MBB: American Rivers Conference

[Titan Q]

Loras lands big time recruit out of Chicago burbs......6'8'' big man.....all state....that will help when replacing White and Slater!

I assume you are referring to Dan Pawelski of Neuqua Valley in Naperville.  He's tall and has some skills, but I wouldn't hype him up too much.  I'd be surprised if he contributes significantly until his JR year at Loras, and I don't really see him becoming more than a 10 ppg/7 rpg kind of player.   

He'll be a solid, useful big man as an upperclassmen, and this is certainly a good pick up for Loras.  Just saying, this isn't one to over-hype.   In my opinion, he does not belong anywhere near the players on the IBCA 3A/4A 4th Team all-state...

http://ibcaillinois.org/3A4ABoysState.php

Pawelski picked Loras over Augustana and North Central of the CCIW.

[Rock Chalk DuHawk]

None the less still a big pickup for Loras......he had to be pretty good if IWU, Augie, and NC were all heavily recruiting him.......6'8'' post that completely improved his game from Jr - Sr year, is always a great sign for a post.....look for him to have a terrific career at Loras......Come his last two years at Loras he will be a force.

[doolittledog]

I think it was John Wooden that said, "fast players get tired and slow down.  Tall players don't get shorter"

Always nice to have some height on the team.  I knew a 6'10" player in high school that was so uncoordinated that he couldn't dunk a basketball.  But, he got a schollie to a D-II school because they looked at him as a project and figured they could teach him to be a good player.  Never heard how it turned out though. 

This kid might not turn out to be a 4 year starter for Loras but if he sticks to it and works hard he could have a great career there.  And this is from a Spartan fan!!!  What am I doing???

[5 Words or Less]

You can't teach height

[SLP-O-8]

Which is why im excited to continue to see how BVs 7'1 Gute can progress now that he might get to see more time at the varsity level.  Haven't been able to see much of him but i dont see a lot of guys in the IIAC being able to guard a 7 footer if he can develop some more down low game and put more weight on he could be a force the finals 2 years of his career. 

[AndOne]

None the less still a big pickup for Loras......he had to be pretty good if IWU, Augie, and NC were all heavily recruiting him.......6'8'' post that completely improved his game from Jr - Sr year, is always a great sign for a post.....look for him to have a terrific career at Loras......Come his last two years at Loras he will be a force.

A source very close to the situation and recruitment process of Danny Pawelski advises that a primary reason he chose Loras over Augie and North Central was that he didn't feel he had an adequate skill level to allow him to play effectively in the CCIW, and that he felt he would have a better chance for success in the IIAC. I saw him play several times this season and concur. Keep in mind I'm not knocking the conference, just reporting the facts, which come form an unimpeachable source. Danny has improved and certainly has the potential for further improvement. However, Duhawk fans will need to be patient. I can guarantee you that he won't immediately be filling the void left by the graduating big men. I believe the term "project" is very applicable here. Good luck to him.

MORE RECRUITING NEWS-----------

On a secondary note, playing at Loras will afford Danny the chance to team with another incoming Duhawk frosh from Benet Academy in Lisle, the town immediately east of Naperville where Danny (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) is from. Brian Gaughan, Benet's 6'0" point guard will also attend Loras. I believe Danny and Brian are friends and played AAU ball together. Brian is the son of Benet's head coach, and even though a point, never met a shot he didn't like. When he is hot he can score in bunches, but when he is cold, your grandpa could hit a higher percentage.
Brian will need to learn to exhibit his other skills,  and not keep firing bricks on those nights when he isn't "on,"  to be successful at the next level.     

[Mr. Ypsi]

None the less still a big pickup for Loras......he had to be pretty good if IWU, Augie, and NC were all heavily recruiting him.......6'8'' post that completely improved his game from Jr - Sr year, is always a great sign for a post.....look for him to have a terrific career at Loras......Come his last two years at Loras he will be a force.

A source very close to the situation and recruitment process of Danny Pawelski advises that a primary reason he chose Loras over Augie and North Central was that he didn't feel he had an adequate skill level to allow him to play effectively in the CCIW, and that he felt he would have a better chance for success in the IIAC. I saw him play several times this season and concur. Keep in mind I'm not knocking the conference, just reporting the facts, which come form an unimpeachable source. Danny has improved and certainly has the potential for further improvement. However, Duhawk fans will need to be patient. I can guarantee you that he won't immediately be filling the void left by the graduating big men. I believe the term "project" is very applicable here. Good luck to him.

