Q&A: Billy Wampler Holds 18 Scholarship Offers; Gophers Pitino Scouted Him Sunday

Q&A: Billy Wampler Holds 18 Scholarship Offers; Gophers Pitino Scouts Him This Weekend
By Chris Monter

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/404307?referrer_id=388419

Billy Wampler, a 6-foot-6 rising senior from Eau Claire (WI) Regis, has had a very strong summer and continues to garner increased interest from college coaches. This past weekend, Gophers Richard Pitino joined coaches from Drake, Nebraska, Creighton Northern Iowa and others in scouting Wampler.

Wampler helped lead Regis to a 15-9 mark this past season, losing to Mondovi 54-39 in the playoffs. He averaged 25.5 points per game and had 18 games of more than 20 points with seven contests of more than 30 points.

Wampler recently talked to Gopher Hole about the latest on his recruitment.

Gopher Hole: You played well in Chicago. What was that experience like?

Billy Wampler: It was definitely a different experience. It was the first time I had ever been to a camp with that kind of set-up. We went to the gym three times a day, so it was really tiring on the body, but I think that my conditioning work really helped me progress throughout the week and get better as the camp went on and everyone else got tired. The first day was little of rough, but I was just trying to get to know everybody and get my ropes, so I could figure out what I was going to do and how I was going to compare to these guys. I think that it was after the first game, it was still the same thing, but the second game I just started picking things up and getting used to my teammates and it just kept going up from there.

Gopher Hole: Do you think that was partly due to no one really knows each other that well and you can sometimes get stuck with some point guards who handle the ball too much?

Billy Wampler: Yes. I had Sedrick Barefield from the Compton Magic on my team, so I actually had a nice point guard. He actually gave me my confidence in the second game and set me up a lot and I ended up with four or five threes in that game, so he really helped me get better as the week went on. I also had Rawle Alkins out of New York and he is a top 100 player and he is really good. He just kept my confidence up and kept pushing me to be better.

Gopher Hole: You had the really big game where you made 10 of 16 shots and had 27 points. Do games like that give you even more confidence?

Billy Wampler: I was trying to win that game because we went 1-3 in the first two days. We wanted to do better and we knew that we could win some games. That was a team that we had lost to before. I really wanted to come back and I really wanted to win that game because we lost by 20 the first time. It was kind of a pride thing for us to come back out and win that game.

Gopher Hole: Have you heard from some new coaches since Chicago?

Billy Wampler: Not really new coaches, but just a lot more heavy pressure from a lot of the schools that have been in contact since Nebraska, Wisconsin and Creighton. All those Midwest schools that are starting to push on me real heavy, but it has also spread further to Stanford. Stanford, I know, has called my coach several times. I was offered by Auburn, so it is starting to get stretch out from the Midwest.

Gopher Hole: How many offers are you up to right now?

Billy Wampler: I am up to 18 right now.

Gopher Hole: Is it hard to keep track after a while?

Billy Wampler: It is hard to name all the schools, but I can keep count of the number, so I have to go online and look up my list and make sure that I know all the schools.

Gopher Hole: If I told you that you would have 18 offers a year ago, what would you have thought?

Billy Wampler: Probably "You're crazy," because I thought maybe one or two and maybe get to college, but I never would have expected to have this many options to go to school somewhere across the country like Auburn or something like that.

Gopher Hole: Obviously, you have a lot of the "Mid-major programs" and now Auburn is probably your highest offer. What is going to take for the Wisconsin, Marquettes and Minnesotas, the area schools to offer you?

Billy Wampler: They have all been talking about an offer. Coach Pitino, I know, is really, really interested and Nebraska with Coach Tim Miles. Tim Miles is going to come on Sunday and I'm sure that Coach Pitino will be here soon. He said that he was going to be here. They are just going to watch me play because they really haven't ever seen me play because there was only one period in the spring, so they just want to get out and see me and decide from there.

Gopher Hole: I know that you visited Minnesota during their team camp. What was that experience like?

Billy Wampler: Actually, I fell in love with the campus. I really enjoyed Minnesota. I visited Wisconsin the previous week. Some people are biased towards Wisconsin. I was there, but I really love Minnesota and I loved everything about it. I like the coaching staff and they are doing really big things there and the Barn was just something else. It is older, but it really has got a lot of history, so it was fun to be there. I got to stand right in the middle of the court and it was empty. It was just an awe inspiring experience

Gopher Hole: What would it mean if Minnesota decided to offer you?

Billy Wampler: It would be great. They would probably be at the top of my list or tied for the top of my list. It is a great program. Coach Pitino is really going up with that program and it is going to be something good.

Gopher Hole: What if Wisconsin were to offer?

