“So I’m here to let you guys know up front that I’m ineligible. Most guys probably wouldn’t get in front of the camera and tell everybody that, ‘Hey, I’m ineligible.’ But I’m looking forward to helping my team in any way that I can while I’m not playing.”

I commend Marcus for standing up and telling the public that he’s ineligible. It really had to be humiliating to do that… most guys just let the PR guy or the coach say it… he didn’t have to do that.

Evidently, he’s struggling with classes, in part because of the schooling he received at Milwaukee Vincent – not exactly known for their academic standards.

“I’m one of the students that took on this challenge from Milwaukee Vincent and I’m here and I’m not going to stop fighting, I’m not going to stop working,” he said.

Coach Greg Moore, who also was declared ineligible the second half of his freshman season back in the early ’90s, has helped Marcus deal with the situation. Moore said, “This creates urgency within a kid. That’s what happened to me. It puts you in a situation where you say to yourself, ‘Either I do this or I lose out on a great opportunity.’ This young man realizes that.”

As my favorite Badger to start the year, it’s going to be really sad to see him sitting out the rest of this season. Unlike DeAaron Williams, who half-ass transferred to Baylor – and now still can’t play, Marcus knows where he belongs playing basketball and it’s good to see him sticking it out.

Landry’s roommate, Joe Krabbenhoft, said “[His decision to make a statement] showed his upbringing and the kind of person he is. … I’m not surprised by that. I’m honored to be a teammate of a guy like that.”

Landry’s a good kid. Let’s all pull for him to make the changes he needs to in order to have a long, successful career here at Wisconsin.