The Prairie School's Koenen accepts scholarship offer from Texas State
posted by Mark Miller at 11/6/2009
By Mark Miller
WisSports.net Editor Reid Koenen of The Prairie School in Racine didn’t waste any time in accepting a scholarship offer from Texas State coach Doug Davalos.
Davalos extended a scholarship to the 6-foot-7 Koenen Thursday evening, and the sharpshooting wing forward accepted the offer Friday afternoon, becoming the 13th player in the state from the class of 2010 to commit to a NCAA Division I school.
“Reid got the offer from Texas State Thursday night, and he committed today,” said Lance Marifke, now in his fifth season as head coach at The Prairie School. “I thought the coaching staff at Texas State handled things very well. They saw him play last summer in Chicago in an AAU tournament and liked him.
“Coach Davalos then came up here and watched Reid in an open-gym workout and really liked him as well.” Koenen took official visits to Texas State and nearby UW-Parkside last month. He also received recruiting interest from Eastern Kentucky, Navy and Northern Illinois, among others.
However, once Davalos made the scholarship offer, Koenen knew in his heart where he wanted to play.
“After I went and visited Texas State, I really like it a lot,” Koenen said. “After I visited, I thought if they offered, I would accept. It’s a big school, and I really liked that. I kind of wanted to go to a bigger school.
“I liked all the coaches, and coach Davalos is a very good coach. I think they finished in the top five in scoring in the nation last year so they get up and down the court very well.”
Koenen averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds per game as a junior to lead Racine County in both categories. He earned first-team all-league honors in the Southern Division of the Midwest Classic Conference while helping the Hawks to an 8-13 record.
A deadly long-range shooter with good ball handling and passing skills, Koenen played well on the grassroots scene last summer for the Playground Elite program. He began to draw interest from scholarships schools when he showed he could also put the ball on the ground and get places.
“I think Reid’s best basketball is still head of him,” Marifke said. “He’s 6-7 and only 185 pounds. He’ll add weight and strength, and I think there’s a couple of inches for Reid to grow yet. He has great skills and creates mismatch problems for opponents. I see him a little like (Steve) Novak was at Marquette in that he can stretch defenses because of his ability to make three-point shots.”
Koenen, who is ranked No. 27 among state seniors by WisSports.net, is a three-year varsity letterwinner for the Hawks.
Koenen is the 13th player from Wisconsin in the class of 2010 to accept a basketball scholarship to a Division I school. He joins …
Vander Blue of Madison Memorial (Marquette)
Evan Anderson of Eau Claire North (Wisconsin)
Josh Gasser of Port Washington (Wisconsin)
Kameron Cerroni of Sussex Hamilton (Green Bay)
Chip Rank of Cedarburg (Northern Iowa)
Flavien Davis of Wisconsin Lutheran (Loyola of Chicago)
Kyle Kelm of Randolph (Milwaukee)
Ben Mills of Arrowhead (Boise State)
Steve McWhorter of Racine St. Catherine’s (Indiana State)
T.J. Bray of Catholic Memorial (Princeton)
Troy Huff of Brookfield Academy (North Dakota)
Evan Richard of Cuba City (Milwaukee)
Quick Hitters … Milwaukee Hamilton coach Tom Diener said his school has not received a decision from the WIAA regarding the eligibility of juniors Eric Allen (6-6) and Jalonnie Parks (6-2). Per the relatively new WIAA transfer rules, both Allen and Parks need to sit out the 2009-10 high school basketball season after transferring to Hamilton last spring from Milwaukee Northwest and Wisconsin Lutheran, respectively. However, Hamilton administrators recently sent in an appeal form for both players, seeking to restore eligibility for both for this season. Allen is ranked No. 20 among juniors in Wisconsin in the WisSports.net Player Rankings.
Comments 4
On
11/6/2009 7:52:06 PM
sportsfan wrote:
Why should the appeal be granted? What's the point of having rules if everyone just tries to get around them?
On
11/6/2009 8:05:44 PM
MarkMiller wrote:
The transfer rule includes a provision for an appeal.
Whether or not the players/school win the appeal is left to WIAA administrators, who have more knowledge/information about the situation than we do.
On
11/7/2009 8:47:39 AM
kicknrun wrote:
Why doesn't Hamilton AD approach the other schools ADs and ask for approval of the transfer? It has worked in other sports. This may have happened already, but it is another option.
On
11/11/2009 7:56:47 PM
JCHEEZY wrote:
Why was my comment deleted?
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