MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[titan2000]

NPU does have a good golf team.  You have to give them that. 

[Titan Q]

IWU has not formally announced it yet, and Ron Rose cannot comment until they do, but I've learned that Illinios Wesleyan has received a verbal commitment from all-state point-guard Travis Rosenkranz of Macon-Meridian H.S.

Complete information...

http://iwuhoops.blogspot.com/



I think this is a big impact CCIW recruit.  Travis averaged 24.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 steals this year. He shot 57% from the field, 42% from 3 and 84% from the FT line.

A January 11 Chicago Sun-Times article (link) entitled, "Players turn heads at holiday tournaments", included the following:

Recruiting analyst Joe Henricksen, the editor of City/Suburban Hoops Report, said Rosenkranz, a 6-foot senior point guard at Macon-Meridian, is ''the most underrated player in Illinois. He can play at a low-Division I school.''

Henricksen saw Rosenkranz score 37 points in an overtime loss to Bloomington Central Catholic in the Class A final of the State Farm Classic in Normal, Ill. He made a three-point shot to tie the score at the end of regulation.

''He is better than many of the heralded guards in the state, in a class with Von Steuben's Michael Horton, Peoria Richwoods' Justin Dehm [Furman], Thornton's Josh Parker [Drake], Maroa-Forsyth's Robert Kreps [UIC] and Bloomington Central Catholic's Brandon Dunson [Tennessee-Chattanooga],'' Henricksen said.

The February 5, 2007 issue of ILL. Hoops magazine (link)   included a feature on Rosenkranz. An excerpt:

"Travis Rosenkranz is a sleeper D-I point guard prospect," wrote the Schmidts in an e-mail. "He can certainly play at the low D-I level, and perhaps the mid-major D-I level. "He is a gym rat, tough-minded kid who wants to get better and constantly works at his game. Nothing against Robert Kreps, who is a fine player and a good get for UIC, but Rosenkranz is every bit as good, and we think that their conference head-to-head matchups over the past two years would certainly verify that. Yes, he is only 5-11, but a player who can shoot, lead the transition game, and get the ball to the right people is certainly worth a look, and we do know that several low D-I's have him on their list."

Right now, he has heard from Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Eastern Illinois, a few Ivy League schools and a lot of Division III schools.

"He has no Division I offers," Blickensderfer said. "That's amazing. Maybe that's why those guys don't keep their jobs long. They can't evaluate talent. I'm not saying he can go to Illinois, Maryland or Kansas, but there's no reason why he can't play at an Eastern, Illinois State or Evansville."  


Travis made all of the various Class A all-state teams, like this one that is nicely put together...

http://www.illinoishighschoolsports.com/ihssallstate/

Ron Rose and staff have found a really good one in Travis Rosenkranz.

[titanfan]

Wow!  It looks like the Titan recruiting class is beginning to take shape.  These two kids both seem like impressive players!

Q, any big men in the pipeline???

[Titan Q]

Ron Rose and staff received a verbal today from another one of their top recruits -- a 6-7 F/C from the Chicago area.  I'll have more details on that in a day or so as I get details.  A few other good big guys still in the mix too.

[David Collinge]

Ron Rose and staff received a verbal today from another one of their top recruits -- a 6-7 F/C from the Chicago area.  I'll have more details on that in a day or so as I get details.  A few other good big guys still in the mix too.

This one must be Guildenstern...

[Mr. Ypsi]

Aw, David, that was too easy!

[Damn!  Wish I'd thought of it!  ]

[AndOne]

Ron Rose and staff received a verbal today from another one of their top recruits -- a 6-7 F/C from the Chicago area.  I'll have more details on that in a day or so as I get details.  A few other good big guys still in the mix too.

Ron Rose and staff received a verbal today from another one of their top recruits -- a 6-7 F/C from the Chicago area.  I'll have more details on that in a day or so as I get details.  A few other good big guys still in the mix too.

This one must be Guildenstern...

Investigation reveals the recruit being talked about in the above posts is likely Ed O'Callaghan of St. Patricks in Chicago. 

