Recruiting: 2017

[covufan]

According to VerbalCommits, Taylor Bruninga has three offers - Wisconsin Parkside, Winona State, and Minnesota State - Morehead.

http://verbalcommits.com/players/taylor-bruninga

Of course, they also have him listed at 6'5" and 170.  From the pics he looks a little bigger than that!

[M]

He looks like a big ole boy. Go get him if he can shoot it!

[valpotx]

It would be great to have him and Parker Hazen!  We would be replacing Jubril and AP with 1 guy that needs to learn an outside game, and the other could probably learn the inside game.  That has gone well for us over the last 4 seasons .

[wh]

Playing for a small school against other small schools does not preclude a player from excelling at the next level. Butler's (late) Andrew Smith played for a small Christian HS. Our "adopted" fellow Crusader fan zville was a stud at one of the smallest 1-A schools in Indiana, then went on to stardom at Butler. I can't remember the kid's name from South Central (small 1-A in LaPorte County) who chose Indiana State over us 5 or 6 years ago. He had a nice career there despite dealing with a host of plaguing injuries.  Just like Bruninga, all 3 players were 6-8 or taller and had a significant height advantage in HS. 

I'm sure I could go on and on if I gave it a little thought.

[bbtds]

Valpo was looking at Taylor Bruninga from Illini Bluffs. It doesn't hurt that this guy was asked to pose with him during winter break.

In case you were wondering these two guys are both from Peoria area high schools, with Illini Bluffs covering the towns of Glasford, Kingston Mines and Mapleton (home of one of the Caterpillar plants) 15 miles southwest of Peoria near the Illinois River.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Washington+Community+High+School,+Bondurant+Street,+Washington,+IL/Illini+Bluffs+High+School,+212+Saylor+St,+Glasford,+IL+61533/@40.6514322,-89.7538086,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x880a54979b87ff39:0xf3c2f23437b1dd3c!2m2!1d-89.418425!2d40.704325!1m5!1m1!1s0x880a8921eff1d331:0xd92caa2e51491aad!2m2!1d-89.8077845!2d40.574221

Another guy who played for Valpo from this area was Jason Jenkins who went to East Peoria High School.

[bbtds]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzBvlGdS4hE





Most of this footage is taken inside the Peoria Civic Center where the Bradley Braves, coached by former Green Bay coach, Brian Wardle, play and the Peoria Rivermen of the Southern Professional Hockey League play.

[FieldGoodie05]

Some names mentioned in his recruitman...different levels of interest of course:
ISU
UNI
UMICH
ILL
IN STATE
E ILL
LOYOLA
UIC
SIU-Edwardsville was at a game
GB
ODU

All since Dec 01 it appears.  Now this is his AAU coach talking, but the interest has certainly picked up.

Scoring 49 points even against below average competition means 3-ball and jump shots.  Hard to picture him with 20 layups in 3 Quarters.

[bbtds]

http://www.pjstar.com/sports/20161125/taylor-bruninga-putting-illini-bluffs-on-map-for-college-recruiters


Taylor Bruninga putting Illini Bluffs on the map for college recruiters

By Johnny Campos
Journal Star sports reporter

Friday
Posted Nov 25, 2016 at 10:31 PM

PEORIA HEIGHTS - It doesn't happen very often, but the town of Glasford has become a common destination on the recruiting trail for college basketball coaches.

The target: Illini Bluffs senior Taylor Bruninga, a 6-foot-7 - and growing - forward.


A few games into the current boys basketball season, Bruninga has not disappointed.

After finishing with 38 points and 16 rebounds on Friday in an 84-45 win over the hosts in the Peoria Heights Thanksgiving Tournament, the 17-year-old is averaging an even 40 points for the 3-1 Tigers. The only blemish was a 76-68 loss to a talented team from Cloverdale, Ind., in the Washington Tournament of Champions.

"I think recruiters know where I'm from now," said Bruninga, who has scored 1,142 career points for IB. "The team has gotten off to a good start.

"Cloverdale was a good test for us, so I think we're putting Glasford on the map."

Clay Vass, who has coached the Tigers since 2013, said that he noticed Bruninga's potential early.

"I recognized his abilities when he was a freshman and was still only about 6-1," Vass said. "He had an injury and only played the last eight games on the freshman squad.

"When he was a sophomore I put him on the varsity, when there were some people who thought he wasn't ready yet. But by January he was our leading scorer as a sophomore, and was definitely our leading scorer as a junior."


Bruninga was a guard as a freshman, but went through a couple of growth spurts that led to his new position.

"From a freshman to a sophomore, I grew three or four inches," he said. "Then I grew another three inches from my sophomore to junior seasons.

"And I feel like I still have a lot of guard qualities, and can bring the ball up the floor when I need to. But I feel like I've really developed my post game more, and that's really helped me out as a player."

That has not been lost on Vass.

"I've been coaching about 30 years, and I've had about four guys like this, and I've been very fortunate," he said. "And the thing with Taylor is he's a nice, humble kid.

"And yet he's a hard-working kid, and just does what he's asked to do. As a coach, how can you ask for anything else?"

