By Adam Roberts – 12/17/2020

For the third straight year, Wisconsin football is bringing in a historically good recruiting class.

On National Signing Day ’21 yesterday, the Badgers appropriately brought in 21 new scholarship signees. The class was ranked 16th in the nation by 247 Sports and 15th by Rivals, both the highest in school history for either site. Highlights of the class include:

• Jake Ratzlaff, OLB, Rosemount, MN – Ratzlaff was named the 2020 Metro Football Player of the Year, and also was a semifinalist for the Butkus Award and finalist for Minnesota Mr. Football. The four-star linebacker also is a captain for the U.S. U-18 Men’s Hockey Team.
• Deacon Pe’a Hill, QB, Santa Barbara, CA – The Polynesian Bowl All-Star threw for 3,102 yards and 33 TDs as a junior and also ran for 13.
• Hunter Wohler, DB, Muskego, WI – The class features a number of in-state talent, including the four-star Wohler who had 78 total tackles, 2 picks, and forced a fumble for 9-0 Muskego. Wohler also was named the Associated Press’s Wisconsin Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and is a three-time first-team all-state athlete.
• Skyler Bell, WR, Bronx, NY – One of the fastest recruits in the class, the wideout from the NYC borough caught 36 passes for 549 yards and 8 TDs in his junior season.
• Jake Chaney, ILB, Cape Coral, FL – The linebacker corps gets a big boost from the Florida District 7A Player of the Year who recorded 100 total tackles as a junior, including 10 tackles for loss.
• JP Benzschawel, OL, Grafton, WI – Another member of the Benzschawel Klan will join Wisconsin for 2022, and it should be no surprise given the talent in the program with that last name that he is a four-star talent.
• Ayo Adebogun, OLB, Mequon, WI – More in-state talent for the defense, and it comes courtesy of the Tim Krumrie Award winner for outstanding defensive lineman. Adebogun recorded 52 tackles, 21 for loss, and 7.5 sacks his senior year.

And that’s just a sample of the 21 new Badgers. It’s safe to say with proper development, Wisconsin will remain a contender for the short-term future.

By Adam Roberts – 12/16/2020

Wisconsin’s pro sports teams have come together to start an investment group.

The Packers, Brewers and Bucks have partnered to create the Equity League, which is an investment network that will help create more opportunities for Black and LatinX founders. The project is a new division of the venture capital fund TitletownTech, which the Packers and Microsoft founded three years ago.

According to the Packers’ website: “TitletownTech is a partnership between Microsoft and the Green Bay Packers that has created an exciting venture studio and fund, is located across the street from iconic Lambeau Field, and is now shepherding more than 20 new startups into formation with many beginning operations in Northeast Wisconsin.”

By Adam Roberts – 12/15/2020

Breaking News today: Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is signing the supermax contract with the team. Per Woj and Shams, the details of the contract keep Giannis with the Bucks for five more years once his contract wraps up following this season. It is valued at 228.2 million dollars, making it the biggest deal in NBA history.

Giannis on his Twitter said the following this afternoon: “This is my home, this is my city.. I’m blessed to be able to be a part of the Milwaukee Bucks for the next 5 years. Let’s make these years count. The show goes on, let’s get it.”

An important note on the deal: there is an opt-out available to Giannis after year four.

Milwaukee wraps up the preseason this Friday against New Orleans.

By Adam Roberts – 12/15/2020

While it’s still the presesason, the Milwaukee Bucks have a number of things to shore up before the start of the season. Poor three-point shooting and ball security were on display last night in the team’s 128-112 loss to Dallas at Fiserv Forum.

Giannis as usual led things with 24 points, 14 rebounds, and 4 assists, but also turned the ball over 3 times and was not great overall shooting. The Greek Freak finished 1-4 from 3, 1-7 at the line, and shot just over 50% overall. As a team, 3-point shots were not common, either; 12-33 from beyond the arc won’t win you many NBA basketball games. The only player to make more than two was new bench acquisition Bryn Forbes who went 3-4 from three and 4-5 from the field.

Conversely, the Mavericks were 22-46 from distance, with Luca Doncic hitting three long shots for nine of his 27 points.

“Ultimately, it was a good test tonight” head coach Mike Budenholzer said afterwards. “And we’ll have plenty of film to go over and use to improve.”

Which, at the end of the day, is what the preseason’s purpose really is: gathering film and reviewing problem points with players of all talent tiers.

Milwaukee wraps up the preseason Friday night against New Orleans.

By Adam Roberts – 12/10/2020

It’s fun to pretend sometimes. I think we all are taught that as kids, and sometimes even into adulthood, it can be fun to use your imagination and play out fantasy scenarios in our heads.

For instance, the idea of James Harden coming to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Earlier today, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that James Harden has added the Bucks and Miami Heat to his list of preferred trade destinations, along with the presumed favorites in Brooklyn, and the 76ers. This comes a day after Harden joined the Rockets for preseason practices, which he is currently not participating in while waiting for six straight negative COVID-19 tests.

This news also comes at a time when Bucks fans and media are apprehensive about Giannis Antetokoumnpo’s long-term future in Milwaukee, due in part to his non-committal statements yesterday when asked about his super max. Currently, the Bucks are hoping Jrue Holiday will provide an extra spark to the Giannis-Khris Middleton duo, but some on Twitter especially have wondered aloud about the idea of the Giannis-Harden duo.

Personally, there’s just to much personality that accompanies Harden for me to ever see that working out in Milwaukee, not to mention that at the first sign of things heading south he will probably want out immediately. Still, it’s fun to play out all the different scenarios, and until Giannis signs that super max, pretty much anything is on the table for discussion.