Wisconsin Badgers Snag verbal commitment from 2017 Big Man Nathan Reuvers

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers continued their spring recruiting efforts by securing a verbal commitment from 2017 forward Nathan Reuvers on Wednesday. The 6-foot-10 power forward from Lakeville North (Minn.) announced his commitment on Twitter following an unofficial visit to Madison on Wednesday.

Beyond blessed to announce my commitment to further my education and basketball career at Wisconsin! ⚪️ #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/b2IKyj0jEG

— Nathan Reuvers (@Reuvers23) May 18, 2016

Reuvers becomes the second player currently in Wisconsin's 2017 recruiting class, joining Kobe King, of La Crosse Central (Wis.).

The Badgers originally offered Reuvers in March, near the end of his breakout season at Lakeville North. Reuvers averaged about 20 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per game in leading the Panthers to the championship game in the Class AAAA Minnesota state tournament.

It was a huge jump for Reuvers, who had averaged 6.5 points per game as a sophomore.

The offers came flooding in.

Reuvers chose the Badgers over the in-state Minnesota Gophers. He had offers from more than 20 other Division I schools, including Clemson, Creighton, Harvard, Illinois, Marquette and Northwestern.

By the time he arrives on campus, Reuvers will join a frontcourt without Nigel Hayes and Vitto Brown.

The Badgers used a number of freshman big men in 2015-16, led by Big Ten Freshman of the Year Ethan Happ, who averaged 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while starting all 35 games. Charlie Thomas and Alex Illikainen each played about nine minutes as freshman, while Andy Van Vliet was ruled ineligible. That quartet will be juniors by the time Reuvers arrives.

Reuvers will look to be next in line. He has shown the ability to score inside and out, something the Badgers covet in their big men, particularly with the return to the swing offense concepts in the second half of the 2015-16 season.

After a slow year of recruitment with the uncertainty surrounding Bo Ryan's retirement, the Badgers have been all over the recruiting trail this spring. On April 23, the Badgers filled their class of 2016 scholarships with the commitments of D'Mitrik Trice and Aleem Ford, of IMG Academy (Fla.). The following day, Michael Ballard, of Fenwick (Ill.), joined the class of 2016 as a preferred walk-on.