Recruiting, Part 1

This is a big recruiting year for Ron Rose and the Titans. With the graduation of the Freemans, Mike Harrigan, and Tyler Smith, there will be some glaring holes to fill on the 2007-08 squad.

While preparing the current Titans to face Albion Saturday and with the CCIW schedule looming, Coach Rose and staff have been all over the holiday tournament scene -- The Classic here in B-N, Pontiac, several in the Chicago area, and elsewhere in the state. Ron and staff started working on this class in May, immediately after he was hired.

I find it very interesting to follow the recruiting process at this stage. Most the "potential D3 All-American" types (your Bryan Crabtree/Keelan Amelianovich's/Zach Freeman-caliber players) are getting a lot of attention from D1's and D2's right now, and that kind of has to play itself out first. It is hard for even the best Division III schools to land a player with an official scholarship offer from a decent D1 (ie Eastern Illinois) -- the appeal of being a "D1" player is hard to pass up. But good D3's can certainly compete with D2's. Adam Dauksas, for example, selected IWU over a scholarship offer from D2 St. Joseph, the team that won the Lewis/Quincy league last year.

Another factor in recruiting is finding the underrecruited players -- the kids who, for whatever reason, are not getting interest from the level they probably should be. To this day, it blows my mind that Keelan Amelianovich did not have a Division I scholarship offer. I am very familiar with the caliber of player that Eastern Illinois gives full rides to and even Illinois State -- Keelan would have started last year for both programs. Bryan Crabtree -- another great example.

In Division 3 recruiting, keep in mind how much academics and money come into play. Illinois Wesleyan is a very selective school and recruits must have real solid academic credentials to get in. Room and board is now well over $30,000 per year, and remember, every year IWU competes for kids who have scholarship offers from D2's like Quincy and Lewis and NAIA's such as Olivet Nazarene.

IWU has such a nice package to offer when you consider the academic reputation of the school, the facilities, the Shirk Center home-game atmosphere, and the amazing tradition of Titan basketball. Ron Rose and his assistants are out there in a big way right now finding young men who value these things and who are the right fit. Stay tuned for more on recruiting as the season progresses.