MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[knarocky22]

It just said Augustana University, when it should be Augustana College.

[titanfan]

It just said Augustana University, when it should be Augustana College.

Gotcha.  I think they've actually fixed that.  That's why I didn't notice!

[Naperick]

A Zack Boyd (Elmhurst) story...

http://www.illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=695&Itemid=1

Thanks for the link.  Good article and the kid seems to be making his college choice for the right reasons.  Elmhurst needs a good point guard and may have recruited two this off-season.  Good luck to Zack Boyd at Elmhurst!

[Titan Q]

A Zack Boyd (Elmhurst) story...

http://www.illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=695&Itemid=1

Thanks for the link.  Good article and the kid seems to be making his college choice for the right reasons.  Elmhurst needs a good point guard and may have recruited two this off-season.  Good luck to Zack Boyd at Elmhurst!

Boyd is actually not a PG...he is a 2/3 type.  McCurdy is the PG in the Elmhurst recruiting class.  Here is Boyd's game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYfDmNhzEo

A big-time scorer.

I hear PG Pat Bacon may be returning to the team after a year away...will be interesting to see who ends up starting.

[thundermike11]

A Zack Boyd (Elmhurst) story...

http://www.illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=695&Itemid=1

Thanks for the link.  Good article and the kid seems to be making his college choice for the right reasons.  Elmhurst needs a good point guard and may have recruited two this off-season.  Good luck to Zack Boyd at Elmhurst!

Boyd is actually not a PG...he is a 2/3 type.  McCurdy is the PG in the Elmhurst recruiting class.  Here is Boyd's game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYfDmNhzEo

A big-time scorer.

I hear PG Pat Bacon may be returning to the team after a year away...will be interesting to see who ends up starting.

Looks like a really good player from the video. Good pick up for the Blue Jays

[Titan Q]

A new Elmhurst name here...

http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/elmhurst.html

David Lopez, 6-1 G (Luther North)

A few tidbits I found on him...

* Luther North's all-time leading scorer. 
* Was All-Private School League, alongside Calvin recruit Joel Kamp (Chicago Christian) and North Park recruit Joel Benson (Westminster Christian)
* Made it to Peoria in the state 1A/2A slam dunk competition
* "Special Mention" IBCA all-state (1A/2A) this year...4th Team last year


http://www.luthernorth.org/page.asp?p=182

http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bkb/2007-08/2hapqual.htm

http://ibcaillinois.org/1A2ABoysState.php

http://www.ibca-il.org/Boys%20Class%20A%20All-State_07.htm


Sounds like a good player.

[titanfan]

Q,

I just saw you've become even more famous!  Even after leaving Bloomington, the Pantagraph is still hunting you down for an interview.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/05/11/usports/doc482634b37a98e424972550.txt

[thundermike11]

A new Elmhurst name here...

http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/elmhurst.html

David Lopez, 6-1 G (Luther North)

A few tidbits I found on him...

* Luther North's all-time leading scorer. 
* Was All-Private School League, alongside Calvin recruit Joel Kamp (Chicago Christian) and North Park recruit Joel Benson (Westminster Christian)
* Made it to Peoria in the state 1A/2A slam dunk competition
* "Special Mention" IBCA all-state (1A/2A) this year...4th Team last year


http://www.luthernorth.org/page.asp?p=182

http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bkb/2007-08/2hapqual.htm

http://ibcaillinois.org/1A2ABoysState.php

http://www.ibca-il.org/Boys%20Class%20A%20All-State_07.htm


Sounds like a good player.

Interesting. I remember the name, but don't remember any standouts on Luther North. They're typically pretty awful. But even bad teams can have good players.

[Titan Q]

IWU received what I believe is a very significant commitment.  6-6 "combo forward" John Koschnitzky of Air Force Academy Prep School has decided to attend IWU.  Koschnitzky will be considered a freshman in '08-09 after the year at Air Force Prep and will have all 4 years of eligibility remaining.

Ron Rose pursued John aggressively last year, when he was a senior at Oak Forest H.S. in the south suburbs.  He chose Air Force Prep over a D1 scholarship to Maine, several NAIA and Division II scholarships, and a bunch of Division III opportunities (in addition to IWU, I remember that U. of Chicago was on him, among others).  The understanding was that he'd be a scholarship basketball player at D1 Air Force Academy after a year at the prep school.  Fortunately for IWU, it sounds like he wanted to get back closer to home.

