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Around SBN: SB Nation MMA Rankings for August 2010

Basketball Recruiting Update: NU gets first 2011 commitment



According to this article posted yesterday on ESPNChicago.com, Northwestern has gotten a commitment from David Sobolewski, a 6'1" combo guard from nearby Benet Academy who will be a senior in the fall. Sobolewski averaged 16 points per game last season while leading his team to a Class 4A super-sectional, and said that signing with the 'Cats "was a no-brainer for me when they offered." While it's nice to see a kid sign early and seem excited about the prospect of playing for Northwestern, it's easy to see why his decision was such a no-brainer, as the other schools interested in Sobolewski were Bradley, Bucknell, Harvard, Northern Iowa, Princeton and William and Mary; not exactly college basketball's elite.

Clearly Sobolewski is smart if Harvard and Princeton were interested, but it's unclear how talented he is, as it's a bit concerning that he didn't have one offer from a big-time program. In 2011, Northwestern will lose Kevin Coble and Michael Thompson and will need freshmen to step in and contribute right away, and I'm highly skeptical as to whether a guy who was only drawing mid-major interest and hasn't been dominating high school basketball can step right into the fire in the Big Ten. Of course, I provided a similar analysis back in March about Johnathon Loyd, who at the time was only getting mid-major offers but eventually drew interest from heavyweights Michigan State and Florida before signing with Oregon, so it's conceivable that Sobolewski will prove to be a diamond in the rough and end up being a Craig Moore/Jason Bohannon type player. Unfortunately, I think it's more likely that he ends up being like another smart local Polish guard; you remember, this guy.

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let's play a game:

without looking, try to spell okrzesik.

by Rodger Sherman on Jul 12, 2010 2:22 PM CDT reply actions  

a better question is how to pronounce this new recruits name. I’m going with SOH-bull-ess-kee.

by Loretta8 on Jul 12, 2010 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions  

Give a li'l credit

How many teams had offered John Shurna?

He was getting looks from ND, Iowa, BC and Stanford.

Overall, I like the fact Prep Bullseye raves about the kid’s toughness and confidence, and it sounds like he’ll have a chip on his shoulder. Hopefully, he can improve his athleticsm some his senior year, or get blessed by a growth spurt.

At this point, he sounds like Marcotullio v2.0. I’m good with that.

www.massivecreativity.com

by macarthur31 on Jul 12, 2010 4:10 PM CDT reply actions  

maybe we should just hire you as a recruiting consultant

since you seem to know way more about these guys than i do.

i didnt see that bigger programs were interested, that’s good I guess, I just hope there are much bigger and better things coming with this class

by Loretta8 on Jul 12, 2010 4:42 PM CDT up reply actions  

Hey man — I didn’t mean to offend. I’m just trying to put some positive spin on this. He plays for Illinois Wolves. Shurna played for IW, but then again, so did Nick Fruendt. So there ya go.

Agreed — I don’t see D-So as the crown jewel of this 2011 Cat class (ahem, Dai-Jon Parker). However, I think he’ll be a nice piece of the puzzle.

Super prep insider Dan Poneman put a mixtape video of him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnGHXhlMRco. Based on looking at his video, he’s a bit small and could put on a li’l more muscle. The highlights were all offensive based, and no defensive highlights. However, his instinct looks pretty good and he’s got range.

www.massivecreativity.com

by macarthur31 on Jul 12, 2010 4:58 PM CDT reply actions  

no offense taken, you know more about these guys than me, as seen by you coming up with highlight videos of the kid

by Loretta8 on Jul 12, 2010 5:16 PM CDT up reply actions  

also

i feel really old after watching that video, high school kids look so young to me now

by Loretta8 on Jul 12, 2010 5:20 PM CDT up reply actions  

Good News, but...

Personally, I’m still waiting on Parker. A committment from him could change NU hoops forever. I’m not exaggerating.

by G1000 on Jul 12, 2010 5:23 PM CDT reply actions  

also of note is that Rivals has downgraded Jershon to a 3-star recruit. I think that just means he went from 90-something in the country to 101st, and top 100 is what you need for 4-star.

by Loretta8 on Jul 12, 2010 5:37 PM CDT reply actions  

David Sobolewski

John Shurna as a junior was being recruited by such basketball powerhouses as Army and Eastern Washington. My buddy, who also said Nick Fruendt sucks, says Sobolewski is the real deal. He had 40 against Simeon last year. This will be a great pickup for the Wildcats.

by jackbuc@aol.com on Jul 14, 2010 9:10 AM CDT reply actions  

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