Bruninga also played golf and was an all-state pitcher for the Tigers last season. But he has not yet decided on a college.


That has kept his phone ringing and mailbox full of recruiting letters from interested coaches. Some have even offered letting him play both basketball and baseball.

Bruninga said he is not letting the recruiting process interfere with his current season.

"When I step out onto the floor, it's game time," he said. "I can talk to them after the game.

"When I go out on the floor, it's my teammates first. I'll probably start to think about it after the basketball season is over."

And the recruiters will know exactly where to find him - in Glasford.

Johnny Campos can be reached at 686-3214 or at jcampos@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnnycampos59

[bbtds]

Butler's (late) Andrew Smith played for a small Christian HS.

I'm not sure that any of the private high schools can be considered "small." They have a much larger base of students that they "recruit" from and this has led to many of these "small" high schools being upclassed by the IHSAA to make them competitive with the larger public schools.

Name a private high school in Illinois or Indiana that competes in the large body of schools (IHSAA/IHSA) that doesn't compete better than the public schools of equivalent size.

[crusaderjoe]

You are right--we are off topic and I don't want to threadjack the discussion with my comments/questions.  I deleted my comments so this thread stays its course.  (Mods you can delete this too if you like.)

[VU2624]

Taylor Bruninga may be the single greatest recruit in the history of Illinois basketball but that video showed some of the worst competition I've seen in a recruiting video(if that is what it is). I thought the opponents were practice players in a scrimmage.

[FieldGoodie05]

Do we think the lack of an offer means we have potentially moved on?  Since it has been reported we've seen about a month roll by (mid December tweet that VU was at one of his games).

Which leads me to the next question...when is too late in the recruiting process for a US high school senior?  We heard mention that some of our international players darn near showed up on campus in August without the fan base knowing much.  Jaume (I think) wasn't really public on this forum until late spring/early summer.  I'd think that a US player's recruitment is a good deal different?

We aren't a P6 school that can sweep a kid up late in the process.

[VU2014]

Do we think the lack of an offer means we have potentially moved on?  Since it has been reported we've seen about a month roll by (mid December tweet that VU was at one of his games).

Which leads me to the next question...when is too late in the recruiting process for a US high school senior?  We heard mention that some of our international players darn near showed up on campus in August without the fan base knowing much.  Jaume (I think) wasn't really public on this forum until late spring/early summer.  I'd think that a US player's recruitment is a good deal different?

We aren't a P6 school that can sweep a kid up late in the process.

I'm not going to pretend to know the strategies and nuances of recruiting players but it could be possible that they are trying to build a relationship with the player before giving an offer. I feel like if coaches establish a relationship with a player then it will mean more and be more impactful to receive an offer from the team, especially if your from a team like Valpo that has a tradition of only making offers to targeted players and not like the P6 schools that if you look on verbal commits give out offers to players like candy. This might be particularly be more effective when your recruiting a player who is from a small town and by all accounts has been vastly under recruited but is just starting to cause buzz on the recruiting circuit.

I'm not really sure how the recruit/scouting process works and the strategy of how it works.

[FWalum]

I'm not sure that any of the private high schools can be considered "small." They have a much larger base of students that they "recruit" from and this has led to many of these "small" high schools being upclassed by the IHSAA to make them competitive with the larger public schools.

In large part this is a complete fallacy that for some reason most people still choose to believe simply because there must be some "unfair advantage" that contributes to a parochial/private schools success.  Sure there are some almost "National" private schools that fall into that category, but the vast majority do not.

[M]

Mileek vs Sasha tonight 💥💥

[talksalot]

Mileek vs Sasha tonight 💥💥

Crown Point 69, Merrillville 62

photo gallery:  #2...
http://www.nwitimes.com/digital/photos/preps-sports/gallery-crown-point-at-merrillville-boys-basketball/collection_344c94ec-9f10-56a8-851f-0900be4a3558.html#2

[vu72]

Mileek no where to be found (among scorers) and, who is Ken Decker??  29 points!!

[M]

Hopefully not who Mileek was guarding 😱

[VU2014]

https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/820077895536312322
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/820081718237532160
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/820087230446399488
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/820091729827233793
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/820121828521889792
https://twitter.com/MichaelOsipoff/status/820123040117903364
https://twitter.com/AndrewZimCPTV/status/820077846299377664
https://twitter.com/AndrewZimCPTV/status/820081460833042432
https://twitter.com/AndrewZimCPTV/status/820091785548537856
https://twitter.com/AndrewZimCPTV/status/820092397694701570

Hopefully not who Mileek was guarding 😱

Nope. I believe Ken Decker was the SF for the team.

Mileek no where to be found (among scorers) and, who is Ken Decker??  29 points!!

Ken Decker committed to Depauw, and sort of slid under the radar, buts having a really good senior year.

As for Mileek in this game, I think its important to keep in mind that Merrillville is using him as a center and less of a 3 or a 4. He's the tallest guy on the team he plays more of the role of Center and become the 3rd or 4th scoring option in some case. Mileek has a ton tools but is seen as a "project" from what I can tell.

