Eliud Gonzalez decides on IWU

This week, Illinois Prep Bulls-eye reported that Eliud Gonzalez, the point-guard for 4A state champion Richards H.S. (Oak Lawn), has picked Illinois Wesleyan. Gonzalez is a highly regarded basketball player and student.
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Gonzalez averaged 7.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game on a Richards team that finished 30-4. The Bulldogs defeated Zion-Benton 67-63 in the 4A title game on March 15. Gonzalez had a very typical game, scoring 9 points, but most importantly dishing out 5 assists, coming up with 3 steals, and playing terrific defense on the Zee-Bees' perimeter players.
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Gonzalez is your prototypical "pure point-guard." He is one of those "coach on the floor" type players who is not flashy, but extremely fundamentally sound in everything he does. On the season, he dished out an impressive 203 total assists for the state champ Bulldogs. Everyone who talks about Gonzalez uses words like "smart", "steady", and "winner."
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An excerpt from "Richards relies on Gonzalez":

"With (Eliud) out on the floor, it's like having a coach out there," Chappetto said. "He takes charge, and he finds guys when they're open."
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And from "Gonzalez points way for Bulldogs":

The least physically imposing starter on Richards’ roster is arguably the player most crucial to their success.

Eliud Gonzalez has made a career out of subverting expectations.

The Bulldogs’ 5-10 senior point guard is precisely the type of heady, smart and fearless leader the rest of the team relies on to braid together the team’s talented collection of pieces.

Asked to break down the strongest aspects of his game, he is quick and exact in his response: "My heart."
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And finally, from "Small School gems have their shining moment in Peoria":

While 6'5 Indiana State signee Carl Richard and 6'8 junior Shaun Pratl draw most of the accolades, both Richard and Pratl will be among the first to tell you that in many ways Gonzalez was the driving force behind Richards capturing the Class 4A championchip in the school's first ever appearance in the state finals.

Gonzalez, a 5'10 point guard, is not a prolific scorer and doesn't do anything flashy. What he does do tremendously well is run his team's offense, as he has good playmaking capabilities and plays under control. He is also outstanding defensively, as he puts pressure on the ball and is adept at being able to get into the passing lanes and force turnovers. In Richards' championship game victory over Zion-Benton, Gonzalez only scored 9 points, but came up with 5 assists and 3 steals.
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Welcome Eliud and family to Illinois Wesleyan!

Here's Johnny...

Coach Rose recently received what I believe is a very significant commitment. 6-6/205 "combo forward" John Koschnitzky of Air Force Academy Prep School has decided to attend Illinois Wesleyan. Koschnitzky will be considered a freshman at IWU in '08-09 after the year at Air Force Prep and will have all 4 years of eligibility remaining.
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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.
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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. 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.
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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.
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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. He is also a highly regarded baseball player. As pitcher for Oak Forest in '06-07, he was 7-1 with a 2.42 ERA, with 60 strikeouts in 52 innings. As a position player, he hit .356 with 37 RBI (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 an good student and just seems like the type of kid who is going to be a leader on the court and off at IWU.
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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.
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I'm confident the Titans found a really big piece to the puzzle in John Koschnitzky. His versatility seems like a perfect match with IWU's returning players and other '08 recruits. Welcome to John and his family!

6-8/255 Ryan Connolly heading to Wesleyan

6-8/255 Ryan Connolly from Springfield Lanphier has chosen Illinois Wesleyan. Ryan Connolly is simply an enormous young man. He is certainly not hard to pick out in a photo of his high school team. (Note - the players to his left and right are basically the size of Darius Gant, 6-3.) He had a good season at Lanphier, averaging 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds, and leading the Lions to an 18-win season and a sectional final appearance. He had several big games, including a 37-point, 21-rebound effort vs Peoria Notre Dame at Bloomington's U.S. Cellular Colliseum. He was named to the 3rd Team of the IBS 3A/4A All-State Squad.
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Connolly drew interest from some D1's early this year - Illinois-Chicago especially - but wasn't offered by any of them - he is probably not quite polished enough offensively to be a D1 player. That said, Connolly is good enough offensively to do damage vs your typical 6-6 or 6-7 D3 center. He also runs the floor well for his size. At the Division III level, he is going to be an impact player.
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"For a big guy, he moves better than people realize, and also, he's got that mid-range game so you have to respect him anywhere on the floor. He runs the floor better than you would expect, so he's a tough guard..." - Springfield Southeast head coach Tom Goers
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IWU is going to be very big someday with 6-9 Eric McCullough and 6-8 Ryan Connolly sharing 40 minutes at the 5, or maybe even playing them together a little bit for stretches. I think this is a significant addition.
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Connolly, appropriately, is nicknamed "Big Country." Welcome to Illinois Wesleyan, big fella.