Billy Wampler: Same thing. I am kind of on the border between a Minnesota or Wisconsin kid. That has been in my household ever since I was a little kid. Wisconsin gear everywhere. I probably have 300 Wisconsin shirts in my house. It would crazy to know that I have an offer from the University of Wisconsin. That is kind of like everyone's dream in the state is to play for their home school, but I don't know if I am a Wisconsin kid. I might be a Minnesota kid at heart.

Gopher Hole: What is going to be the main factors that make you pick School A over School B or C?

Billy Wampler: It is probably going to be more coaching staff and opportunity. That is probably going to be the two biggest things. Obviously, my major is going to play in there, but I am going to major in Business Marketing, so most schools are going to have my major. Coaching and opportunity, if I am going to have to redshirt or if I am going to be able to play right away, so it is just those two things. The coaches that I have meet have been really nice guys. It is hard to leave some coaches out. Just figuring out if they are telling you the truth or not, but we'll figure it out as it goes on.

Gopher Hole: Have you thought about when you would try to decide on a school? Would you sign in the early period?

Billy Wampler: We are definitely going to decide early. We are going to try to get all of our visits out of the way to the schools that are serious in August and then we are going to move forward and probably make a decision in late August or early September, so we can really get into the program and start with their weight program and stuff like that.

Gopher Hole: Do you know what schools you definitely want to take your five official visits to yet?

Billy Wampler: I am not for sure. I am probably going to take one to Davidson, because I really, really like Coach Bob McKillop. That is kind of a sleeper school for me. A lot of people don't really expect me to like Davidson, but I really enjoy the program because he thinks that I could probably start for them right away for them, so that is obviously a great opportunity for me to come in and play. Now, they are going to be in the A-10. A really good school and a really good conference. For sure, Davidson, but I am not for sure about my other four. We are just going to see how that plays out.

Gopher Hole: Are you planning on making any unofficial visits anywhere this month or are you just waiting until July is over?

Billy Wampler: We are going to wait until July is over before we can really do anything because we are jammed packed with stuff all during July. We are probably going to mix in some officials with unofficials and try to knock out as many schools as we possibly can just to try to get to experience what everyone is about.

He seems like a really sharp kid. I haven't seen him play, but he's clearly intelligent. I'm not just saying that because of all the nice Gopher talk either. You rarely see a high school kid answer Monter's questions so thoughtfully and thoroughly.

If he doesn't come here, I really hope he doesn't go to Wisconsin. Because then I would have to hate him!

This kid really made it worth Monter's time for the interview. I wish every recruit could give answers like Wampler did!

Hey Chris, great job with these recent interviews. You've started to move beyond the formulaic questions to ask the ones everyone wants answers to, like those about whether Minnesota and Wisconsin were to offer. Those were excellent questions that elicited really insightful answers from this kid. Keep veering from the beaten path and digging for information unique to each recruit.

Thanks for the kind words.

Chris Monter

This answer is telling, particularly because he knows it's a Minnesota reporter interviewing him. I read this as saying that if Wisconsin and Minnesota were to offer, Wisconsin would be #1 in a heartbeat. Not surprising, since he's from Wisconsin. But he's trying not to come right out and say it, because he knows Wisconsin may not offer. If Wisconsin didn't offer, he would embrace being a "Minnesota kid."


>>"I am kind of on the border between a Minnesota or Wisconsin kid. That has been in my household ever since I was a little kid. Wisconsin gear everywhere. I probably have 300 Wisconsin shirts in my house. It would crazy to know that I have an offer from the University of Wisconsin. That is kind of like everyone's dream in the state is to play for their home school, but I don't know if I am a Wisconsin kid. I might be a Minnesota kid at heart."

I'd be curious to know if UWOle thinks that Wisconsin will offer Wampler or is anywhere close to offering him at this point? To me this kind of feels like the same approach the Gophers are using with their local kid Sacar Anim. An offer would likely put them immediately as the favorite, but how long they can wait is TBD.

At quick glance, it looks like Wisconsin will have 4 scholarships open for 2015. One being taken already by SG Britzl. Don't know a ton about him, but it seems like he has a similar game to Wampler in that they are both known primarily for their shooting ability.

Richard said:

I'd be curious to know if UWOle thinks that Wisconsin will offer Wampler or is anywhere close to offering him at this point? To me this kind of feels like the same approach the Gophers are using with their local kid Sacar Anim. An offer would likely put them immediately as the favorite, but how long they can wait is TBD.

At quick glance, it looks like Wisconsin will have 4 scholarships open for 2015. One being taken already by SG Britzl. Don't know a ton about him, but it seems like he has a similar game to Wampler in that they are both known primarily for their shooting ability.

