Schaumburg junior Chris Hodges commits to Wisconsin

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Wisconsin grabbed its first Illinois commitment in years on Thursday night as the Badgers landed Schaumburg junior forward Chris Hodges.

The 6-foot-8 Hodges is more of a traditional big man for the Saxons on the high school level, but the Badgers have visions of making him more of a versatile forward at the college level. As one of the nation's best programs at developing frontcourt talents, it's easy to see why Hodges would end his recruitment early and pledge to the Big Ten program.

Hodges' commitment also signals that Wisconsin has been more active in the Land of Lincoln than in recent years. Since taking commitments from great four-year big men like Benet's Frank Kaminsky (2011) and Rockridge's Ethan Happ (2014) earlier this decade, the Badgers have focused on local Wisconsin in-state recruiting and hitting other pockets of the Midwest like Minnesota and Ohio. Taking over for Bo Ryan several seasons ago, head coach Greg Gard has stayed away from the area as Illinois hasn't produced as many high-major prospects in the last five classes.

But that could be changing in a big Class of 2021 recruiting haul for the Badgers. Hodges is the first pledge for Wisconsin in the junior class and he's also the first junior in a deep Illinois prep class to make a commitment. Hodges has plenty of talented teammates with the Illinois Wolves and it is still very early in the recruiting process. It'll be interesting to see where Wisconsin stands with local prospects within the next year with this first commitment.

Hodges was one of a handful of local high-major juniors to make noise as a sophomore last season as he put up 16 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. During a season that lacked a lot of talented big men, Hodges was a standout player in the MSL as he helped the Saxons grab a regional title. Although high-major programs were slow to offer Hodges coming off of the summer, Wisconsin made him an early priority recruit by offering him in June during one of their camps.

The early commitment should allow for Hodges to focus on his game as he'll try to become more skilled handling perimeter responsibilities at both ends over the next several years. An All-Area candidate, Hodges has a chance to put up big numbers this season if he continues to develop. Not many big men in the area have as much talent and upside.

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