So with what team will Jon Leuer's life in the NBA start? As you may or may not have heard, the 2012 NBA Draft will be held tonight in Newark, and it's extremely likely that Leuer will be drafted by one of the league's 30 franchises. The 6-foot-10 forward from Orono, Minnesota (gotta love that MN to WI pipeline) averaged 18.3 points and 7.2 rebounds with the Badgers in his senior season, leading the team in both categories.
Leuer participated in an impressive 17 pre-draft workouts - and one Joe Krabbenhoft wedding - so a lot of NBA clubs got an up-close and personal look at him this spring. The Bucks are taking a long hard look at Leuer, and it would be a good story if he ended up in Milwaukee, but if I know anything about professional sports drafts, the feel-good stories do not often come to fruition.
So if not Milwaukee, where could Leuer end up? As a Sixers fan, I can promise you he won't end up in Philly. SB Nation did a collaborative mock draft with all of the NBA blogs picking a player for their team, and the Bulls blog Blog A Bull selected Jon with the 30th and final pick of the first round. However, our very own (and Bulls fan) Adam Hoge is on the record as saying he does not want Chicago taking Leuer. So which quasi-local team would Leuer best fit with? Vote it up.
If you haven't checked it out yet, go look at the cover for Badger Kickoff 2011. I can only describe the cover's combination of running backs James White and Montee Ball as incredibly attractive. This is nothing new- John Clay graced the cover of last year's Badger Kickoff mag.
Wisconsin has reasonable prices for single game football tickets compared to other Big Ten schools.
Another recruit for the Badger football committed yesterday. Hugs Etienne, a cornerback from Plantation, Fla., will play for Wisconsin in 2012. He's a two or three star recruit depending on who you ask. For full disclosure, his non-abbreviated first name is Hugsanly. I've already seen it suggested on forums that the UW student section will erupt into a hug-fest everytime Hugs makes an interception. Sounds good to me. Normally I would imbed his highlight video into the end of this post, but the video includes songs with NSFW language. Here's the YouTube video link, mute it if you don't appreciate profane music.
Tom Mulhern talks to a bunch of Scout and Rivals guys, and they all agree that Wisconsin will be good on the field no matter how well they fare on the recruiting trail.
Wisconsin has the sixth best WR/TE corps in the Big Ten, according to new ESPN Big Ten blog contributor Brian Bennett. Sixth sounds about right to me.
Finally, Tom Oates offers his own prediction on how the NBA Draft will pan out tonight. He has Leuer going to Dallas, which would seem to be a pretty good fit and situation to me.