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I peruse Buckyville's bball recruiting thread for UWOle's posts and general info about WI HS recruits, so I noticed he posted the GH article over there. Here is a linke to his original posting and posters' responses to the interview: http://buckyville.yuku.com/topic/73412/SUMMER-RECRUITING-THREAD?page=18#.U87HqvldV-4

Here is what UWOle said about Wampler on the next page:

I was able to watch Wampler play at a small event in Minneapolis on Saturday morning, which was my first time seeing him in quite a while. He has definitely grown and gotten better as a player. I don't think he's quite 6'6" as listed, but he's at least a legit 6'5". Not a great athlete, but also not a bad one. He is a good rebounder and is very active on the court. He has no problem snatching a board and heading up the court himself. I also thought his defense was solid, though the competition was not real strong. At the least, he paid attention off the ball and was in position to help. Offensively, I think someone like Kipper Nichols or Khalil Iverson would probably be a better compliment to Brevin Pritzl than would Wampler. That doesn't mean I don't like Billy or that I wouldn't want him at UW. Wampler is a nice player and would bring a fair amount to the table, but he is primarily a shooter. He did have a few strong takes to the hoop where he was able to beat his defender with a pump fake at the 3-point line, but attacking off the bounce is a part of his game that he needs to continue to work on.

Given the size of the class and where we are in the 2015 recruiting timeline, I would expect that an offer or two will go out pretty soon to at least of the SF-types being evaluated by UW. Nichols has the best offer list of the group, but Bo has never been afraid of being the first high major offer for a kid he really likes.

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Thanks for passing that along, I always respect UWOle's opinions even though he's a Badger backer...I'm definitely intrigued by Wampler, but would prefer other targets the Gophers are after. I'm hoping the fact that Pitino hasn't offered yet means that there is some confidence on his end in the Gophers landing three of the players he's already offered. Definitely wouldn't be opposed to adding a shooter like Wampler though.

Question for anyone: Wampler or Anim?

I'd probably go Wampler because we could use a shooter. He also has a better offer list.

BJN said:

Question for anyone: Wampler or Anim?

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It depends on what the rest of the class looks like. We need shooters, but we also need defenders who can get up and down the court with the best of them.

Is Wampler a knock down shooter?

I see the highlights are a lot of outside shooting, so I'm assuming thats the upside with him.

He looks a bit like Ben Brust, can be a physical mismatch for a smaller guard. Can he shoot like Ben? Cause Ben wasn't a ball handler, nor was he a lock down defender, but he could shoot, he was tough as nails and he had a pension to make the big shot.

Richard said:

I'd be curious to know if UWOle thinks that Wisconsin will offer Wampler or is anywhere close to offering him at this point? To me this kind of feels like the same approach the Gophers are using with their local kid Sacar Anim. An offer would likely put them immediately as the favorite, but how long they can wait is TBD.

At quick glance, it looks like Wisconsin will have 4 scholarships open for 2015. One being taken already by SG Britzl. Don't know a ton about him, but it seems like he has a similar game to Wampler in that they are both known primarily for their shooting ability.

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Thanks for the kind words.

I do like Wampler, such that I would not have a problem if UW offered him. And I do think that a UW offer would result in a commitment to the Badgers, which is likely why the UW staff has held off to this point. UW will probably have at least 5 openings for the 2015 class, potentially 6 if Dekker leaves after this coming season. The one commit at this point is a pretty solid SG (Brevin Pritzl), and I suspect that UW is still looking for a PG, a couple bigs and a SF.

Wampler is certainly one of the SFs they are looking at, and probably the one they stand the best chance of landing. The others are different types of players, so the staff may be trying to figure out who fits best with Pritzl and whatever guard they think they are going to land. One of the other SFs they are looking at is Kipper Nichols who also has a Gopher offer. As you can see from my post above, I do think Nichols or one of the other SF prospects might fit better than Billy and give UW a little more diversification on offense. I say that because Billy is largely a shooter at this point. He was better at attacking the bucket this past weekend than I expected, but I'm not sure he'll excel at that at the next level. Someone mentioned Ben Brust as a potential comparison for Wampler. However, Billy is quite a bit taller, which would allow him to play next to Pritzl at the SF spot and not be at a disadvantage defensively. Ben turned into a solid defender and good overall player on the offensive end, but I think Wampler would have some advantages over Ben on both ends because of his size.

Sorry for rambling, but it would not surprise me to see UW offer later this summer or in the fall.

Ramble all you want. From everything I've seen you post, your evaluations are easily the most detailed and spot on that we get on this board.

UWOle said:

Sorry for rambling, but it would not surprise me to see UW offer later this summer or in the fall.

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