Let's Draft Wisconsin players

[BBFran]

I decided to try this on the Badger Board today, and would like to run the same experiment here. I'll refrain from grabbing the #1 draft position on this board since I took it over there. I think Milwaukee fans might have the best insight for doing this, since we play GB and UW and are in the same town as MU.

Anyway, here's the idea:

Inspired by the CBS Sportsline idea about assembling state teams, let's put together a 13 man roster from Wisconsin's four D1 teams. Let's set some standards, however. First, try to put partisanship aside. Second, explain at least briefly why your selection should be on the team, and in the position you are drafting him. Third, let's try to do this under the theory that we are actually building a team, not an "all-star" squad. In other words, it wouldn't make much sense if the first four selections were all point guards.

Fourth, and this is very important, this cannot work unless we limit participation to 13 people and have an orderly process. So, to establish your draft position, simply make some reply like "I'm in." Then, once you know what your position is (by order of posts in the thread) wait until those ahead of you have drafted before making and defending your selection. That way it's not just a race of people wanting to claim "James" or "Butch." In fact, I recommend that once your draft position is established you might want to actually think about your choice a little. (Yeah, I know -- what a concept on a message board!) The rosters for the other teams are easily accessible on the net. In fact, i'll try to edit this with some links a little later to make it easy to find them.

If there are more than thirteen posters who want to try this, I suggest that "Mr. 14" simply start another thread, to be limited to those who did not draft in this thread.

Last, let's restrict this to PANTHER fans only. Not to be exclusive, but in the hope that the folks on the MU, UW and Phoenix boards do the same thing, limiting participation to their own fans, so perhaps we can compare each board's draft. That would be very interesting, I think.

Let's establish the draft order, then make the selections.


Edit -- Here are the rosters for the other schools:

Wisconsin www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/mbb/bios/roster.html?sportid=116

Marquette gomarquette.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/marq-m-baskbl-mtt.html

UW-Green Bay www.uwgb.edu/athletics/mbb/roster/index.asp

And here are links to the threads on the Badger Board:

mb28.scout.com/fwisconsin36703frm4.showMessage?topicID=12808.topic

mb28.scout.com/fwisconsin36703frm4.showMessage?topicID=12811.topic

[Kroener3535]

Without looking at the rosters...I would honestly not pick a single UWM player...UW and MU would dominate...and I would most def add Evanoshko..there is really no one...maybe Ricky but havent seen anythin from him

[uwmfutbol]

We'd have to give our players a few years. They're all too young/experienced.

However, a roster of MU/UW players would be sick. Imagine Dominic James, Wes Matthews, Alando Tucker, and Kamm Taylor on the court at the same time.

The coach would be Bo Ryan, of course. TC can be the water boy

[Kingsbury]

I'm in. I agree with the notion that a Milwaukee player will most likely not crack the top 13. However, I could see giving one of the final 2 spots to Swiggett based on his HS/Prep school accomplishments. Also, I think we should do this again at the end of the year.

[JimmyLemke]

I could give 2 UWM players a spot on the team, not sure who though.

Count me in.

[milwsport]

Perhaps that should be a rule too. At least one or two players from each team

[BBFran]

Don't forget, we're trying to build a team with this exercise. I think a very good argument could be made, depending on the earlier selections, that an Avery Smith might be a useful sub for his defensive disruptiveness, just as an example.

Doing this again at the end of the season is a great idea.

[famouspnthrfan]

Count me in for sure...I agree with BBFran...build it like the USA mens basketball team should be built...not with necessarily the top 13 most talented players, but with players who would round out a nice team...I say we make it a required 2 from each team, just for school recognition purposes...Gosh when do we start, I'm excited

[reggiewheelerfor3]

Please count me in if there's room Are we trying to have a fairly balanced team by class, meaning, not having 10 seniors on the team, for example?

[BBFran]

You're in. No, no reason to balance by class. We're just trying to assemble the best true team, with at least two players from each school.

[dylanrocks]

I'll do it.

[FTA1982]

Not sure if anyone posted this article regarding the college teams for each state from sportsline. It talks about us bickering with Marquette as well as Pearl fighting about who is better UT or Memphis. Its nice to see UWM get some recognition.

In battle between states, these 10 tough
Sep. 25, 2006
By Gary Parrish
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Gary your opinion!

Bruce Pearl was in Memphis last week for a fundraiser unrelated to basketball. No matter, a local television crew tracked the Tennessee coach, and conducted an interview that began innocently enough before turning really awkward.


Tennessee's Bruce Pearl coaches in the 10th-best collegiate basketball state. (Getty Images)
Apparently searching for a specific sound bite, the reporter tried to get Pearl to concede Memphis is the best program in the state while asking what UT needs to do to catch the Tigers. But in an act that displayed why Pearl was the perfect hire for the Vols -- and why he's going to be a huge success going forward -- the second-year coach refused to play along even on enemy turf, and explained how UT doesn't "take a backseat to anybody."

The reporter pressed.

Pearl grew agitated.

The reporter pressed more.

Pearl grew more agitated.

Before long, it was clear the line of questioning wasn't going to stop. So Pearl delivered a sound bite to be sure, one as memorable as the time last season when he told a group of UT students the Vols were going to "kick Florida's ass."

"I think it's a horse%*$# question, to tell you the truth," Pearl said. "OK? That's what I think."

(Hear it for yourself right here.)

Meanwhile, Marquette and Wisconsin-Milwaukee are bickering over a possible five-year series. North Carolina and Duke still trade barbs. And it's a good thing Illinois and Indiana aren't in the same state or else a summoning of the National Guard wouldn't be far off.

Bottom line, people hate each other. Rodney King asked a simple question, but the answer is simpler.

Why can't we all just get along?

Because we just can't. Period.

(The article is 3 more pages if you want to read the rest)

www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9684285

[Pantherholic]

i'm in.

this "min. 2 players/team" rule should go. adding someone to fill a quota just isn't needed. one reason why i hate baseball's all-star game. if they don't legitimately deserve to be on there, then don't put them on. its like giving out 6th place trophies.

[coldwind]

Who in their right mind would select anybody from UWGB(besides Evanochko) for anything other than bagging groceries and Ultimate Frisbee?

[dylanrocks]

I think Mike Schachtner is a very promising player, having averaged over 10 points per game as a freshman. A 6-9 forward, he averaged better than 38 percent from the three-point arc and 79 percent from the free-throw line. He was second-team all-state as a senior at Somerset and poses some genuine matchup problems. In addition, I think that Terry Evans is a tremendous athlete who appears to be rounding back into shape from his knee injury at Cardinal Ritter. He would have been much more highly recruited were it not for the ACL tear.