Vander Blue knows what will awaits him at the Kohl Center on Saturday. But the sophomore guard is more focused on the challenge awaiting him on the court than any negative crowd reaction he surely will face.
Blue, a Madison, Wis., native, de-committed from Wisconsin in May 2009 before committing to in-state rival Marquette five months later. Saturday will mark his first basketball trip back to Madison in a Marquette uniform when the Golden Eagles take on the No. 9/7 Badgers.
In years past, former Madison Memorial products Wesley Matthews and Jeronne Maymon have received unfriendly welcomes from the Wisconsin crowd. Blue said he expects some additional jabs thrown his way because of his situation, but added that it hasn’t changed his focus.
“I’m not going to go in overly excited, I’m not going to mind the crowd,” Blue said. “I’m expecting the boos to come with it, but I’m gonna go in and do the best I can to prepare myself and the team to win.”
Vander Blue makes his first trip back to Madison in a Marquette uniform on Saturday.
Senior guard Darius Johnson-Odom said Blue has practiced and prepared this week for the Wisconsin game as he would any other game.
“He shouldn’t even be thinking about going home and playing. It’s a basketball game,” Johnson-Odom said. “Once he starts getting into that stuff we won’t win the game, and he knows that. That’s something he has matured in as a player, and I think that’s something that’s going to help our team.”
That maturity has been evident through six games. After a marginal freshman season that saw Blue struggle through much of the Big East season, the sophomore has begun to blossom as a versatile performer on both ends of the court. Blue is third on the team in scoring (10.7 per game), fourth in rebounding (3.3 per game), second in assists (4.5 per game) and leads Marquette with 15 steals.
Coach Buzz Williams downplayed Blue’s return and the potentially hostile environment waiting for him in Madison.
“I think probably there are more people in Madison and in Milwaukee that are making a big deal about Vander playing in Wisconsin than Vander thinks of it,” Williams said. “I won’t say anything different to him than I say any other game.”
Wisconsin point guard Jordan Taylor, who spoke with CBS Sports’ Mike Singer, has experienced some of what Blue will face on Saturday.
A Bloomington, Minn. native, Taylor has faced the boo birds when traveling to play at the University of Minnesota, a fellow Big Ten member.
“Just based on my own experience from going back to Minnesota, I’m sure the crowd will be on him,” he said, laughing. “When Jeronne came back here the crowd was on him, but at the end of the day I think we have some of the best fans in the country, and they’re going to be there to support our team.
“I definitely think they wanna see us take it to Marquette and especially Vander, just because he did commit here and then go to Marquette,” he added.
The Wisconsin student section may have plenty to say, but Blue is ready for whatever comes his way, knowing a victory against a top-1o team would do all the talking for him.
“I love games like that. That’s what we all live for, that’s what we play the game for,” Blue said. “Crowds like that and all that on the line, with the two best college teams in Wisconsin. There’s a lot on the line, so we want to make sure that we try to get this.”
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