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Recruiting is the lifeblood of any major college athletics team, but following it closely as a fan can sometimes be difficult and can often be time consuming. We’ll try and condense all the recruiting news you can use into this bi-weekly (sometimes more) post. It’ll include updates on current commits, including stats from their high school games, as well as news on players the Badgers are still pursuing. Let’s get down to business!
Transfer portal news
- One of the targets we identified in the linked post above was Middelton’s Storm Murphy who entered the transfer portal after playing at Wofford. It’s unclear if Wisconsin ever reached out to him seriously but Murphy is going to play his final year of college hoops in the ACC at Virginia Tech.
I’m excited to announce that next year I will be transferring to Virginia Tech and joining Coach Young for one last run #GoHokies pic.twitter.com/nu4VdnwEXt
— Storm Murphy (@Murphy_Storm) March 14, 2021
- One player that the Badgers HAVE reached out to is Jamison Battle, formerly of George Washington and a native of the Twin Cities. If you can’t see the embedded tweet, Memphis, Marquette, Nebraska, Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, Cincinnati and Loyola Chicago have also touched base with Battle.
Wisconsin #Badgers and Memphis are two others, among many, to touch base with former DeLaSalle HS/D-1 MN AAU stud Jamison Battle. Just caught up with him. No on the #Gophers, at least so far. 3rd team Atlantic 10 will make some program very happy. Rock-solid player/person. https://t.co/WI99j2eGvX
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) March 12, 2021
- After the Badgers fired women’s head coach Jonathan Tsipis last week it was expected that there would be some roster turnover. Well, second team All-Big Ten performer Imani Lewis was the first domino to fall as she announced that she’d be entering the transfer portal and not returning to Madison.
Wisconsin's star forward Imani Lewis confirms to 27 News that she entered the transfer portal and will not return to Wisconsin. https://t.co/gEu5T4N6eB
— Karley Marotta (@Karley_Marotta) March 11, 2021
The forward, who is a native of New Jersey, averaged 15 points and 8.8 rebounds per game last season and was UW’s best all-around player. She should be a highly sought after player due to her stat sheet stuffing ability.
Nebraska state basketball tournament
- 2021 3-star PG commit Chucky Hepburn had a monster weekend in the Nebraska state basketball tournament. In the semifinals on Friday night, Hepburn led his team back from a halftime deficit and then a seven point deficit with 50 seconds left to send the game to OT. The Bellevue West Thunderbirds eventually won in triple overtime, 95-94, and Hepburn scored 23 points (all after halftime).
2021 #Badgers signee Chucky Hepburn and Bellevue West overcame a 7 point deficit in regulation with 50 seconds left to win in triple OT and advance to the Neb state title. Hepburn had a 3 and a clutch steal + assist to bring his team back. Wild game.
— Asher Low (@alow_33) March 13, 2021
In the state finals, it was a rematch of the 2020 tilt which saw Hepburn’s Thunderbirds beat Millard North. The Mustangs, led by 5-star CG Hunter Sallis, won 84-78 in overtime and got revenge against Hepburn and Bellevue West. It was Millard North’s first ever state title.
Remember the name: @ChuckyHepburn
— Matt Foster (@MattFosterKETV) March 14, 2021
In his curtain call for @TBirdBB, the #Badgers commit finishes with 25 pts, 9 ast, 8 reb, & 5 stl.
One of the best competitors and players this state has ever seen.
Take care of him in Madison, @BadgerMBB, Chuck's just gettin' started. pic.twitter.com/hL7OXkpy5d
Hepburn finished the final with a game-high 25 points (tied with Sallis), nine assists, eight rebounds and five steals. Hepburn will be joining the 2021 class on campus this summer and expectations for him will be high after an electric end to his high school career.
I can’t wait to have this man as a teammate. Head up brother, proud of you https://t.co/u0b1GxeXj9
— Matthew Mors (@matthew_mors) March 14, 2021