Back (and with good news)

So I’ve been on something of a hiatus for a long while now. So of that was due to the time of year, some was to other commitments, but a lot was due to frustration with NU’s recruiting. Looking ahead to what should be the program’s most successful season (and coming off one of the best) the Wildcats engaged a number of top spring recruits in the class of 2010. Unfortunately, none of them committed to NU. Perhaps the most frustrating was forward Kevin Noreen who decided to take his skills to West Virginia. Noreen was a top student with a perfect ACT score who said he really wanted to good academic school. NU seemed like a shoe-in when home state Minnesota passed him over. However, he’s off to WVU. Now, I know Bob Huggins was an Academic All-American as a player, but Huggins hasn’t exactly been overly concerned with academics as a coach and West Virginia isn’t anywhere NU’s level in terms of academic ranks. But, let’s not dwell on what went wrong. Yes, NU could have used Noreen, but at least the ‘Cats have a point guard recruit in the 2011 class. Benet Academy’s David Sobolewski has committed to NU. Sobolewski’s raise from mid-major prospect to high-major prospect and early commitment to NU reminds me of another western suburban player in NU forward John Shurna. Like Shurna, Sobolewski will get to start from day one. With Juice Thompson playing his final year in Evanston this year winter, Bill Carmody no doubt plans to hand Sobolewski the ball the moment he sets foot on campus in the Summer of 2011. Given what I’ve heard about David, I think that’s just fine. The kid is reported to have great court vision and a decent outside shot. Both critical for a guard in the Princeton Offense. He is also more physically built than many of NU’s past recruits. That’s important as was seen when the more physical Drew Crawford didn’t slump until late in the season and the smaller Alex Marcotullio disappeared in mid-January. So I’m glad to see David at NU and it’s nice to share some good news in my return from hiatus.