MORE RECRUITING NEWS-----------

On a secondary note, playing at Loras will afford Danny the chance to team with another incoming Duhawk frosh from Benet Academy in Lisle, the town immediately east of Naperville where Danny (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) is from. Brian Gaughan, Benet's 6'0" point guard will also attend Loras. I believe Danny and Brian are friends and played AAU ball together. Brian is the son of Benet's head coach, and even though a point, never met a shot he didn't like. When he is hot he can score in bunches, but when he is cold, your grandpa could hit a higher percentage.
Brian will need to learn to exhibit his other skills,  and not keep firing bricks on those nights when he isn't "on,"  to be successful at the next level.     

AO, maybe your grandpa (or Brian's grandpa), but my grandpas died 45 and 52 years ago - show a little respect for your elders!  

On the other hand, my dad (now 89) had a pretty sweet shot right up to 4-5 years ago.

[Gregory Sager]

A 6'8 player is always worth a roll of the dice for a D3 school. But the point here is that fans scanning the agate to check for committed recruits ought to be apprised if that 6'8 incoming freshman is a roll of the dice or a much safer bet for success than that.

I wouldn't leap to any conclusions about a player being "a force" as a junior or a senior. Lots of big men never pan out at all. The odds on a coaching staff turning a 6'8 project into a solid rotation-level big man in D3 are not all that high, just as they aren't that high for D1 and D2 coaches working with 6'10 projects.

Of course, you never know. High school performance frequently doesn't translate into college performance, and skill sets and developmental tracks change from year to year for players -- and not necessarily at the same rate as their peers. Pawelski may simply be a late bloomer, as big men often are. I'm just saying that it's folly to predict that he'll be "a force" as a junior or a senior when that's not even a given for a blue chip -- and Pawelski, as has been stated by Titan Q and AO, is not a blue chip.

[Alfredeneumann]

From Dbq Newspaper:

Dubuque wins Ruh recruiting chase: Dubuque Hempstead basketball player Eric Ruh has chosen to play at the University of Dubuque.

Ruh, a guard who averaged 12.4 points for the Mustangs in an all-Mississippi Valley Conference honorable-mention season in 2007-08, chose Dubuque over Clarke, St. Ambrose and Ashford.

Ruh joins a talented Dubuque roster that includes former Senior guard Taylor Blum.

[doolittledog]

From Dbq Newspaper:

Dubuque wins Ruh recruiting chase: Dubuque Hempstead basketball player Eric Ruh has chosen to play at the University of Dubuque.

Ruh, a guard who averaged 12.4 points for the Mustangs in an all-Mississippi Valley Conference honorable-mention season in 2007-08, chose Dubuque over Clarke, St. Ambrose and Ashford.

Ruh joins a talented Dubuque roster that includes former Senior guard Taylor Blum.

Has anybody heard anything regarding the 3 players from Clarke that were considering transferring...with Dubuque at the top of their lists if they did choose to leave Clarke???

[sportsknight]

From the Suburban Chicago Herald-News
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/sports/930861,4_2_JO04_BROOK_S1.article:

Guard Eljah Hunt, who missed a large portion of his senior season because of injury, is moving on to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, a strong NCAA Division III program.

"Given that Elijah has not been playing since Christmas, I'm really happy for him and his family," Brost said. "He's going to Wartburg for next to nothing, with the combination of academics and the ability to play basketball that he has.

"He's a 6-3 guard who no question would have been all-area if he hadn't gotten hurt. The three games before he got hurt, he had three big games."

Hunt, who averaged 8.2 points, first injured an ankle. In the first practice back, he broke the thumb on his shooting hand. He appeared in 15 games, but sparingly in many of those.

[sportsknight]

Which is why im excited to continue to see how BVs 7'1 Gute can progress now that he might get to see more time at the varsity level.  Haven't been able to see much of him but i dont see a lot of guys in the IIAC being able to guard a 7 footer if he can develop some more down low game and put more weight on he could be a force the finals 2 years of his career. 

I wouldn't get too excited.  Let's not forget that this is Division 3 ball.  If there was a guy that tall that had the potential to become even a decent player, someone from a higher division would have snatched him up.  To call the guys that fall through the cracks "projects" is fairly generous, because in most situations, they require time and effort from the coaching staff that can be better spent on other things.

