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Wisconsin Basketball: James Graham Pushes Back Decision Date

By Benjamin Otero

MADISON, WI - NOVEMBER 17: The Wisconsin Badgers macot Bucky Badger runs onto the field before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on November 17, 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - NOVEMBER 17: The Wisconsin Badgers macot Bucky Badger runs onto the field before the game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall Stadium on November 17, 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images) /
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MADISON, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 08: Head coach Greg Gard of the Wisconsin basketball Badgers calls a timeout in the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Kohl Center on January 08, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN – JANUARY 08: Head coach Greg Gard of the Wisconsin basketball Badgers calls a timeout in the first half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Kohl Center on January 08, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

Three-star basketball recruit James Graham III pushed back his decision date for college by a few days. Originally the decision was supposed to come on Monday morning. Could Wisconsin basketball be in the mix?

James Graham is widely known as one of the best players in Wisconsin being ranked 151st overall in the country for the 2021 class. He currently attends Nicolet High School in Milwaukee County.

Graham narrowed down his decision for college to four different schools: Auburn, Maryland, Memphis, and Wisconsin.

Although Maryland originally thought they could land the forward with ease, Auburn has recently come in and stolen a lot of the publicity surrounding Graham. Memphis and Wisconsin have not been in the news as much in regard to Graham.

However, Graham has stated that he wants to stay close to his family and wants them to be able to come to his games. Wisconsin gives him the most realistic possibility to achieve this.

Graham’s decision affects these schools in very different ways.

Graham would be Auburn’s first top recruit for 2021, although they did have a great 2020 class that included Sharife Cooper and J.T. Thor.

Memphis had a very good recruiting class, landing a five-star center in Moussa Cisse and a four-star transfer from Virginia Tech in Landers Nolley. Memphis is also a rising competitor again and the addition of Graham could help with the team’s future depth.

Maryland is coming off of a good year in the Big Ten as well. Their recruiting class includes a few three-star recruits and a transfer in Jairus Hamilton from Boston College.

Graham could do the most for the Badgers, his home state team. This Wisconsin basketball team, who is known for always getting good in-state talent, is losing seven seniors and they will need quality players to replace them.

This season, the Badgers will look to defend their Big Ten title during last year’s rollercoaster season.

Graham is looking to build off of a quality junior year at Nicolet, in which he lead the team to a 22-2 record and a regional championship before their season got cut short.

Graham also improved his stats to 20.6 points a game in Duke recruits Jalen Johnson’s exit. This is a vast improvement from 7.4 points a game in his sophomore season. As many in the area know that season ended in the Kohl Center as his team took the division two state championship.

As Graham’s decision comes nearer one can only hope that he sticks to the place that is familiar and helps this Wisconsin basketball team improve upon their recent success.