Huge opportunities this week. Quick search of Kenpom shows Wisconsin at 7(!!!) and Richmond at 58. After today’s win we moved up a slot or two to 52.

If anyone can answer these questions, that would be awesome.

It looks like the proposed transfer rule change that will allow kids that have to sit this year to be immediately eligible is going to pass on Wednesday. With that being said:

1) Did Demezi Anderson apply for a waiver for this year?
2) Even if he didn’t APPLY for the waiver, would he still be eligible to play when the rule passes?
3) does the fact that we have a full roster right now preclude us from immediately activating him?
4) is there a strategic advantage to NOT play him? And
5) if Anderson sits this year, and some of all of the seniors decide to stay, can he transfer out and be immediately eligible to play for another team?

It’s my understanding that this year is not counting for ANYONE as far as eligibility (i.e. Krutwig will have one year left after this season and Norris will have 3 years left). Is that correct?

If we chose NOT to play Anderson this year, because he didn’t play, wouldn’t he still only have only 3 years of eligibility left regardless? The way I see it, regardless of whether he plays this year or not, if the rule passes, he’s still only going to have 3 years left after the season? Am I wrong?

My opinion is that, if he’s eligible, we should play him. If he was a guard, I might feel different, but he’s 6’7” and seems super athletic. I’m concerned about a log jam in recruiting the next 3 years and I would rather have him out there sooner than later.

Is there anyone with inside knowledge of what Porter is planning on doing (or not doing)? To me it seems like a free chance to see what we’ve got. If we have another Andre Jackson type of player on our roster, I want that RIGHT NOW.

I’m not going to lie - Anderson’s high school tapes on YouTube give me a lot of optimism. That being said, I’m concerned about why he struggled so bad at Indiana. I’m also not super happy about the interview he gave with these two yahoos 6 months ago:

[youtube] https://youtu.be/VvzQQlLAWAY[/youtube]

I don’t think Demezi says anything particularly bad, but I’m also not a fan of two grown men running a basketball version of Wayne’s World, dropping the N-bomb repeatedly, and asking one of our student-athletes whether he prefers ass or titties.

Looking at Wisconsin’s scores (particularly against decent teams like Marquette and Rhode Island),I don’t think there is any chance of us getting blown out, given our field goal percentage and apparent ability to hit threes.

I think our defense is going to keep them in the mid-sixties to low-seventies. The problem with that is that this might be one of the games where our free throw shooting makes a difference. We gave away another 8 points at the line again at UIC. shooting 65% is driving me nuts.

I watched the Marquette vs. Wisconsin game and I definitely think we can compete.

I predict a 71-67 game. If we win, we will have shot 70% from the line. If we lose, you’ll be able to point to free throws as the culprit.

I actually thought the free throw shooting was alright this game aside from Tate. Krutwig, Aher, and Kennedy all shot over 75%. Tate went 1-4, he needs to step up his game up.

Really strange video. I don't feel like those guys went through normal channels to set that up...

You are correct that winter sport athletes were granted an extra year. Whether players actually use it is another question. For example, Norris already transferred and sat a year, so he would be a sixth-year senior if he stayed.

As for Anderson, he's on the roster, so if he becomes eligible, he could play. Porter does like the redshirt though.

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But does the redshirt matter now? He’s already played a year at Indiana, so that’s one year gone. In normal conditions, he’d sit this year and have 3 more eligible years to play. Are you saying, now, if they do away with the “you have to sit one year” requirement this year, Anderson will have FOUR YEARS of eligibility to play for us if he sits?

That seems crazy....

Every player has 4 years of eligibility to play. The redshirt year doesn't count against the four years because they don't play. Anderson will be able to play in 2 seasons of eligibility with us. Now because this year doesn't count against eligibility he could play this season and still have the next two years left. This is the only "free year" though.

That all said I think there's major benefit to keeping him out. As a player you don't have to worry about pressing for play time, only improving your game. Our team is already extremely crowded and I don't think you need more minutes to battle for at this point.

I have no idea.

He played two years at Indiana though. Normally, he would redshirt this year and play two more. I guess we'll find out what happens if they do decide to make all the transfers eligible.

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So you're saying he is here for three years whether he plays this year or not.

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Interesting bit in the weekly mid-major column from the Athletic ($$) talking to Matt Gordon about getting Richmond and Wisconsin on the schedule in the last week. We've been being featured in the column with some frequency this year.