Wednesday Musings

- The Trae Young backlash began in earnest after OU’s loss to OSU on Saturday. It was bound to happen. We build these kids up, just to tear them down. Don’t get me wrong, his play was somewhat erratic as he turned the ball over a lot and his shot selection had gotten poor in some instances. He deserved fair criticism. Last night though, he was dangerously efficient as they got a nice win over Kansas. OU will be dangerous if they can get contributions outside the kid. That’s not a guarantee, though.

- Wisconsin got waxed by a terrible Iowa team. It’s easy to blame lack of depth because of injuries but the fact of the matter is, they’re not very talented. How they parlayed back-to-back Final 4’s into this roster was roster malpractice. Other than Ethan Happ, player development, allegedly a program strong point, has been a myth. And honestly, Happ has gone from potential first round pick to nearly out of many mock drafts. I’ve seen some Badger homer journos argue if he comes back, he could be a POY candidate next year. That isn’t happening. The current junior class shows flashes but are largely “meh” college players. It’s possible Khalil Iverson takes a jump as a senior but the rest appear to be what they are. Brad Davison and Nathan Reuvers will be good college players but without reinforcements, I’m not sure what that means as far as wins and losses. They put all their eggs into the Tyler Herro/Joey Hauser basket and that failed spectacularly. Again, that was recruiting malpractice. The state has some top talent in class of ‘19 Nobal Days and ‘20 Jalen Johnson but the tea leaves and treatment of Herro after his decommit indicate the Badgers need to look elsewhere. They may not be this bad in 2019 but the Final 4 is a long ways away.

- Clemson scored 38 against Virginia. The injury to Donte Grantham is crushing. A promising season could go off the rails quickly. Coupled with Zion Williamson’s shocking decision to attend Duke over Clemson, it’s been a terrible couple of days for the Tigers.