By now everybody with internet access has heard the news that the Badgers missed out on 5-star big man Diamond Stone, as he committed to Maryland last night. Obviously immediately after he announced his decision on Twitter the rumors started flying about why he’s not coming to UW, but everything has been entirely speculation. This won’t be.

Before I get too far into this, let me say ahead of time that I’m not writing this out of bitterness. Obviously I’m disappointed and pissed off that he’s not gonna be a Badger, but I’m not mad at him because of it. He’s a great player. He’ll be great at Maryland, and he’ll play in the NBA. Diamond Stone is just an 18-year-old kid deciding where to go to college, and he doesn’t owe UW anything just because he was born in Wisconsin. I’m just writing this because I know some details about the story, and because the wrong people have ended up taking the fall from this situation. So here’s what the “sources” and “insiders” weren’t talking about when it comes to one of the most hyped recruits to ever come out of Wisconsin not becoming a Badger…

Diamond Stone verbally committed to UW in November. Obviously that never became public knowledge so people will say it’s not true when they read this, but believe it or not, sometimes there’s some stuff that goes on behind the scenes in college sports that beat writers don’t know about (and I’m sure there’s plenty of the story that I don’t know, too. This is just the part that I’ve been told.) Diamond’s dad called Coach Ryan’s house and used the phrase “You might want to sit down for this” like he was about to announce the second coming of Jesus Christ. His dad then put Diamond on the phone, and he told Coach that he wanted to be a Badger. The problem was, both parties knew all along he didn’t have the grades/ACT score to get into the University at the time. I know this because Coach’s daughter Brenna answered the phone and was right there when it happened, and she’s a close friend of mine.

It's ok, I didn't get into the UW either.

— Brenna Ryan (@BrenkRyan) March 28, 2015

(No idea how she isn’t a Twitter sensation, by the way. If you’re looking for some entertainment, I recommend the follow.)

I’m not writing this to make fun of the guy or call him stupid – A lot of people don’t get into Madison. They just usually end up going to Minnesota, not Maryland. Hell, it’s common knowledge that Gary Andersen left Wisconsin because he couldn’t get his recruits into school (and because he’s a pussy). This isn’t a new issue for UW coaching staffs to deal with, but it’s a pretty important part of the real story. I know I’m not the first one saying Diamond Stone had a low ACT score because that’s been going around Twitter forever, I’m just confirming it. So, because he wasn’t admitted to the University yet, he decided to wait for a while before giving a half hour warning on Twitter to announce his commitment to the Badgers, instead of doing it right then.

At that point he still had time to improve his scores and be admitted, so he kept pushing back his public commitment because he didn’t want to end up getting denied and then have to face the embarrassment of decommitting – and rightfully so. Who would want to make that announcement? I can’t blame the guy. The decision eventually came down from UW that he was not admitted, so last night he announced that he’s going to Maryland – his second choice. (To be fair, I’m not blaming UW, either. I’ve already said I’m glad we have a standard for student athletes. It’s just frustrating.)

But the most frustrating part of the situation is that it makes it look like the program and our coaching staff made a mistake by not getting one of the biggest recruits in America when he grew up right in our backyard. The same thing happened when Vander Blue committed to Marquette. He was committed to UW and then ended up not getting into school, but the public perception is that these guys snubbed the Badgers, which just isn’t the case. It’s billed as a shortcoming of Wisconsin basketball, when in all actuality the mistake was not on their part.

