minutes

61.7 percent of total points

44.3 percent of total rebounds

57.9 percent of total assists

62 percent of total field goal attempts

59.6 percent of total field goals made

Next: What to Watch for in the Wisconsin Spring Game

Wisconsin will need some freshman to step forward to help fill the void. As always, underclassmen at Wisconsin must show sufficient defensive chops in order to earn minutes.

With Hill’s departure, the only projected senior on the 2017-2018 Wisconsin team will be Aaron Moesch. Moesch played 40 minutes total last season but made some serious contributions off the court:

It would be wise for Badger fans to temper their expectations for the 2017-18 as the young Badger squad earns valuable experience. With so much attrition, its more like the beginning of a two-year cycle starting with the 2017-2018 season. Wisconsin basketball is a model of consistency, but even consistent programs rebuild and reload as needed.

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