As a senior at Oak Forest, John averaged 20.7 points and 9.4 rebounds and was named to the IBCA's 2006-07 Class AA 4th team all-state.  He was a member of the Daily Southtown's 7-man all-area 1st Team, alongside 6 D1 recruits.  Illinoishsbasketball.com ranked Koschnitzky as the 47th best senior in the state last year.  The highest CCIW recruit on that list was IWU's Sean Johnson, #65.  Now, we've discussed the credibility of some of these recruiting rankings here in the past, so take that for what it's worth, but I think it is fair to say that Koschnitzky was a very highly-regarded basketball recruit a year ago.  In looking at that 2007 IBCA all-state team, he was 1 of just 10 Class AA players to average at least 20 points last year, and 1 of just 5 to average 20 ppg with 5 or more rebounds per game.

I saw John play twice last year - "versatile" is the first word I'd use to describe him.  He can easily play either the 3 or the 4 at the CCIW level, but I honestly think he could play the 2 or the 5 for stretches if a matchup dictated it.  John has a polished back-to-the-basket game and is a load down low vs players his size or smaller.  He is also very good facing though - a very good mid-range shooter, can step out and shoot the 3, and is a good ball-handler in the open court.  It's hard to find stats from his Air Force Prep games this year, but here is a game where he scored 27 points and made 4 3's vs Trinidad State JC, and other where he scored 16 pts and took 3 3's...so sounds like he was playing that same inside/outside position out there.  I found this link with detailed stats up to midway through his senior year at Oak Forest.  As a junior he was 190-382 (.497) from the field, including 20-54 from 3 (.370)...through 16 games as a senior he was 117-228 (.513) from the field, including 13-43 from 3 (.302).  He is a tough one-on-one matchup because of his inside/outside versatility.

Koschnitzky also brings athleticism to IWU's young core.  He's a good leaper that made it to the state slam dunk contest finals in Peoria as a sophomore, junior, and senior.  On the baseball field, he is a very highly-regarded pitcher -- last year he had as much scholarship level baseball interest as he did for basketball (I have not heard if he will be playing baseball at IWU).  I think his athleticism and size will make him a very good defender in college - someone who can matchup vs with a tough perimeter player when needed or with a big, athletic frontcourt player.  Koschnitzky is also a very good student and just seems like the type of kid who is going to be a leader on the court and off at IWU.

Koschnitzky was definitely one of the top guys IWU was on last year, but it never seemed like IWU (or any other D3) had a great chance to get him - just too many other higher level opportunities between basketball and baseball.  Still, it seemed like he really liked Wesleyan.  He visited IWU the night Kent Raymond went off for 44 at the Shirk Center and I think seeing how good Raymond and Zach Freeman were was a factor in helping him understand the talent level in Division III and in keeping him interested in IWU, even after heading to Air Force Prep.

We'll see how it plays out, but I'm confident the Titans found a really big piece to the puzzle in Koschnitzky.  His versatility seems like a perfect match with IWU's returning players and other '08 recruits. 

[Titan Q]

Augustana
Chris Anderson (6-4 SF/PF, West Carroll) - 17.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 3.7 apg
Max Artis (6-3 SF/PF, Kirkwood, Mo.) - 15.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg, .592 FG, .674 FT
Brian DeSimone (6-1 PG/SG, Buffalo Grove) - 16.0 ppg
Griffin Dwyer (6-1 SG, Hersey H.S.) - 14.3 ppg
Josh Evans (6-4 SF/PF, Niles North)
Troy Rorer (6-2 G/F, Bettendorf) - 9.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 apg
Eric Safranski (6-0 PG/SG, Putnam County) - 12.9 ppg
Peter Wessels (6-3 SG, Bettendorf) - 10.7 ppg

Carthage
Pace Bennett (6-2 G, Rock Island Alleman) - 11 ppg, 4 apg
Jake Hasse (6-1 G, Naperville North) - 11.1 ppg

