Uthoff makes his pick
Things couldn't have happened any more smoothly for 6-foot-8 forward Jarrod Uthoff from Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Jefferson. Building off of a solid junior season and exposure gained traveling with the Iowa Barnstormers, the skilled forward built up quite the following.
Monday afternoon, Uthoff decided that it was time to end things and committed to Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers program.
Advertisement
"I'm going to Wisconsin," Uthoff told Rivals.com. "I just think it's a great fit for me. The style of play, I like the coaching staff. I like everything about Wisconsin."
Had he wanted to, Uthoff could have played out July and been a primary target for programs like Iowa State, Iowa, Illinois, Northwestern, Virginia and others. Instead, he opted to give those schools a chance to find other options.
"I wanted to give the other schools the opportunity to see other players," said Uthoff. "I didn't want them looking at me when I'm not going there. All of the other coaches took it great. They are sad I'm not going to their school, but they all wished me the best of luck."
On the floor, Uthoff sees himself as versatile, hybrid type forward who can play either inside or out.
"I can play inside and out," said Uthoff. "I don't really have a set position but they can see me playing probably the three or the four."
With his commitment, Uthoff joins George Marshall, Traevon Jacksonand Frank Kaminsky to make up the Badgers 2011 recruiting class. Not surprisingly, Uthoff thinks the appeal of Bo Ryan had a lot to do with his adding his name to the Badgers commitment list.
"I think he's a great guy and he's obviously a great coach with the success that he's had at every level he's coached on," said Uthoff. "It feels pretty awesome that I know what school I'm going to now."