I remember a 7-2 guy that played a Loras a couple years ago (was originally from Sweden or something like that) that, despite his size, was probably the worst player on the floor at any given time.  He was way to slow to defend anybody and had such poor footwork that he could be defended one-on-one by guys much smaller (6-7 inches shorter).

[Klopenhiemer]

From the Suburban Chicago Herald-News
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/sports/930861,4_2_JO04_BROOK_S1.article:

Guard Eljah Hunt, who missed a large portion of his senior season because of injury, is moving on to Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, a strong NCAA Division III program.

"Given that Elijah has not been playing since Christmas, I'm really happy for him and his family," Brost said. "He's going to Wartburg for next to nothing, with the combination of academics and the ability to play basketball that he has.

"He's a 6-3 guard who no question would have been all-area if he hadn't gotten hurt. The three games before he got hurt, he had three big games."

Hunt, who averaged 8.2 points, first injured an ankle. In the first practice back, he broke the thumb on his shooting hand. He appeared in 15 games, but sparingly in many of those.

Does anyone else find the bolded statement fishy.  Is the evil empire hading out donations to well rounded basketball players

Of course I kid, but the statement could lead one to believe this. 

[Klopenhiemer]

Guys.  Arn't all d3 athletes with the exception of a few works in progress or "projects" in general?  Basketball might be an exception, and I am willing to hear what people think. 

But here is my point.  Isnt the reason most kids go to d3 is not because they are in love with the level of play, but more that their level of play matches d3.  I have never heard of a kid growing up saying I want to play for BV one day.  Now there are exceptions such as coaches kids and kids in the community.  But once these kids reach the age where they understand what a d1 team is, do they strive for this?  I would assume so, my dream way to play for the Hawkeyes.  When I graduated high school I was 6' 200lb pulling guard.  Not exactally Iowa Hawkeye material!

My sport was football, but most of the kids that I came in with had talent, but were works in progress.  We neeed to add more weight, gain more strength, get faster, learn the game more from better coaching.  These all things that I was provided. 

I do see the point in a 7' 1" kid coming to BV and not playing right away.  Obviously the kid has two left feet or else he would not be roaming the hardwood for the Beavers.  I will agree with Greg on the idea of placing the "force" tag on a kids before he has even enrolled in the college.  Of course the coaches have a plan, but a lot can happen over the next two years.  He could fail out, quit, get hurt, transfer.  Way to many unknowns to throw that idea around. 

[SLP-O-8]

Guys.  Arn't all d3 athletes with the exception of a few works in progress or "projects" in general?  Basketball might be an exception, and I am willing to hear what people think. 

But here is my point.  Isnt the reason most kids go to d3 is not because they are in love with the level of play, but more that their level of play matches d3.  I have never heard of a kid growing up saying I want to play for BV one day.  Now there are exceptions such as coaches kids and kids in the community.  But once these kids reach the age where they understand what a d1 team is, do they strive for this?  I would assume so, my dream way to play for the Hawkeyes.  When I graduated high school I was 6' 200lb pulling guard.  Not exactally Iowa Hawkeye material!

My sport was football, but most of the kids that I came in with had talent, but were works in progress.  We neeed to add more weight, gain more strength, get faster, learn the game more from better coaching.  These all things that I was provided. 

I do see the point in a 7' 1" kid coming to BV and not playing right away.  Obviously the kid has two left feet or else he would not be roaming the hardwood for the Beavers.  I will agree with Greg on the idea of placing the "force" tag on a kids before he has even enrolled in the college.  Of course the coaches have a plan, but a lot can happen over the next two years.  He could fail out, quit, get hurt, transfer.  Way to many unknowns to throw that idea around. 

The 7 Footer i would be referring to is Gute who will be a junior next year.  He has been in the system for 2 years and caught behind some very good posts in Fogelman, Cleveland, Fredrichsen, and Arndorfer.  With 2 of those guys graduating he could see some back up minutes next year and i think do a decent job.  Obviously he was a big project but practicing with those guys everyday has to help him and i think could provide a quality minutes and year next year.  VH is a great coach and we will see how he uses him next year.  He made a great coaching move to put him on the ball in the game against Wash U to make the inbounds play difficult and it worked out for him.