The Wisconsin Badgers basketball team came within one win of a National Championship a season ago. Going into the 2015 season they have lost their two best players and although they have some top talent they aren't nearly as deep as their recruiting hasn't been top notch the past couple of seasons. Wisconsin is not known for grabbing top notch recruits, they instead take less heralded guys and turn them into solid four year players but their recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015 have ranked 115th and 50th respectively.
Wisconsin has also yet to get a commitment from anyone in the 2016 class but that could change within the next couple of days as four-star point guard Xavier Simpson is set to announce his college decision on Wednesday, according to Evan Daniels of Scout.com.
Part of the reason Wisconsin is hurting in the recruitment of players may be because Bo Ryan may not be with the school much longer as he has said he is not sure how much longer he will coach. Even with Ryan's uncertain future Wisconsin is still the favorite to get a commitment from Simpson, according to 247 Sports.
Simpson has taken three official visits in recent months with Wisconsin being the most recent but the other schools he is considering are Iowa State, Illinois, Michigan State and Purdue. Iowa State and Illinois are considered real threats to possibly snag Simpson but he never officially visited Purdue or Michigan State which likely doesn't bode well for their chances.
Simpson is a 5 foot-11 guard from Lima, Ohio and is ranked as the 66th best recruit overall and the 12th best point guard in the 2016 recruiting class, according to ESPN. Simpson is a great facilitator and passer who is extremely tough despite his small stature. Simpson will need to work on his jump shot and scoring ability as a whole as he is a good scorer but has room for improvement. He is not the quickest or most athletic player but he is a good guy to have on your side as he knows how to make winning plays.
Simpson averaged 15.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game on the summer Nike EYBL circuit and would be a great start to Bo Ryan's 2016 recruiting class. Where Simpson will choose to commit is kind of wide open at the moment but Wisconsin is the slight favorite and we will find out who will be getting a really good point guard very soon.
