MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Titan Q]

Wheaton recruit...

Danny Park, 5-11 PG (Thomas Jefferson H.S. - Auburn, WA) - 9.7 ppg, 5.3 apg

http://www.federalwaymirror.com/sports/205302011.html

[Titan Q]

North Park recruit...

Matt McNamara, 6-5 F (Willowbrook H.S.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-7dpi5Ou40

[thunder38]

While Dave Wrath has certainly gotten due respect with the press box being named after him. Huge Kudos also go to Pat Coleman who will be receiving the Jake Wade Award for outstanding contribution in the media to the field of athletics.

http://www.cosida.com/news.aspx?id=4011

Congratulations Pat!! Well deserved.

[iwu70]

Congrats Pat!  Much deserved.

All best for summer's charms upcoming.

IWU70

[Gregory Sager]

North Park has landed 6'10, 275 center Austin Wood from Illinois Lutheran.

[Titan Q]

North Park has landed 6'10, 275 center Austin Wood from Illinois Lutheran.

Wood averaged 15.0 ppg and 11.1 rpg as a senior at Illinois Lutheran, which plays at the 1A level in the IHSA.  He was named 2nd Team all-conference and made the 2nd Team of the NW Times all-area team.

https://sites.google.com/site/rvcconference/all-conference-teams/beecher

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/illinois/scouting-the-times---boys-basketball-all-area-team/article_ced66d4f-602f-5c9e-a881-0734b5d7ff31.html


6-10/275 sounds intriguing for a CCIW recruit.

[Titan Q]

A couple IWU schedule tidbits...

* The Titans travel to Costa Rica to play this coming August.  The 2005-06 team made the same trip and seemed to have a great experience.  Should be a great way to jumpstart the 2013-14 season.

* IWU, known for warm weather holiday trips, will be traveling to sunny Holland, MI Dec 20-21 to play in Hope's tournament.  IWU vs Wilmington,  Hope vs Lake Forest on 12/20.  Winners vs winners, losers vs losers on 12/21.

[AndOne]

North Park has landed 6'10, 275 center Austin Wood from Illinois Lutheran.

Wood averaged 15.0 ppg and 11.1 rpg as a senior at Illinois Lutheran, which plays at the 1A level in the IHSA.  He was named 2nd Team all-conference and made the 2nd Team of the NW Times all-area team.

https://sites.google.com/site/rvcconference/all-conference-teams/beecher

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/illinois/scouting-the-times---boys-basketball-all-area-team/article_ced66d4f-602f-5c9e-a881-0734b5d7ff31.html


6-10/275 sounds intriguing for a CCIW recruit.

At 6-10 its a wonder that some low level D1 didn't offer this kid. Especially considering he averaged 15 and 11. I'd guess the 2 major factors that prevented such from happening were his level of competition, and, at 275, possibly his mobility/ability to get up and down the floor. However, over the years I've seen several 6-7, 6-8, or 6-9 guys whose overall skill level was average at best, be offered athletic $.
Given, the vast majority of these players were from large suburban Chicago schools featuring tough competition on a fairly regular basis.

It will be interesting to see what he can do against top flight D3 college competition.

[Gregory Sager]

North Park has landed 6'10, 275 center Austin Wood from Illinois Lutheran.

Wood averaged 15.0 ppg and 11.1 rpg as a senior at Illinois Lutheran, which plays at the 1A level in the IHSA.  He was named 2nd Team all-conference and made the 2nd Team of the NW Times all-area team.

https://sites.google.com/site/rvcconference/all-conference-teams/beecher

http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/high-school/illinois/scouting-the-times---boys-basketball-all-area-team/article_ced66d4f-602f-5c9e-a881-0734b5d7ff31.html


6-10/275 sounds intriguing for a CCIW recruit.

At 6-10 its a wonder that some low level D1 didn't offer this kid. Especially considering he averaged 15 and 11.

As far as I know, the only scholie school to pursue him was St. Ambrose.

I'd guess the 2 major factors that prevented such from happening were his level of competition, and, at 275, possibly his mobility/ability to get up and down the floor.

