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While Big Ten championships and Rose Bowl appearances are nice editions to Wisconsin's trophy display, the ultimate goal for the Badgers, and every college team for that matter, is to hoist the crystal ball at season's end. ESPN.com's Travis Haney breaks down the title windows for the top 16 contenders, slating Gary Andersen's club under the category of "opening" (Insider).
"Development, along with a continued commitment to running the ball, is a reason Wisconsin should be back on the way up."
I've talked a lot about UW's rather easy 2014-15 conference slate of games, so how many wins can Melvin Gordon lead the Badgers to for the upcoming football season? Kegs 'N Eggs' Adam Kramer listed some over/unders for a handful of teams set forth by 5Dimes, and the Badgers' total started at 9.5. Speaking of the Kenosha Bradford product, Gordon was among the top running backs to watch for next season.
Wisconsin basketball associate head coach Greg Gard has been with Bo Ryan since their days at UW-Platteville, and he's done a tremendous job of snagging several recruits. ESPN.com's Jay Bilas and Jeff Goodman compiled a list of up-and-coming head coach candidates, and Gard debuted at No. 3 among current assistant coaches ready to lead a college basketball program (Insider).
Both of the aforementioned coaches were involved in the recruitment of 2015 shooting guard Brevin Pritzl, offering him a scholarship offer last week. The De Pere product will be making his way to Madison as the first member of Ryan's class of 2015.
While collegiate head coaches may get most, if not all the praise for securing commitments from prospective recruits, assistant coaches play an integral part in the process as well. Former UW offensive line coach Bob Bostad was certainly one helluva recruiter during his time in Madison, as he was tutored a handful of players who made their way to the NFL.
Elsewhere on the recruiting trail, 2015 defensive tackle Kahil McKenzie revealed his top-12 list on Thursday, and the Badgers were listed at No. 4.
Top 12 pic.twitter.com/jRDws6KnCL
— Kahlil McKenzie (@Big_Ballin_77) May 22, 2014
Badgers in the NFL Updates: New England Sports Network breaks down what James White adds to the Patriots' backfield following the departure of LeGarrette Blount. It seems as though it will be Montee Ball's job to lose as the starting running back for Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Jared Abbrederis' journey to the NFL was never easy, but he'll be around long enough if he maintains the work ethic intact that got him there. Chris Borland finally inked his contract with the Niners.
Quick Hitters
Wisconsin's men's hockey schedule is almost complete for next season.
After general manager and head coach Steve Miller suddenly departed from Madison's USHL team earlier this week, the organization has found his replacement.
UW-Madison was named the second most-influential Twitter account for U.S. universities. That's pretty neat.
Video of the Day
It's Friday, which means it's a great day for [showing] hockey [videos]. After Wisconsin and Cornell battled it out through three overtimes, Jack Skille put the Badgers into the 2006 Frozen Four with just under nine minutes remaining in the final period of overtime. Of course, Mike Eaves' squad went on to win the national championship that year at the Bradley Center.