Recruiting: 2015

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Who better to kick this thread off with than Ryan Fazekas?

6'7, 185 lb wing from MC Marquette. 
Lost to Clay Yeo and Triton in the sectional championship.
Soph stats: 14.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, and an Broekhoffesque 91% from the free throw line. 
Second team all-area to the NWI times, who had this to say:

He produces inside and outside, but a feathery touch that extends to the arc and his ability to handle the ball like a guard has drawn the attention of several Big Ten schools.

Has interest from Michigan and IU, but in a (now year-old) interview with UMHoops had this to say:

Fazekas listed Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Xavier, Northwestern, Oregon, New Mexico, Purdue along with "bunch of other small schools" when prompted for a school list but also mentioned his scholarship offer from Valparaiso.

"It felt good when they offered me. I was only 14 years old. I never expected to be offered that young," recalled Fazkekas. "This is only my fourth year playing and I'm still developing. I felt ecstatic when they offered me. But I'm still looking for options and I'm going to keep my options open for a while."

Fazekas has visited Valparaiso, Michigan, Michigan State and Indiana noting that he plans to attend camps at both Butler and Michigan this summer.

Freshman highlight reel:
Ryan Fazekas 6'6" 185 lbs. Class of 2015 G/F

Bottom line:  an amazing shooter.  Though he could easily end up 6'9, he has the skills/handle/range/general look of a 2 or 3 and so has the potential to be a nightmare mismatch there.  But could he be the next Rowdy if Alec Peters has a lock on the job?

[LaPorteAveApostle]

The only other person who has the street cred to kick off this thread would be Matt Holba.

6'6", 185 center from Chesterton; will suit up for Guerin Catholic next year.
Lost to VHS badly in the sectional semi. (10 points on 13 shots, only 2-8 from the line.)
Soph stats: 11.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg.
Also second-team all-area to the Times, who said

Whether it was scoring, rebounding, defending or ball handling, Holba did a little bit of everything, and did it well for the young Trojans. Effort was never a question.

Again, it's not a bad thing when you and the University of Michigan are trying to feed at the same trough.  Also from UMHoops:

Having already attracted the attention of schools like Indiana, Michigan, and Michigan State during his freshman year of high school, Holba is a young player who is already very impressive physically. At 6-foot-6, he can play a variety of positions. He's also strong and his athleticism is above-average.

Because of his size, Holba was a center throughout his early playing days. His task this summer has been to expand his game — develop a comfort level with the ball in his hands on the perimeter, some handle, maybe even a jumpshot.

His AAU coach would add

"He's always done all the blue-collar work—gets assists, defense, rebounds, blocks," Buggs confirmed.

Holba has been in consistent contact with Michigan for quite some time. Last fall, he took a visit during a football game and went to the cookout with the team and coaches, even saying hello to Zack Novak, whom he grew up watching in Chesterton.

Holba said he consistently talks with the Michigan coaching staff over the phone or through text massaging. It appears the interest level is high on both sides. On a possible future visit, Holba said, "If they're still looking, then yeah. It all depends on how I play, really."

Holba is hearing from a few Big Ten schools[...]

No one has made a decent highlight video of this kid because they're too busy putting up dunks.  Which, ok.  But after a while...gets old.

Bonus:  want to see a 7th grade Holba throwing down a dunk in an AAU game and getting T-ed up to boot?  I thought you would.
Indiana Thunder Matt Holba 13 year old dunking!

here's a much more impressive drive and finish:
Indiana Thunder Best 13U Dunk - class of 2015 Matt Holba

[IndyValpo]

Listing of Indiana HS class of 2015

http://indianarecruitingguide.com/prospect-rankings/class-of-2015/

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Thanks for that!

Indiana Class of 2015 ranks:
8.  Ryan Fazekas:  6'7" Small Forward, Marquette Catholic H.S.

Offers:  Valparaiso, Illinois-Chicago

Interest:  Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, Xavier

Very good size for a kid who can play on the perimeter.  Ryan can really shoot the ball, and his size lets him get his shot off over just about anyone.  Over the course of the summer he continued to add other dimensions to his game including improving his ball handling and skills down low.  He also may not be done growing.


12.  Matt Holba:  6'6" Power Forward, Chesterton H.S.

Offers:  Valparaiso

Interest:  Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Purdue

Matt is a great athlete who can really jump.  Also has very good length.  I could see him growing some more still and becoming a big time threat on the low block.  Right now he is at his best when running the floor and using his athleticism and ball handling ability to get to the rim.  Nice athletic "4″ man prospect.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Also lists us with interest in Hyron Edwards...which...the #10 player in the country?