These are pictures of Austin Wood when he was a junior and was the same weight but slightly shorter than he is now:





He's not a fat kid. What he is is extremely large. Tom Slyder compares him to Elmhurst's Alex Morgunov (6'9, 270), although everyone connected to the NPU program obviously hopes that Wood turns out to be a much better player down the road than Morgunov has proved to be thus far. From what I've been told, Wood's mobility and conditioning are good. I don't think he'll be a 6'10, 275 antelope racing down the floor like a blur, but I don't think he'll be trailing upcourt three or four seconds behind everybody else, either.

I suspect that both the level of competition and the obscurity of Illinois Lutheran had more to do with his invisibility to scholie schools than anything else. Illinois Lutheran, a 134-student high school in far south suburban Crete, IL that is owned and operated by two local Wisconsin Synod Lutheran churches, is so obscure that it's not even listed on Crete's wikipedia page.

However, over the years I've seen several 6-7, 6-8, or 6-9 guys whose overall skill level was average at best, be offered athletic $.
Given, the vast majority of these players were from large suburban Chicago schools featuring tough competition on a fairly regular basis.

It will be interesting to see what he can do against top flight D3 college competition.

I'm not expecting much right away, naturally. Big men tend to be slower to develop in terms of college basketball, and, as has often been pointed out here before, the transition from 1A to the CCIW is much more drastic than, say, the transition from 3A or 4A to the CCIW. But the NPU coaching staff is very enthusiastic about Wood's skill set and his upside, as well as the basic ingredients of his height and mass. I'm prejudiced, of course, but I consider Austin Wood to be a very good "get" for North Park.

[hopefan]

Was meandering over in the Mid Atlantic region, and found a mention of the below site..

http://d3recruits.blogspot.com/

Likely of interest to my hardcore D3 buddies...  Seems to be a pretty good site if accuracy can be verified......

[jimhoops1234]

Austin Wood was, like some others have hinted at, a victim of going to such a small school and not getting the exposure.  Hard to imagine a kid 6'10" sliding under the radar, but he sort of did.  I have actually seen him play and he moves very well for his size, has great touch from the free throw line, can knock down the 15 foot jumper or 3 if left wide open.  Not that that's what your looking for, but his skill set does contain that shooting touch.  Most importantly at the free throw line.  His adjustment will be playing against other guys closer to his size and being physical.  As with many young big men, officials don't allow them to play in high school and they tend to avoid creating contact (especially on offense and in the smaller schools like he is playing for and against).  I believe he played AAU for one of the Illinois Wolves teams last summer. 

[devossed]

Austin Wood was, like some others have hinted at, a victim of going to such a small school and not getting the exposure.  Hard to imagine a kid 6'10" sliding under the radar, but he sort of did.  I have actually seen him play and he moves very well for his size, has great touch from the free throw line, can knock down the 15 foot jumper or 3 if left wide open.  Not that that's what your looking for, but his skill set does contain that shooting touch.  Most importantly at the free throw line.  His adjustment will be playing against other guys closer to his size and being physical.  As with many young big men, officials don't allow them to play in high school and they tend to avoid creating contact (especially on offense and in the smaller schools like he is playing for and against).  I believe he played AAU for one of the Illinois Wolves teams last summer.

I recall seeing him visit at a Hope game his JR year, but seems to be he was nowhere near Hope's radar this year. I wonder if they (or he) squashed Holland as a destination early in the process.

[Gregory Sager]

Austin Wood was, like some others have hinted at, a victim of going to such a small school and not getting the exposure.  Hard to imagine a kid 6'10" sliding under the radar, but he sort of did.  I have actually seen him play and he moves very well for his size, has great touch from the free throw line, can knock down the 15 foot jumper or 3 if left wide open.  Not that that's what your looking for, but his skill set does contain that shooting touch.  Most importantly at the free throw line.  His adjustment will be playing against other guys closer to his size and being physical.  As with many young big men, officials don't allow them to play in high school and they tend to avoid creating contact (especially on offense and in the smaller schools like he is playing for and against).  I believe he played AAU for one of the Illinois Wolves teams last summer.