People always jump to a kid’s defense when Twitter trolls talk bad about a guy like Diamond Stone for making his college decision, but nobody ever backs up the coaches who do the recruiting. It’s assumed that missing on a big time recruit is a failure on the part of the coaching staff. People call for their jobs or say recruiting at Wisconsin needs to change, but the fact is that they had no control in the matter. This is far from the first time this has happened, it’s just the one that got the most attention because Diamond is a complete monster. That’s what actually pissed me off about this situation. They’re the ones that end up looking bad, and recruiting is very literally part of their livelihood – but they can’t say anything about it. We have some great coaches and they’re a huge reason Wisconsin is playing to go to back-t0-back Final Fours in a few hours – But when stuff like this happens, they take the brunt of it because a lot of people don’t know the real story. It’s like at the end of the Dark Knight when Harvey Dent is the one who ends up becoming the hero and Batman has to take the fall. You either die a hero, or you coach long enough to see yourself become the enemy because a kid’s PPG is higher than his ACT.

Coach Ryan is an entertaining interview no matter what he’s talking about, so when you add in Halloween on State Street and Madison toga parties, it becomes a must listen. I love DP and think he’s one of the best guys on sports radio, so take a listen if you’re one of the people that can’t wait any longer for March Madness to get started. They also talked about Frank’s improvement during his time at UW, Kentucky’s chance to go undefeated, and his ritual of having the Wisconsin freshmen practice sliding off the raised floor in Minnesota. We’ve only got another two days to wait for the Badgers to be back in action, but for now this will have to do. (If you really only clicked this to hear Bo Ryan say the word ‘marijuana,’ that part of the interview comes at about 10:30.)

The Bucks took care of business at home last night, defeating the Magic 97-91. It was a close game down to the wire but thankfully the Bucks came away with the W down the stretch. Khris Middleton led all scorers and tied his career high with 30 points, while Zaza Pachulia added a double double – 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. (Zaza’s game looks ugly, but he’s probably the Bucks’ most effective center, as sad as that is.) Nikola Vucevic had a double double of his own, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 boards for Orlando.

Despite what their record would indicate, the Magic aren’t a terrible team. Since firing their coach Jacque Vaughn they’ve gone 6-8. Victor Oladipo had been averaging 25.2 points per game in the month of March, but tonight the Bucks held him to just 14 points on 4-17 shooting. This was an important game to win, as the Bucks have a difficult schedule the rest of this month.

The Bucks did an outstanding job sharing the ball last night as they finished with 30 assists on 39 made field goals. Milwaukee also outrebounded the Magic significantly, 51-33. MCW struggled shooting the ball going 4-13 and committed a game high 5 turnovers, but he did a good job defensively and on the glass. You can definitely see flashes from him at times that would explain why Jason Kidd believes in him as the point guard of the future.

Since Knight was traded away, there have been some questions as to who would emerge as the Bucks’ go-to-guy down the stretch offensively, and I think we now know the answer to that question is Khris Middleton. He’s currently averaging 20.3 points per game in the month of March. Middleton is changing from being known primarily as a defensive stopper/advanced statistics darling into a legitimate scoring option for the Bucks. He’s likely going to live up to his nickname this offseason as he is set to make some serious money. The max for Middleton would be about 16.5 million give or take, and don’t be surprised if a team offers him close to that amount, which I firmly expect the Bucks to match.

Milwaukee starts a three game road trip tomorrow at Indiana. The Pacers are currently the hottest team in the NBA, having won 6 games in a row and 9 of their last 10. Indiana is 4.5 games behind the Bucks in the standings and have a legitimate shot at catching the Bucks for 6th place, especially since All Star Paul George is now set to return later this month. Indiana’s hot streak, combined with the Bucks coming off a back to back, makes me believe that this will be a tough game for the Bucks to win at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Prediction: Pacers 99, Bucks 89

You hate to see something as hyped up as Hooters get ruined for somebody like this, especially when it’s someone like Melvin Gordon who you’ve supported for a long time. It’s like the Easter Bunny but for guys who would like to be served chicken by large chested women. Eventually you wise up and realize that the wings aren’t that good and the waitresses don’t look anything like the chicks Dickie V is hanging out with in those commercials, and it’s a tough reality to face. Most guys have that epiphany early in high school when all your friends decide Hooters is the closest thing you can get to a strip club, but apparently Melvin was a little late to the party. Sad day.