STAY HOME YOUNG MAN it'll make everyone happy

[lowposter]

Why not add Chris Palambizio to that list?

6'5" wing player with three point range.

Here is another Chesterton product who is also leaving his high school for greener pastures, transfering to Traders Point Prep School.  Let's see, bring in Fazikous, Holba, and Palambizio to duplicate that great undefeated Chesterton Middle School team of a couple years ago.  Should be able to draw that north Porter County crowd and fill the ARC!

[LaPorteAveApostle]

It's not clear to me whether there is any interest on either party's part yet.

(It's also not mine to add someone to someone else's top 50 list either )

(I don't know if Dan Palombizio is the Drews' cup of tea anyway.)

At any rate, he may move to the class of 2016:
https://twitter.com/palombizio05/status/324680847984840704

...so stay tuned.

[valporun]

My question is, besides maybe improved non-basketball-related maturity, why are so many younger basketball recruits leaving the Chesterton program for private/prep schools? Am I missing something about the academics there, or maybe the attitudes of coaching staff associated with the program? Seems like they have some up-and-coming talent, but by a certain point, they jump ship for a private or prep school within Indiana or one of the basketball factories. Any reasons those of you in the NW Indiana area care to share with those of us that are outside of it?

[covufan]

My question is, besides maybe improved non-basketball-related maturity, why are so many younger basketball recruits leaving the Chesterton program for private/prep schools? Am I missing something about the academics there, or maybe the attitudes of coaching staff associated with the program? Seems like they have some up-and-coming talent, but by a certain point, they jump ship for a private or prep school within Indiana or one of the basketball factories. Any reasons those of you in the NW Indiana area care to share with those of us that are outside of it?

Was just wondering the same thing myself.

[Valpo89]

My question is, besides maybe improved non-basketball-related maturity, why are so many younger basketball recruits leaving the Chesterton program for private/prep schools? Am I missing something about the academics there, or maybe the attitudes of coaching staff associated with the program? Seems like they have some up-and-coming talent, but by a certain point, they jump ship for a private or prep school within Indiana or one of the basketball factories. Any reasons those of you in the NW Indiana area care to share with those of us that are outside of it?

I don't know anything official. I do know that Tom Peller, Chesterton's head coach, is a great guy. I've never questioned his coaching ability, but I'm not the parent of a D-1 recruit. Fazekas left for Marquette without even giving Chesterton a chance. Mitch McGarry was a totally different situation - his grades were literally as bad as they could possibly be and he needed a change of scenery.
I can say that Dan Palombizio was NOT happy with how the season ended. I saw him in the hallway at halftime of the Valpo game in the sectional. He and another very tall guy (don't know who it was, could have been Holba's dad) were basically screaming at each other about how bad the game was going. Chesterton had a lot more young talent than Valpo High, but Valpo just dominated them the whole game.
Not a lot of positive history at Chesterton. I'm pretty sure Chesterton has only ONE sectional title in school history. One. And that is when Matt Nover played.
I do feel for Tom Peller because he is such a nice guy. He has been there longer than any Chesterton boys coach in the last 20-plus years. But I'd have to say the natives are restless in Cheese-town with these last two defections.

[chef]

There's definitely been some displeasure with the coaching.

[IndyValpo]

I'm pretty sure Chesterton has only ONE sectional title in school history. One. And that is when Matt Nover played.

Chesterton has 3 sectional titles.....1955, 1968 and 1987.  As a frame of reference Valpo has won 51 sectionals and Portage has 10.

[wh]

Why not add Chris Palambizio to that list?

6'5" wing player with three point range.

Here is another Chesterton product who is also leaving his high school for greener pastures, transfering to Traders Point Prep School.  Let's see, bring in Fazikous, Holba, and Palambizio to duplicate that great undefeated Chesterton Middle School team of a couple years ago.  Should be able to draw that north Porter County crowd and fill the ARC!

Maybe things would be different by then, but it sounds like an awful lot of stage parents and personal agendas to deal with.  One player with helicopter parents can be a nuisance; 3 or 4 can undermine everything the coaching staff is trying to do and destroy team chemistry in the process.  We already had an isolated case of that with Brandon Wood and his dad. That was more than enough drama all by itself.

