Five Storylines to Look Forward To

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not a lot is happening right now in the basketball world. Recruiting gears are still grinding, but summer tournaments are waiting on a speculative schedule and prospects have a smaller window for exposure. However, we can look towards senior commitments, freshman debuts, and other storylines still lingering amid the cancellations. </span></p> <p><strong>Tayshawn Bridges is Wisconsin’s next star:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bridges hasn’t played in a high school game, but that doesn’t stop some from betting on his high-major potential. The Brookfield East guard is ranked as a consensus top-10 player nationally in the 2024 class, dominating the middle-school circuits with Playground Club. Whether his mature athleticism and unstoppable isolation game profiles to the high school stage will be a headline consistently plastering our front page come September.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s rather obvious he’ll be a four- or five-star product, but for now, fans and scouts should be craving his debut against Greater Metro competition.</span></p> <p><strong>Senior commitments are still rolling in:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The 2020 commitment season still has a strong pulse. In the last few weeks, [player_tooltip player_id="694830" first="Shilo" last="Bowles"], [player_tooltip player_id="880977" first="Ben" last="Probst"], [player_tooltip player_id="811026" first="Carson" last="Arenz"], [player_tooltip player_id="811845" first="Javeon" last="Tolliver"], [player_tooltip player_id="881012" first="Justin" last="Steinike"] and [player_tooltip player_id="880979" first="Jackson" last="Noll"] have committed, while Logan Jedwabny and [player_tooltip player_id="553389" first="Jacob" last="Newhouse"] got offers. This is just the tip of the iceberg considering the backcourt depth and frontcourt elites still weighing offers. </span></p> <p><strong>Gauging the transfer market:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each year players jump ship for various reasons, and this year shouldn’t be any different. 2021 forward [player_tooltip player_id="879982" first="Logan" last="Landers"] has left Brookfield Academy for Cedarburg and 2023 guard [player_tooltip player_id="951132" first="Braylen" last="Blue"] is leaving Sun Prairie for Madison Memorial. Already these two moves shake up future conference standings, so expect future transfers to do the same.</span></p> <p><strong>How will we find sleepers in the 2021 class:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The absence of a significant grassroots season will ultimately hurt the 2021 prospects the most. Colleges miss sniffing out sleepers (which, as I’ll list, are plentiful here), while fans won’t see the new-look rosters square off across the midwest. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Below are some of the sleeper prospects I believe would have benefited most from a normal-length grassroots season: </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">- [player_tooltip player_id="879995" first="Brock" last="Heffner"]: He was recently offered from Northern Michigan and has been under the radar despite a big season with Grafton.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">- [player_tooltip player_id="764118" first="John" last="Lovelace"] Jr.: Lovelace could blow up in back-to-back summers. This year, he’s with Phenom, and will have many more eyes on him if he starts heating up. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">- [player_tooltip player_id="764114" first="Adam" last="Larson"]: He joined a beyond-loaded Playground Club squad teeming with potential. Seeing his length and versatility against top circuit competition could be a game-changer in his recruitment. </span></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="804895" first="Tyrese" last="Hunter"] is still hoarding offers:</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hunter is grabbing the attention of high-major schools across the country. After Marquette, Minnesota, and Murray State offers came his way in February, Florida entered this picture this week, offering the high-rising guard. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He’s the most sought-after backcourt player in the state, and he’s on target to make national headlines with his two-way skillset. </span></p>