[VU2014]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/post-tribune/sports/ct-ptb-boys-basketball-crown-point-merrillville-st-0114-20170113-story.html

All decked out: Ken Decker scores career high as Crown Point edges Merrillville

By: Michael Osipoff
Post-Tribune

Ken Decker wanted to be more aggressive.

The senior forward achieved that aim Friday night in Crown Point's Duneland Athletic Conference game at Merrillville.

Decker scored a career-high 29 points as the Bulldogs pulled out a 69-62 win against the Pirates.

He said he felt he let Crown Point down on Jan. 6 in a three-point loss to Michigan City. But he rose to the challenge against Merrillville (9-4, 1-1).

"The ball was just going in — I can't say much more than that," Decker said. "Anybody on our team is capable of having a night like that. The ball just happened to be falling in my hands and going in the hoop."

Decker shot 11-for-13 for Crown Point (10-2, 1-1), including 5-for-6 from 3-point range. He continues to make the most of his final season after previously seeing little playing time.

"Every good moment he has, I'm so happy for him," Crown Point coach Clint Swan said. "All the work he's put in, he wanted to play more, and he's getting his opportunity this year.

"It's not just about making 3-pointers. It's rebounding, taking charges, finishing through traffic. And when he gets open, he's going to knock them in. I get emotional talking about him."

In a back and forth rivalry game, the Bulldogs snapped a 58-58 tie with 3:35 left when Sasha Stefanovic found Sam Krutz for a basket and Decker scored. Decker's 3-pointer made it 65-60 with 2:58 left.

Pirates coach T.J. Lux described Decker as the difference.

"He was awesome," Lux said.

Merrillville turned up its press, but Crown Point didn't crack.

"Our guys did a great job of finding that next guy," Swan said. "Last week, we did a bad job of trying to break pressure by dribbling. This week we did a much better job trying to break pressure by sharing the ball, moving bodies and moving the ball, and taking the best possible shot."

The Bulldogs led 31-28 at halftime and opened as much as a six-point lead midway through the third. But the Pirates stormed back to lead by as many as five points within the last two minutes of the quarter.

"The tempo, we create a faster pace defensively, but then we got into things mishandling the ball and taking some ill-advised shots," Lux said. "We were trying to do too much, trying to force the action. We have enough talented guys for the action to come to them.

"When we jumped in front, we needed to take care of our business."

Stefanovic joined Decker in double figures for Crown Point with 17 points.

Merrillville had balance with Cameron Wilbon scoring 15 points, Jonah Jackson 13 and Johnny Bernard 12. Valparaiso recruit Mileek McMillan was hampered by foul trouble throughout the game.

"Even though Michigan City was a bump in the road, our confidence was really high," Decker said. "All respect to Merrillville, they're a phenomenal team. But even when it got rough there in the third quarter, we didn't stray from our mindset."

mosipoff@post-trib.com

Twitter @MichaelOsipoff

[M]

A friend at the game said Mileek had 4 points. Says Mileek was guarding CP's biggest guy and that Mileek wasn't demanding the ball.  Thanks his game will be much more fitting to how Valpo plays. My friend won an NAIA national title a few years back and has been to a number of M'ville games and Valpo games. He is also good friends with the guy who Mileek trains with in the offseason.

[VU2014]

A friend at the game said Mileek had 4 points. Says Mileek was guarding CP's biggest guy and that Mileek wasn't demanding the ball.  Thanks his game will be much more fitting to how Valpo plays. My friend won an NAIA national title a few years back and has been to a number of M'ville games and Valpo games. He is also good friends with the guy who Mileek trains with in the offseason.

Thats good. Yeah it seems like Merrillville coach is doing a Mileek a disservice playing him at center/post player when he's not a true center. But the Merrillville coach's focus is on winning games and not developing Mileek's game for the next level solely. Maybe it might help him in the future to get comfortable in the post and maybe learn some tricks early. Alec developed post moves in college which expanded his game greatly. But I sort of wish Merrillville was playing him as a 3 or a stretch 4 for his developments sake to give him more opportunities.

Did your friend mention Sasha's game? 

[FieldGoodie05]

Took a gander at Sasha Stefanovic verbal commit and the site has CLOSED St Joseph's from his final 5.

Only lists 4 teams:  VU, Loyola, Evansville and UNI.

[FieldGoodie05]

Took a gander at Sasha Stefanovic verbal commit and the site has CLOSED St Joseph's from his final 5.

Only lists 4 teams:  VU, Loyola, Evansville and UNI.

VU 14-4 Conf 4-1
Loyola 12-6 (2-3)
Evansville 10-9 (1-5)
UNI 5-11 (0-1)

Loyola lists (7) SG on their roster for next year. Evansville (4) and (1) signed for 2017. UNI needs a SG like we do, they have (2) on next years roster.

We have (1) in Walker.  I'm feeling like our biggest concern is P6 sniping.  The part of Sasha's game that is impressive is his rebounding.

[VU2014]

And so it begins. His first D1 offer. I think they are going to coming at him at a pretty fast pace now. If the Valpo coaching staff really likes him I think we'll see an offer extended in the relatively near future.

https://twitter.com/Illinois_Irish/status/821209064323633152