Thursday, April 9, 2009 7:50 AM CDT
LLC brings in new recruits for basketball
By RICK DAWSON, Staff Writer
rdawson@jg-tc.com
MATTOON -- Lake Land’s men’s basketball team reeled in five recruits as signing day arrived Wednesday, four of them 6-foot-5 or taller, an effort to add size to a program that has often struggled inside in the Great Rivers.
Two Big 12 players, Decatur Eisenhower’s Brock Von Nordeck and Drew Washington, twins Blake and Brock Cox of Plainfield, Ind., and Spoon River transfer Layton Seeber are the newest players accepting scholarships to play for the Lakers in the 2009-10 season.
Von Nordeck stands 6-9, both of the Cox brothers are 6-6 and Seeber is a big guard noted for his court vision. They may be joined in time by Moussa Gueye (pronounced Moo-sah Gay), a 7-foot, 255-pound center from Senegal who has yet to sign, but who has been on the coaching staff’s wish list for a while.
“If we’re going to compete inside of the GRAC, we’re definitely going to have to be bigger than we were even last year,” Lake Land coach Cedric Brown said. “Having Layton Seeber, a 6-5 combo guard who is going to split time at the point guard and at the shooting guard, is key.”
Another player who plans to join the quintet next year is Jay Edwards, a 6-4 wing who originally enrolled at Central Florida Community College. Edwards is the son of former Indiana University guard Jay Edwards and has a year of eligibility remaining.
The Lakers could still fill up to seven more spots on their 2009-10 roster and may be close to bringing in at least a couple of transfers.
Here is a closer look at the newest class:
Brock Von Nordeck
A Decatur Herald & Review honorable mention all-county selection, Von Nordeck averaged around 15 points for the Panthers, while playing both inside and out. He has developed a short jump hook with either hand, good shooting range and can play facing the basket as effortlessly as he does with his back to it.
Brown: “Von Nordeck is a kid that is going to play combo — between the four and the power forward, and he’ll play some center minutes as well. Hopefully it’s a situation where we can play Brock at the four because he does shoot the ball decently from the perimeter. He shoots the ball extremely well from 15 feet in. Then he’s very athletic, learning the game more and more each day. I saw them on three separate occasions and every time I saw them Brock was just very steady and he very rarely did anything outside of the offense.”
Drew Washington
A 5-11 guard, he was also Decatur Herald & Review honorable mention all-county, averaging 16 points per game. One of his best games came against Mattoon, when he scored a season-high 26 and hit six 3-pointers.
Brown: “We knew that we needed someone like Drew. Drew is probably one of the toughest kids I’ve seen in a while. He’s good defensively and the one thing I like about him more so than anything is that he is an even-keeled type of player. He doesn’t get too high; he doesn’t get too low.
“He plays very intense at all times. Every time I saw him, Drew shot the ball extremely well. And he’s a smart basketball player. When they closed him out and took away his perimeter shot, he would put the ball on the floor and attack the basket, make the right pass at the right time.”
Layton Seeber
A graduate of Champaign Centennial High School, Seeber impressed Lake Land’s wings at recent open gyms because of his ability to put the ball in the right spot for them to finish. He scored 10 points against Lake Land when it met Spoon River early last season and averaged around six points per game.
Brown: “He’s a really savvy type of kid. If you could put those little balls that they use when they do the video games on him and outline his body and watch him play, you would think he was a young man that was a player that has been playing basketball through inner city channels. He’s really crafty with the basketball. He always keeps his eyes up and he finds people. And when he finds people he finds them where they’re able to use his pass to create something for themselves.”
Blake and Brock Cox
They’re twins, but ones with slightly different roles on the court: Blake is a shooting guard and Brock a small forward. Neither played high school this season, opting to stick to the AAU circuit instead, but Blake was still listed among Indiana’s top seniors by Rick Bolus’ recruiting service.
Brown: “They’re both scorers. They both score the ball really well. Blake shoots it a little bit better than Brock does. They are athletic. . .The University of Indianapolis coach, Stan Gouard, he turned me on to these young men. A lot of Division I schools followed them through their AAU career and then they decided not to play (high school).”
Lake Land women get five verbals
It didn’t sign anyone on Wednesday, but Lake Land’s women’s basketball team should have five new players on board by next week.
Tri-County combo guard Melanie Clapp, 5-5 Milford point guard Julie Estay, the younger sister of Lake Land freshman Kristin Estay, 5-8 Villa Grove shooting guard/wing Brittany Herring and 5-10 wing Sara Serber of Fishers, Ind., had already offered verbal commitments prior to the signing date.
Casey Kuenstler, a 5-8 player who can move anywhere from the two guard to the four in Lake Land’s offense, also committed on Wednesday. She became coach Dave Johnson’s second recruit from Olney in the past three years. Jill Ginder just finished her sophomore year and has visited several Division II schools, including Kentucky Wesleyan.
Possibly only one other Lake Land sophomore could end up playing at the next level. Erika Schwartz is mulling an offer from Elmhurst.
Another victory added to a 20-win season
Although it may still have been a bittersweet ending, Lake Land’s women discovered that they didn’t finish the season with a loss after all.
Danville Area used three ineligible players in its Region 24 quarterfinal win at Lake Land and had to forfeit the win.
On another note, Lake Land has organized a one-day high school girls’ basketball shootout on July 16, one that may replace the previous summer leagues that took place at the Fieldhouse.
McClure to take pair of visits
Lake Land sophomore center William McClure is still searching for a school, and plans to visit Florida A&M and Central Michigan this week.
Lougwin Spann has drawn interest from Southern Utah and several D-II and NAIA schools, as has Alan Douglas. Boris Bobic may find an opportunity to play in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, from which most of his interest has come.
5K walk and 5K, 10K runs planned
A 5,000-meter walk and 5K and 10,000-meter competitive runs are scheduled for April 25 at Lake Land College, each of them fund-raisers for the men’s basketball team.
Registration and packet pickup are from 7:30-8:30 a.m. at the Lake Land College maintenance building before the 9 a.m. race.
Cost is $20 for preregistration and $25 on race day.
Trophies are to be awarded to the overall male and female 10K winners as well as top three placers in age divisions of 19-and-under, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59 and 60-and-over.
For a registration form see www.lakeland.cc.il.us/athletics or www.mattoonbeathtri.com or call 234-5294.
Contact Rick Dawson at rdawson@jg-tc.com or 238-6855.
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