[Gregory Sager]

Ron Rose and staff received a verbal today from another one of their top recruits -- a 6-7 F/C from the Chicago area.  I'll have more details on that in a day or so as I get details.  A few other good big guys still in the mix too.

This one must be Guildenstern...

Crap. I've been sitting on that Guildenstern joke ever since I found out that Illinois Wesleyan was recruiting Travis Rosenkrantz a month ago ... and David beats me to the punch because I wasn't online when Bob broke the news that Rosenkrantz had picked Wesleyan.

I heard that Chicago and Millikin were also after Rosenkrantz, so this might be one more instance of Mike McGrath being trumped by the boys in Bloomington.

Investigation reveals the recruit being talked about in the above posts is likely Ed O'Callaghan of St. Patricks in Chicago. 

I know that Wesleyan is also supposedly close to landing F/C John Koschnitzky of Oak Forest ... except that Koschnitzky's not quite that big.

Wesleyan's almost always the first CCIW school to announce verbals every spring, so it's not surprising that we aren't hearing of definites anywhere else yet -- although the first student-athlete that I heard was a definite was 6'1 Wheaton North guard Andrew Jahns, who is apparently going to be playing his college ball two miles down the road in King Arena.

I've also heard that 6'6 forward Kyle Nelson of Deerfield is headed to Augustana. Any confirmation, Dan?

NPU isn't reporting any verbals yet, as per school tradition. I really like the batch of prospects that the Vikings staff is pursuing -- the potential is there to equal or surpass this past year's excellent freshman class. But a lot of things have to break North Park's way, of course, and step one is landing some of the guys at the top of Paul Brenegan's list.

[Gregory Sager]

God must have a sense of humor, and the joke is on NPU, because He must have used His all-encompassing power to rid all teaching of grammar at North Park.

His sense of humor must extend to Augustana as well, where he appears to have rid all teaching of the distinction between spelling and grammar.

[Titan Q]

I heard that Chicago and Millikin were also after Rosenkrantz, so this might be one more instance of Mike McGrath being trumped by the boys in Bloomington.

Most of the stuff out there on Travis said he was down to U. of Illinois (preferred walk-on), IWU, Chicago, and Millikin.  Like this Midstatehoops.com page, for example...

http://www.midstatehoops.com/players/profiles/2007/travis_rosenkranz.html


Both of Travis' parents went to Millikin and the family is very close to Tim Littrell, so I think the Big Blue were always mentioned by Travis in the early going (November, December) as a courtesy of sorts.  I know he really liked Tim Littrell a lot, but Travis is going pre-med and I think from early on he identified Chicago and IWU as better academic fits. Millikin firing Littrell was the end of Travis mentioning the Big Blue on his short list to anyone.

His final decision definitely came down to IWU and U. of Chicago.  I'm not sure there is really much to the U. of Illinois preferred walk-on thing, although I did find this thread on Illiniloyalty.com entertaining...

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=2628

[Titan Q]

I've also heard that 6'6 forward Kyle Nelson of Deerfield is headed to Augustana. Any confirmation, Dan?

I have heard the same.

[Titan Q]

Loyola point-guard D.J. Glavan has been recruited by several CCIW schools.  I've heard he is going to Division III NYU.

[knarocky22]

God must have a sense of humor, and the joke is on NPU, because He must have used His all-encompassing power to rid all teaching of grammar at North Park.

His sense of humor must extend to Augustana as well, where he appears to have rid all teaching of the distinction between spelling and grammar.

Actually, he did spell since correctly, so technically, it is a grammar error.

[AndOne]

Wesleyan's almost always the first CCIW school to announce verbals every spring, so it's not surprising that we aren't hearing of definites anywhere else yet -- although the first student-athlete that I heard was a definite was 6'1 Wheaton North guard Andrew Jahns, who is apparently going to be playing his college ball two miles down the road in King Arena.

Wheaton had Jahns wrapped up by about the middle of this past season if not sooner.

[AndOne]

Q-------

Any confirmation that yesterday's verbal was from O'Callaghan?
I'm pretty sure he talked to Rose yesterday.