Frankie Fidler Says He Was 'Leaning Towards Wisconsin' Until Hepburn Departure

Back in April, Greg Gard and the Badgers were heavily involved with Omaha transfer Frankie Fidler. Fidler had narrowed his top schools down to four and Wisconsin made the cut. He ended up choosing Big Ten rival Michigan State and Tom Izzo. But recent comments from the forward make it seem like he was about to choose Wisconsin, until a few dominos started to fall.

On an episode of The Spiro Avenue Show, Fidler dove into detail about his recruitment and why the Badgers were initially at the top of his list.

"One of my best friends, Chucky Hepburn, was at Wisconsin at the time, and I really wanted to play with him. So, I think that connection had me leaning towards Wisconsin."

In the midst of Fidler's recruitment, point guard Chucky Hepburn announced his decision to transfer, eventually landing with the Louisville Cardinals. It seems that Hepburn's decision to leave also affected Fidler's thoughts about becoming a Badger after originally have them as his front-runner. The two were high school teammates in Nebraska.

This isn't a bash Chucky Hepburn piece, but it interesting to see how the Butterfly Effect can change the entire course of a program. If Hepburn stays, Fidler more than likely commits. Camren Hunter probably ends up somewhere else and maybe even John Tonje and Xavier Amos commit elsewhere too.

It is intriguing to hear some commentary from the players as to why and how they ended making the decisions they did. And who's to say that this didn't work out for the best? Maybe the current roster makes a huge run in the NCAA Tournament this season. Time will tell.