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!