Seniors make small impact: few going to Division I
By Cliff Christl
of the Journal Sentinel staff
Feb. 21, 1998
Unless several unheralded prospects emerge down the road as major college basketball players, the class of high school seniors this year will be remembered as one of the least remarkable in recent state history.
Only four senior boys signed NCAA Division I scholarships last fall.
Point guard Jose Winston of Milwaukee Vincent and power forward Robert Jackson of Milwaukee Washington signed with Colorado and Mississippi State, respectively. Both ranked among the top 60 players in the country in one national recruiting service, but they still haven't met all the academic requirements to be eligible as freshmen.
The other two players to sign were off-guard Drew Diener of Fond du Lac (with St. Louis) and point guard Marius Boyd of Whitefish Bay (with Northern Iowa).
"We said this class was going to be down," said Curtis Weathers, who conducts exposure workouts for college coaches during the fall through his Milwaukee-based Stay In The Game program. "But next year's is going to be sky high."
The junior class already has produced three players who have given early commitments to Division I schools — Julian Swartz of Waukesha South and Dave Mader of Appleton East to Wisconsin and Brian Weber of Oak Creek to Northwestern. Another half-dozen or more could follow suit by next fall.
This senior class, on the other hand, might not produce 10 Division I players in all, even though there are some intriguing prospects left.
Four players from the Milwaukee area who fall into that category are forward Quincey Moman of Homestead and guards Marcus Johnson of Whitefish Bay Dominican, Lavelle Felton of Milwaukee Madison and Johnny Jones of Racine Case.
"I think those four kids have a tremendous upside," said Weathers.
But of the four, Moman might be the only one eligible as a freshman. A 6-foot-5 small forward, he has drawn recent interest from New Mexico State.
"He can do so many things," said John Chekouras, the coach at Homestead. "He's such a good defender, a very good rebounder. He's shooting well. His left hand has gotten better. He has pure athleticism and flies up and down the floor."
Of the other three, Felton might qualify as the biggest sleeper, in part because he plays for a program that has struggled in recent years.
"He's like 6-4 and plays the point for Madison," said Win Parkinson, the coach at Milwaukee Tech. "He sees over everybody. He's lanky. He's hard to defend. I've told people about him."
Brian Czarniak, a 6-1 senior guard at Waukesha West, is just the opposite of the previously mentioned players. He averaged in double figures as a freshman and has been one of the area's premier shooters for the last three years.
But because he isn't particularly tall or athletic, many colleges dismissed him as a player who wasn't likely to get a whole lot better. Until recently, the only colleges that had shown much interest were Division III state schools. Now, some bigger schools are taking another look, including Marquette and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
"There are Division I programs interested in him just because of his stroke," said Weathers. "Teams are looking for people who can come in and do that."
Outside the Milwaukee area, Josh Rudnick, a 6-7 center at Seymour, and Mark Nagle, a 6-7 forward at Wausau Newman, are two more prospects who appear to be gaining favor with college coaches.
Rudnick has drawn interest from scholarship schools, even though his plan was to take his game to the rec leagues. He grew up on a family farm and didn't have much interest in going to college. But he may change his mind.
"He's going to play out his senior year and see what happens," said Jon Murphy, the coach at Seymour, the defending WIAA Division 2 state champion. "He is one of those kids who isn't going to jump into anything."
Rudnick might be as natural and as strong a rebounder as there is in the state. For two years, nobody has come close to matching his rebounding statistics in the Bay Conference.
"He's a vacuum off the glass," said Murphy. "He's a brute. He's a man among boys."
Nagle is more of a late bloomer and a perimeter player. He is the nephew of Chuck Nagle, former Milwaukee Marquette High School and University of Wisconsin standout.