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)