[HC]

I can't ever imagine Dan meshing with the Drews...and if you get Chris you get Dan too.  I don't know if Dan's father is still around or not, but he was a bigger trip then Dan was.  I would imagine the other tall guy was Holba's father, who was very tall and seemed to live through his son back when I was in close contact with these guys.

[valporun]

Sounds like the type of fathers who don't like the Bobby Knight/Bo Ryan Control the Clock Motion Offense that sounds like what a Tom Peller likes to stick with? This kind of basketball parent really hinders youth sports in so many ways, not only in terms of the coaching, but the team chemistry, and confidence of the individual player.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

http://www.nwitimes.com/high-school/chesterton/jim-peters-peller-critics-shouldn-t-go-connecting-the-dots/article_70316aa3-9346-5982-80b2-4663b4bd199e.html

I was going to write something like this on the subject and then the NWI Times ran a column for me

[valporun]

That does open things up a little more. Thanks, LAA. I just wasn't sure what the details were going into it, being a real outsider to Chesterton High School basketball. It just seemed a bit odd that so many kids were leaving, and not many here were putting the details in the posts they would make here.

[atkins]

At first glance, it appears that Ryan Fazekas has a respectful, albeit lukewarm, interest in Valpo (at least as of the date of the interview) but is searching for higher-profile programs.  It will be interesting to see what develops.  He'd be a great fit at Valpo.  I'm sensing a Gonzaga-esque team if he were to join the incoming gang. 

It reminds me of the fact that Bobby Knight recruited Damon Bailey when Damon was the same age as Ryan, but there was no question as to where Damon would end up.  We'll see...   

[LaPorteAveApostle]

At first glance, it appears that Ryan Fazekas has a respectful, albeit lukewarm, interest in Valpo (at least as of the date of the interview) but is searching for higher-profile programs.

Actually I took away almost the opposite, for a couple reasons.  First of all, a lot of kids are always interested to see who the biggest name schools interested in them are, if not ALL kids.  That doesn't mean you'll go there, but it gives you an idea.  To return to bbtds' extended prom metaphor, you want to know what circles you're operating in.

Second of all, though, he took the time to talk a lot about Valpo to a UM reporter.  That says a lot.  I read many such interview/write-ups, and I don't see that happening a lot.  Most kids are careful to just talk about the school in question.  It's a little like talking about another girlfriend to a second girl's friend.

But again, you're right in that it is a year-old video.  Still, we have to be first on kids like this to have a great chance (like that hilarious video I posted on the Recruiting thread. reposted here because I screwed it up last time).
Mr. Show - Recruiters

[lowposter]

Valpo89....

Dan Palambizio also left the game with 3 minutes to go when his son was removed from the game.  My comment about VU recruiting his son was tongue in cheek.  Gotta disagree with your assessment of CHS having more talent than VHS as VHS won all three games this year.  The game in February was a 2 point game, but VHS had that in hand (8 point lead with 90 seconds before throwing the ball away). 

My assessment of the CHS situation isnt the kids on the floor, but the people watching the game, particularly a few parents, but that is just from what I hear and observe.  The talent at CHS was far over-rated.  Perhaps these four young men (including Teal) will be very good players by their senior years, but as of last year they ran hot and cold.  Sometimes parents should just sit back and enjoy the fact their kids are playing (it is called "playing").

lowposter

[LaPorteAveApostle]

Gotta disagree with your assessment of CHS having more talent than VHS as VHS won all three games this year.

In his defense, he said "young talent", and though VHS was clearly superior, I don't know that he was wrong when two of those CHS sophomores will get D1 scholarships, at least, whereas it remains to be seen if anyone in the VHS rotation will.

Viking pride forever, still, though.

[lowposter]

One VHS already has D1.

[LaPorteAveApostle]

If you're talking about Conner TenHove, then maybe, but he's not part of the rotation yet, is he?

[classof2014]

I'm pretty sure Mack Mercer was on campus today. I saw Coach Gore showing him the library... or at least a real tall white guy who I assume to be Mercer, could be wrong.

Anyways, somebody was on campus today which is a FACT. I think it was Mercer but don't quote me on that. Anyone know anything else though?

[valpopal]

Didn't see who was on campus today, but will look into it. Apparently, PG Nick Rogers (2015) will be visiting Valpo on Wednesday. This is a good week for visits because it is the last full week of classes and coaches want recruits to see the atmosphere with students in attendance and players on campus.