Elmhurst
Zack Boyd (6-2 G/F, Warrensburg-Latham) -  23.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, .560 FG, .422 3-pt, .836 FT
Wes Dukeman (6-8/180 C, Arthur) - 16.0 ppg
David Lopez (6-1 G, Luther North)
Mike McCurdy (6-0 PG, Burlington Central) - 24.5 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.0 rpg
A.J. Sutherlin (6-5 SF, North Montgomery H.S., Crawfordsville, IN) - 18.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg, .547 FG, .392 3-pt, .758 FT
Nathan Swarts (6-5/215 F/C, Monticello) - 12.5 ppg

Illinois Wesleyan
Ryan Connolly (6-8/255 C, Springfield Lanphier) - 16.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg
(new) John Koschnitzky (6-6/205 SF/PF, Air Force Prep, Oak Forest H.S.) - 20.7 ppg, 9.4 rpg ('06-07, Oak Forest)
Eric McCullough (6-9/220 C, Normal U High) - 13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.4 bpg, .540 FG
Steve Rudnicki (6-4/165 PG/SG, Evanston) - 9.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 4.3 apg
Sean Seibring (6-2 SG, Normal West) - 12.0 ppg
Dexter Walker (6-6/215 SF/PF, Morton) - 18.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg
Jordan Zimmer (6-4 G/F, Delavan) - 23.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 3.1 apg, 123-293 3-pt (.420), .913 FT

North Central
Kenny Branch (6-3 G/F, Mundelein)
Kevin Gillespie (5-10 PG, Geneseo) -  12.2 ppg, 3.8 apg, 66 3-pointers made
Josh Glenn (6-2 G, South Elgin) - 10.0 ppg
Lee Piccinelli (5-11 PG/SG, Henry) - 26.8 ppg
Tyler Ruschmeyer (6-5 F, Pekin) - 11.6 ppg

North Park
Joel Benson (6-5/225 F/C, Westminster Christian) - 18.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg
Dawon Mitchell (6-5/190 F, St. Joseph's)

Wheaton
Phil Carr (6-5 F, Southgate Anderson, MI) - 13.6 ppg, 11.4 rpg, .438 FG, .624 FT
Drake Diamond (6-8/225 F/C, Centreville, VA) - 4.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 38-76 FG (.500), 29-45 FT (.644)
Tim McCrary (6-6 F, New Trier) - 10 ppg, 7 rpg
Jeremy Pflederer (6-0 PG, Tremont) - 25.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, .544 FG, .813 FT
Steve Pierotti (6-1 G, Wheaton North)
Spencer Schultze (6-6 C, Grand Rapids Christian, MI) - 13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg, .530 FT, .650 FT

[bbfan44]

What a collection of studs IWU is gathering.

Sounds like you will have an undefeated JV team, since the varsity still only plays five guys at a time.

What's the attraction?  Wholesome, midwestern good looking women?

[Titan Q]

Tom Fitzpatrick to The Citadel...

http://www.chicagohoops.com/articles1/fitzpatrick.html

[robertgoulet]

Hey all,
I just posted on the football board and decided I'd come bother you folks as well. Been a while for me.

The up-to-date recruiting list is wonderful! That's what I came here looking for. Could anyone (AndOne, maybe?) give a little background on North Central's recruits?


Hope all is well with everyone!

[Naperick]

A Zack Boyd (Elmhurst) story...

http://www.illinoishsbasketball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=695&Itemid=1

Thanks for the link.  Good article and the kid seems to be making his college choice for the right reasons.  Elmhurst needs a good point guard and may have recruited two this off-season.  Good luck to Zack Boyd at Elmhurst!

Boyd is actually not a PG...he is a 2/3 type.  McCurdy is the PG in the Elmhurst recruiting class.  Here is Boyd's game...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoYfDmNhzEo

A big-time scorer.

I hear PG Pat Bacon may be returning to the team after a year away...will be interesting to see who ends up starting.

I have been away for a while.  Thanks for clearing that up for me.  Boyd is not a PG.

Any idea why Bacon didn't play last year?  The track team missed him as well.

[Naperick]

Q,

I just saw you've become even more famous!  Even after leaving Bloomington, the Pantagraph is still hunting you down for an interview.

http://www.pantagraph.com/articles/2008/05/11/usports/doc482634b37a98e424972550.txt

Congrats, Titan Q!  Nice article by Reinhardt.