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IBS Class 3A/4A All-State Team

State Journal Register All-Central State 8 Team

MidStateHoops Player Profile

"Things looking up for Lanphier's big man" (State Journal Register)

Seibring, Rudnicki, and Walker pick IWU

Ron Rose has found three more impressive young men to add to the IWU basketall program...

6-6/215 Dexter Walker is a "combo forward" from Morton. Walker made the Peoria Journal Star's 3A/4A All-Area Team for the third consecutive year, which is pretty rare, and was named IBCA 3A/4A "Special Mention" All-State after a big senior year for the Potters - 18.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg.Walker does a lot of things well.

The game I saw him play, 6-6 Walker was asked to defend 5-10 Limestone superstar freshman point-guard Donivine Stewart, who has already been offered by the Illini. Walker chased Stewart all over the court and really took him out of the game in a Morton win - it really impressed me that a big, strong kid like that could defend a quick little guard. Walker, a lefty, can really shoot it from all over the mid-range, as well as from 3, but can play in the paint too. When I saw him, I compared him to former Titan Matt Hoder ('98) - like Hoder, he is a big, strong forward who can shoot the basketball.

Walker, who was a wide receiver on the Morton football team, had a lot of interest from top CCIW and D3 programs. He was a highly regarded, heavily recruited high school player. In Dexter Walker, Ron Rose has his first recruit his alma mater, Morton H.S. Welcome to Dexter and family!

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6-4 combo guard Steve Rudnicki led Evanston to Peoria and a state 3rd Place finish. Rudnicki averaged 9.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.3 points for the 30-4 Wildkits.

I've never seen Rudnicki play, but everyone seems to describe him the same way - smart, solid, not flashy but just a guy that helps you win. His height and versatility is a good fit with IWU's current group of young guards.

Rudnicki was featured in a photo sequence I love. These IllinoisHighSchoolSports.com pics were taken immediately after Zion-Benton's Ronald Stewart hit the buzzer beater 3 to defeat Evanston 54-51 in the state semefinal game. Check out the jubilation from the Zee-Bees and the absolute shock from Rudnicki (#30).

I know Coach Rose was very high on Steve all year long and is very happy about his decision. Welcome aboard, Steve and family.

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6-2 shooting guard Sean Seibring (pictured above) averaged 12.0 points for Normal West this year. He made the 10-man Pantagraph All-Area 1st Team, alongside fellow CCIW recruits Jordan Zimmer (IWU), Jeremy Pflederer (Wheaton), and Eric McCullough (IWU). He was also named 1st Team all-conference in the loaded Big 12. He is a smart, strong, steady guard.

With his father being a longtime employee at Illinois Wesleyan, Sean grew up going to Titan games at the Shirk Center. He was probably about 5 when the building opened, so he's seen a terrific era of IWU basketball (4 Final Four teams). It's hard for me to believe he's old enough to be in uniform next year.

Sean's father Steve and uncle Scott (also an IWU employee) are legendary Shirk Center noonball players. Both are "combo forwards" who utilize their posteriors to create space in the paint vs thinner defenders, like myself. They are tough matchups. Sean's game, fortunately, is much more fundamentally sound.

I'd say "welcome" to Sean, but he's been part of the IWU family his whole life.

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Terrific additions to Illinois Wesleyan and the basketball team - exciting days are ahead, Titan fans!

'08-09 Schedule & Recruiting

Ron Rose has released the 2008-09 Illinois Wesleyan men's basketball schedule...

http://www.iwuhoops.com/sch09.doc

The Titans will open at the Manchester tournament, in North Manchester, Indiana, on November 22. At 6:00pm IWU will face Taylor-Fort Wayne, an NAIA school, and the next afternoon will face the winner or loser of the host and D3 Kalamazoo. Two weeks later, the Titans should get a chance to face the defending national champions - the Wash U Bears - at the Lopata Classic in St. Louis.

The holiday trip this year is to beautiful West Palm Beach, where the Titans will compete in the Northwood University tournament. Northwood, an NAIA school, finished 27-8 last year. The Seahawks are coached by Rollie Massimino, who led Villanova to the 1985 Division I national championship. Annual non-conference foes Olivet Nazarene, Chicago, and Hanover are once again on the '08-09 schedule.

It should be another great test for the Titans in preparation for the rugged CCIW.

By the way, it sounds like recruiting is far from over...you'll definitely want to check back here over the course of the next few weeks!