The good news just keeps coming for Wisconsin basketball fans. Following an impressive exhibition victory on Wednesday night, Head Coach Bo Ryan announced Thursday that he has secured three top players for the 2006 recruiting class.
Scout.com ranks the Badgers' recruiting class as one of the top-25 in the nation. All three players are considered among the top 150 high school seniors in the country.
Joe Krabbenhoft was the first recruit to sign and has been recognized as one of the nation's best.
ESPN.com ranks him as the 21st best player in his class. He is a 6'7' small forward who is widely considered the best player to come out of South Dakota since former NBA rookie of the year Mike Miller. He was named first-team all-state as a sophomore and second-team last year. \Wisconsin fans will love watching Joe play,"" Ryan said.
""He brings a 'lunch pail and hard hat mentality' with him to play every time. His toughness, relentlessness, and high basketball IQ is something our staff fell in love with the first time we saw him play,"" Ryan added.
Krabbenhoft is big for a small forward, but he is known as a strong perimeter player. His ability to play inside and outside should help him fit into the Badgers' swing offense, where every player must be able to play all positions on the floor.
The next player to commit was 6'7' forward Marcus Landry from Milwaukee. Landry, who is also a top-100 player, was pursued intensely by Marquette, but eventually chose Wisconsin. He is an extremely athletic player who should provide many future highlight-reel plays for Badger fans to enjoy. He was named first-team All-State by the associated press.
Joining Krabbenhoft and Landry will be 6'2' guard Phillip ""Mickey"" Perry. Perry was an honorable mention All-State selection out of Proviso East High school in Illinois.
""Mickey brings a scorer's mentality to the table,"" Ryan said.
Perry is also known to have an uncanny ability to drive to the rim, something the Badgers could certainly use after the departure of Devin Harris.
One of the main factors leading to Ryan's delight over the recruiting class was the players' ""enthusiasm and excitement they have for this university and the people here.""
The excitement here on campus for this year's Badger squad is already palpable. Hopefully, the new recruits will be able to keep this excitement going into the future. Bo Ryan has brought his Badgers into the elite class of the Big Ten, and if these recruits have anything to stay about it, the Badgers will stay there for a very long time.
