The University of Wisconsin women's basketball team is thinking big as the 2010 recruiting season winds down.

The Badgers, with two wing players and a transfer point guard set to join the program next year, are focusing on three big players to hopefully round out the class.

Two of those players -- 6-foot-6 Nicole Griffin of Milwaukee Vincent and 6-3 Jennifer Lennox of Kitchener, Ontario -- will make their official campus visits this weekend. The third, 6-4 Cassie Rochel of Lakeville (Minn.) North, is scheduled to make her official visit the weekend of Oct. 16-18.

Griffin, who has led Vincent to the WIAA Division 1 state championship in each of her first three seasons, has long been one of the Badgers' top recruiting targets. According to recruiting sources, she is believed to have narrowed her choice down to Wisconsin or Oklahoma. She also has been pursued by Duke.

Griffin averaged 16.4 points and about 11 rebounds and seven blocks during her junior year to earn first team all-state honors. She also has excelled in the classroom, as she ranks No. 1 in her class academically with a 4.0 grade-point average.

While her offensive game is still evolving, recruiting experts see her as an impact player.

"She's such a value because she's so tall," said Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, a recruiting service based in Tampa, Fla. "Nobody can seem to land low post players and that kid's got huge potential. Once she fills her frame out and gets stronger, she's going to be really good. She catches the ball very well in traffic and she's just so doggone tall."

Olson ranks Griffin among the top 60 players in the country. ESPN HoopGurlz ranks Griffin at No. 80 on its most recent list, and No. 10 among centers.

While Griffin has been the center of much attention ever since her freshman year, Lennox did not generate a lot of recruiting attention until late this summer. She has participated in Canada's National Elite Development Academy and this summer was a member of the Junior National Women's Team that competed in the FIBA World Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.

Such travels kept her away from many of the summer showcase events and thus away from the eyes of most college recruiters. She had been considering Canisius, Idaho and Vermont, and her choices now have expanded to include Wisconsin and possibly Nebraska and Colorado.

"She's a long, slender kid, a pretty good player," said Olson. "I would consider her along the same lines as Rochel. They're about the same size. She can play, she just needs to fill out and get stronger."

Rochel, who is ranked as the No. 1 player in Minnesota in her class by gPrep.net, also gained some international experience over the summer as she played in Japan in August as part of an Adidas national team. She plans to make all five of her allotted official visits, going to Minnesota, Iowa, Marquette and UCLA, in addition to Wisconsin.

"She's solid, probably in the top 175 in the country," said Olson. "Rochel is not quite as good as Griffin. I think Griffin has more upside to her and is just a better prospect. But Rochel is a pretty good player."

Rochel ranks No. 14 nationally among post players, according to HoopGurlz.

College coaches are not allowed to discuss recruits until they sign a national letter of intent. The early signing period begins Nov. 11.

One player who will not be signing with Wisconsin is 6-foot forward Tricia Liston of Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Ill. Liston, who had been one of UW's top targets for the past two years, verbally committed last weekend to Duke, which didn't jump into the recruiting process until late in the summer.

"When I was growing up, I always thought it would be really cool to go to Duke," Liston told the Chicago Tribune. "As someone who was interested in basketball, I always heard about it being one of the top teams. ... The coaches thought I would fit in well with the girls on the team."

Liston, whose sister Clare is a member of the UW volleyball team, is ranked No. 33 nationally by HoopGurlz.

Wisconsin has received to commitments for 2010, from 5-10 guard Morgan Paige of Marion, Iowa, and 6-foot wing Jada Buggs of Elkhart (Ind.) Memorial. Point guard Tiera Stephen, a transfer from Louisville, also will become eligible next season.

The Badgers have also received one commitment for each of the following two seasons. Lacia Gorman, a 5-8 point guard from Fort Wayne (Ind.) Elmhurst, has committed for the 2011 class and 6-foot forward Heather Bowe from Eau Claire Regis, plans to join the Badgers in 2012.

In addition to the three official visits, Wisconsin has a number of unofficial visits from top prospects coming up in the next couple weeks.

Jade Martin, a 5-11 guard from Bloomington (Minn.) Kennedy will visit next weekend. The next weekend will see visits from Alex Cohen, a 6-3 center from Nicolet High School in Glendale, 5-9 guard Samantha Logic of Racine Case and 6-2 center Kayla Timmerman of Wayzata High School in Plymouth, Minn.

Martin, a freshman, and Timmerman, a sophomore, are AAU teammates of Bowe with the prestigious Minnesota Stars program. Cohen is the top ranked junior in Wisconsin at No. 47 on HoopGurlz. Logic is another highly regarded junior.

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