Incoming Freshman

[Mr. Burgundy]

2 of our 3 incoming Freshman have been on campus for a week. Working with the strength program already. Kory Brown appears to be exactly what we thought he would be. A great athlete, great kid and ready to play some defense and get after it. He is a long athlete that we needed at the 2 guard position. "Big Dex" or Dexter Werner is a house. He is exactly what we needed, a rough tough kid in the paint. I can't wait to see this kid in 12 months after a redshirt year. 250+ lbs with a mean streak. Every rebound in his area is his. We finally have depth in the post.

I was advised today by Recruiting guru our very own "Kermit" that Brett Vandenburgh shut down Zac Showalter in the huge Wisconsin All Star Game. Showalter a one time massive target of the Bison who was recently given a full ride by Bo Ryan at Wisconsin finished 1-7 against Brett who "Wanted to guard Zac."

It is my gut feel that the coaches did a good job of targeting needs with these 3 kids. They needed to target kids who would compete and defend and push the kids already on the team. Must get tougher.

Add these 3 kids to Kading who had a great redshirt year and will play in the post and I think we got alot better. Excited about the future.

Kermit, if you see this, send that article you sent my phone that I can't seem to find on the net. Really impressive showing for Brett to shut down Showalter.

Happy Father's Day Bison fans.

[Hammersmith]

2 of our 3 incoming Freshman have been on campus for a week. Working with the strength program already. Kory Brown appears to be exactly what we thought he would be. A great athlete, great kid and ready to play some defense and get after it. He is a long athlete that we needed at the 2 guard position. "Big Dex" or Dexter Werner is a house. He is exactly what we needed, a rough tough kid in the paint. I can't wait to see this kid in 12 months after a redshirt year. 250+ lbs with a mean streak. Every rebound in his area is his. We finally have depth in the post.

I was advised today by Recruiting guru our very own "Kermit" that Brett Vandenburgh shut down Zac Showalter in the huge Wisconsin All Star Game. Showalter a one time massive target of the Bison who was recently given a full ride by Bo Ryan at Wisconsin finished 1-7 against Brett who "Wanted to guard Zac."

It is my gut feel that the coaches did a good job of targeting needs with these 3 kids. They needed to target kids who would compete and defend and push the kids already on the team. Must get tougher.

Add these 3 kids to Kading who had a great redshirt year and will play in the post and I think we got alot better. Excited about the future.

Kermit, if you see this, send that article you sent my phone that I can't seem to find on the net. Really impressive showing for Brett to shut down Showalter.

Happy Father's Day Bison fans.

This one?: http://host.madison.com/sports/colum...a4bcf887a.html

WISCONSIN DELLS — Slumping back into his chair on the bench late in the third quarter of Saturday’s Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Division 1 boys All-Star game, Zak Showalter had the look of a fighter who had finally endured enough.

“I haven’t been beat like that in a while,” said Showalter, whose South team suffered a 98-64 beating at the hands of the North.

...

“Brett VandenBergh guarded Showalter, and he wanted him, too,” North coach Luke Madsen said of the former De Pere forward, whose senior season ended in a WIAA Division 1 sectional final loss to Showalter and eventual undefeated state champion Germantown last March. “I know there’s some history there. … Brett did an outstanding job on him.”

[DjKyRo]

One of our biggest shortcomings last season was our attentiveness on defense, which resulted in a high number of fouls that put key guys on the bench in bad spots. It's great we've got some players coming in who take pride in defense because aside from the fouling our defense was pretty good last season - add in some discipline on challenging the shot and this team can get much better in a short amount of time. Really anxious to see what Kory Brown brings to the table.

[Kermit]

This one?: http://host.madison.com/sports/colum...a4bcf887a.html

That's the one.

I do believe that the new recruits are going to add some toughness to our team. Don't forget about Chris Kading either!

Happy Father's Day to everyone and enjoy your summer!

[CaBisonFan]

We have been talented and soft. Good to see this.

[TheBisonator]

Are all these guys gonna redshirt?? Or maybe one of them can play right away to fill the Dylan Hale scholarship hole??

[DjKyRo]

Are all these guys gonna redshirt?? Or maybe one of them can play right away to fill the Dylan Hale scholarship hole??

The idea (which is unconfirmed by anyone from the program, to the best of my knowledge) is that Kory Brown will play his freshman year.

[silkamilkamonico]

Would love for Brown to play right away, and think he will. This team is ready now for him to make an impact if he can in any way.

I don't see Werner playing this year at all, and although BV is a good prospect for this future, I believe if he is playing this year it's because Braun/Wright/Kading aren't. Would hate to see the kid lose his freshmen year to meaningless minutes because of the numbers crunch.

[Mr. Burgundy]

Brett Vandenberg and Brown will play as Freshman. They both are physically ready. Kermit and I watched them practice and Vandenberg is more put together than Winks was as a 5th year senior. He is completely ripped. Brown looks like an NBA 2 guard. Those athletes just look different. both can physically compete and defend. They both have some nice leadership qualities.

Big Dex.....not sure where to start. Kid is THICK. 260lbs as an incoming freshman. Honestly, he scored at will. Amazing touch, surprising athleticism, and he can really rebound. He is not in basketball shape yet, and he will be redshirting, but he doesn't lack confidence. The strenght coach has to be licking his chops on this project. I think he will be the best scorer of this group. he is so thick/wide that it is hard to get a chest on him. Very sound on the offensive side. I predict he is a massive crowd favorite. Kermit and I enjoyed watching him. Almost laughing like....really...he just won the game on that tip in?

overall, kids look great. This is Taylor Braun's team. He is dominating like Woody did. He leads. Tray is healthy and we will have a battle for minutes at the 5 spot with Kading pushing those boys. I am excited about this team. They all want it. Common goal. These freshman are going to win games. Vandenberg looks like he is 35 already. he plays hard. Most improved....and not close....Joel Lindberg. Really playing with confidence and swagger. Nothing like he did last year. Be fun to see how they develop over the summer.

[bisonfan08]

So based on everything I have been reading up on, looks like our 10 man rotation will look like so (back-ups in parenthesis):

PG - LA (Lindberg)
SG - Brown (Felt)
SF - Braun (Vandenberg)
PF - Tray (Kading)
C - Bjorklund (Aaberg)

Werner redshirting and Zastrow seeing scrap minutes. I must say with Kading, Vandenberg and Brown added to the mix I definitely think it improves our defense. Gives us a lot more depth down low as we seemed to struggle if Bjorklund or Aaberg got in foul trouble early. Felt could be in contention for 6th man of the year if he can stay more consistent from game to game throughout the season as he continues to grow as a player. We saw a bit of the mid-range jumper come into play last year and if he can find a way to create his own shot while still shooting a high percentage he could be a scoring machine. I feel like with Hale gone the team chemistry will be improved and not sure if any of the stuff about Carlson having some issues is true, but if so the team should play better together with that drama removed this season. Looking forward to the season, once again a ton of talent on paper we'll see if it translates to the court this year.