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Reputation:97
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Since:Feb 13, 2008
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I did these as part of a project over on RP, and I thought I'd put them up over here. These show the top prospects in the state and where they're from going back to 2003 and out to 2011.
2003 and 2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Just something for anyone that's bored or wants to waste some time.
A couple things jump out pretty quickly, at least when you overlay all the maps on each other. I don't think you guys can do that, so you'll have to partially take my word for it.
- Milwaukee produces the most recruits by far. Madison is a fairly distant second, and there's no real third place.
- If you draw an extended line from Eau Claire to Green Bay there's one prospect that comes from north of that line, and he's the #16 ranked prospect in 2010. I take that back, Dave Bliss (Georgia center) and Mike Schachtner (UWGB forward) are also north of that line. There's a whole lot of white space up there (or green space, if you're looking at the satellite image).
- There's no one from southwestern Wisconsin, either.
None of those facts really surprised me, but I did think that the distribution would be a BIT more even across the state. The overall lack of prospects from SW Wisconsin was probably the most unexpected result.
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Reputation:98
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 19, 2006
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It is an interesting breakdown, but nothing really strikes me as surprising. The further north you go, the level of competition is IMO going to be decreased when compared to the further south you are. Also, as you move towards the pit called Iowa the level of competition should also be lower.
The lack of a major city to the southwest or in the north is going to affect the talent level of the prospects available. The larger the city (madison, milwaukee) the more talent there is due simply due to size. This also means there should be a higher level of competition among elite teams in each city, leading to greater improvement.
The lack of talent to the southwest doesn't strike me as surprising. The closest major city as you move out that way is either Madison, Dubuque, or Cedar Rapids. As a family are you really going to commute that far to give your kid a chance to play? Or will you simply pick up and move to one of the cities? I think if you're kid shows that much promise you move to a major city or you settle for a local team where your kid simply won't improve as much. Also, as you move out to the southwest I think economically you're looking at families that farm. If this is the case then kids out there might simply not be focused on basketball due to the demands the family may have on the kid to work.
Obviously these aren't all going to be the case, but I think you could argue for each as a factor in the lack of prospects in certain areas of the state. I mean I think the same case could be made for the state of Illinois. Chicago would be the hotbed for prospects and maybe Peoria behind it. But Rockford, a city of similar size to Madison may not boost out any really great high major prospects. Same with Springfield Illinois to the south (like southwest wisconsin?). Same with other state like Indiana and the Indianapolis area or Minnesota and the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
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Reputation:96
Level:Superstar
Since:Nov 13, 2006
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Dave Bliss is from my home town--Wausau. It is true that north of "the line" the competition is well below the likes of madison or Milwaukee. There is pretty solid talent up here, and teams that we send to state always give stud teams a run for their money. Bliss is probably the last premier prospect from around here, at least for a while. I remember Bliss dropping 30 a night routinely.
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Reputation:81
Level:All-Star
Since:Mar 17, 2008
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Scott Christopherson is from Southwest Wisconsin.Dont Forget him
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Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Feb 13, 2008
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I've got him as coming from La Crosse because of high school.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Mar 9, 2007
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The Greater Milwaukee Area is home to about a 3rd of the State's population, it makes sense that the bulk of the players come from there. What I find interesting though is that if you only look at the top 5 players for each class, they are pretty spread out. Milwaukee may have 50-75% of the state prospects, but the majority of those are bottom feeders.
There are a couple years where the top couple recruits are from Milwaukee, but if you look at the big picture, nearly just as many top players are from the Madison Area, Oshkosh Area, and the other metro areas of Wisconsin. Milwaukee has more quantity than quality; other locales might only have one or two players, but those one or two are top notch.
It's just something I've noticed while following Wisconsin prospects over the years. It just never seems that Milwaukee talent makes as much of an impact as talent from other parts of the state.
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Reputation:99
Level:Superstar
Since:Aug 10, 2006
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It's just something I've noticed while following Wisconsin prospects over the years. It just never seems that Milwaukee talent makes as much of an impact as talent from other parts of the stateIN high school that is. Note though that just about every single NBA player this state has ever produced, not that there is that many, has been from Milwaukee or a Milwaukee suburb. So that is also interesting to note within your thought process
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Reputation:81
Level:All-Star
Since:Mar 17, 2008
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I was including La Crosse as Southwest Wisconsin, if it isn't SW then what is it?
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Reputation:97
Level:Superstar
Since:Feb 13, 2008
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I was calling it west.
There used to be shading that designated the areas of the state by prospect density, but I guess I deleted that. These were the areas I was using:
Milwaukee - from Cedarburg to South Milwaukee and out to Delafield
Madison - a square including roughly anything within 15 miles of Monona and Mendota
North - everyt | |
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