I haven't seen Austin Wood play, but your description matches what I've been told of him. I've also been told that he is an excellent passer. In spite of the size advantage he enjoyed at the 1A level, he's not really a shot-blocker -- it's hard to get liftoff with a payload of 275 pounds -- but I don't consider that to be a minus. I'd rather have a big man enter college with a sound understanding of how to play positional defense, both one-on-one and help, than come in so swat-happy after having blocked dozens of shots in high school that his grasp of positional defense is deficient.

I recall seeing him visit at a Hope game his JR year, but seems to be he was nowhere near Hope's radar this year. I wonder if they (or he) squashed Holland as a destination early in the process.

I think that Wood was interested in staying close to home, which is why Hope and St. Ambrose got crossed off his list.

I'm sure that some NPU fans will have dreams of Wood stepping into the starting lineup from the get-go and immediately establishing a formidable duo in the paint alongside Mike Gabriel -- the thought's certainly occurred to me -- but, again, he's an incoming freshman from the smallest-school level, and he no doubt has a lot to learn. We need to give him time to develop before any expectations are placed upon his wide shoulders.

[newCCIWfan]

Known Incoming Recruiting Classes

----------

Augustana College
- Michael Hoekstra, 6-7, Forward, Bishop McNamara (Kankakee, IL)
- Jacob Johnston, 6-3, Guard, Erie (IL) --- 24 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 4.7 APG
- Quinn Pokora, 6-1, Point Guard, Mundelein High School, (IL) --- 10 PPG, 3.4 APG
- Jens Soderholm, 6-5, Wing, La Salle-Peru (IL) --- 21.8 PPG, 11 RPG

Carthage College
- Scott McNellis, 6-5, Forward, Downers Grove South (IL)

Elmhurst College
- None reported yet

North Central College
- Alex Gustafson, 6-6, Forward, Pleasant Plaines High School (IL) --- 13.4 PPG, 7.2 RPG

North Park University
- Matt McNamara, 6-5, Forward, Willowbrook High School (IL)
- Austin Wood, 6-10, Center, Illinois Lutheran (Crete, IL) --- 15.0 PPG, 11.1 RPG

Millikin University
- Brody Bence, 6-7, Forward, Shelbyville High School (IL) --- 15.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 2.0 BPG,
- Jeremy Pezzelle, 5-9, Guard, Lutheran School Association (Decatur, IL) --- 22.6 PPG, 47% D3FG%

Illinois Wesleyan University
- Austin Amann, 6-1, Guard, Elk Grove High School (IL) --- 18.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG,
- Alec Bausch, 6-6, Forward, De Smet Jesuit (St. Louis, MO) --- 12.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.8 APG
- Spencer Seibring, 6-2 Guard, Normal West High School (IL) --- 12.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.2 APG
- Trevor Seibring, 6-8, Forward, Normal Community High School (IL) --- 13.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG
- Andy Stempel, 6-3, Wing, Stevenson High School (Lincolnshire, IL) -- - 11.0 PPG, 40% 3PFG%
- Jordan Turner, 6-3, Guard, Woodstock High School (IL)  --- 17.9 PPG

Wheaton College
- Ian Asher, 6-0, Guard, Danville High School (IN) --- 17.4 PPG, 3.4 APG
- Danny Park, 5-11, Point Guard, Thomas Jefferson High School (Auburn, WA) --- 9.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG

[Gregory Sager]

I recall seeing him visit at a Hope game his JR year, but seems to be he was nowhere near Hope's radar this year. I wonder if they (or he) squashed Holland as a destination early in the process.

I think that Wood was interested in staying close to home, which is why Hope and St. Ambrose got crossed off his list.

I'm sure that some NPU fans will have dreams of Wood stepping into the starting lineup from the get-go and immediately establishing a formidable duo in the paint alongside Mike Gabriel -- the thought's certainly occurred to me -- but, again, he's an incoming freshman from the smallest-school level, and he no doubt has a lot to learn. We need to give him time to develop before any expectations are placed upon his wide shoulders.

I have been told that there was at least one other CCIW school looking at Wood but they couldn't get him into school. Grades may have been an issue as well.

I haven't heard anything negative at all about Wood from the academic side, and I would advise you to be very careful speculating in this area without any hard evidence. This is how scurrilous rumors get started.