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Some Minnesota natives crossing the border

Early signs point to Wisconsin sophomore Jon Leuer becoming a Big Ten basketball star.

His 6-10 frame. The shooting stroke that already has pro scouts excited about his potential. His continued improvement: 2.9 points per game in 2007-08, 9.8 this season.

But instead of blossoming for his home-state Minnesota Gophers, Wisconsin will reap the rewards of his maturation.

And Leuer is not alone.

Wisconsin, the opponent for the No. 18 Gophers on Thursday night in Madison, has four Minnesota natives on its roster. That’s tangible proof that coach Bo Ryan has won the battle for many of Minnesota’s best players in recent years.

But that trend is changing.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith’s next recruiting class includes two of the state’s most talented high school players: Hopkins’ Royce White and Robbinsdale Cooper’s Rodney Williams. And former Henry Sibley/St. Bernard’s forward Trevor Mbakwe, who is playing for Miami Dade Community College this season, also will join them.

“We want to recruit the best players in Minnesota, and certainly, I know Wisconsin wants to keep the best players in their region, and then you look to where else you can go,” Smith said.

Smith’s strategy seems to be working. Dave Telep, Scout.com’s national recruiting director, said the chances that Minnesota’s best will want to play next door at Wisconsin will decrease if Smith continues to win.

“Ryan, to his immense credit, was making a killing in someone’s backyard,” he said. “Smith has counterpunched for the Gophers and regained the in-state edge.”

Keeping the best players home has been a challenge for the Gophers in recent years. Scholarship limits and a growing talent pool of Minnesota players hasn’t helped matters.

Ryan capitalized on the overabundance of talent. From former Minneapolis North and Wisconsin standout Kammron Taylor to current Henry Sibley forward Mike Bruesewitz — a centerpiece of the Badgers’ incoming freshman class next season — Ryan has relied heavily on Minnesota recruits. His success inside Minnesota’s boundaries is one reason the Badgers have lost only five games at the Kohl Center in the past three-plus years.

Leuer said he isn’t sure how his athletic career path would have changed, had Smith been in town at the time of his college choice. The Gophers coach has gradually turned around a program with a recent history of academic scandal, underachievement and waning fan support prior to his arrival last season. After Leuer made his decision to go from Orono High School to Wisconsin, his father, Mike, told reporters that earlier interest from the Gophers would have helped keep his son, who grew 10 inches in high school, at home.

Leuer said Wisconsin’s success during Minnesota’s down years helped him pick the Badgers.

“Yeah, that definitely factors into your decision,” Leuer said. “You want to go to a competitive team. Wisconsin, since the last 10 years or so, has been one of the top teams in the country every year. So that definitely plays a role.”

Jordan Taylor, Minnesota’s reigning Mr. Basketball and a former point guard for Benilde-St. Margaret’s, also chose Wisconsin. Minnesota already had a young point guard in Al Nolen, so it wouldn’t have made as much sense for Taylor to select the Gophers, although they were interested.

But Taylor expects future Minnesota standouts to have a much tougher decision.

“Wisconsin has a great program and the tradition of winning, and I think that catches a lot of kids’ eyes,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll be more 50/50. It’ll be harder to get kids from Minnesota out of the state and get them down here (to Wisconsin).”

Former Gophers coach Clem Haskins said he reached out to local high school coaches, even when their teams didn’t have players talented enough for Big Ten basketball, to increase his odds of recruiting up-and-coming stars within the state’s borders. Haskins also told Smith, before he took the Gophers job, that keeping the best players in the state from bolting for other Big Ten schools, including Wisconsin, would help him compete for a Big Ten title.

“I can’t relate to that because we really didn’t lose anybody that went to Wisconsin,” Haskins said. “You have to try to control your state. ... You don’t want your good players to go play anywhere but to the University of Minnesota.”