Thursday, October 18, 2012
ESPN 100 F Vonleh trims list to six
By Dave Telep
It was just 23 days ago that forward Noah Vonleh (Haverhill, Mass./New Hampton) announced his intentions to move up from the junior class and into the Class of 2013. It was a big move in the middle of official visit season and while speeding up his arrival at college, it also created an immediate need to take official visits.
According to Pete Hutchins, Vonleh’s high school coach, the combo forward is down to six programs: Indiana, Ohio State, Georgetown, Syracuse, Connecticut and North Carolina. Also according to Hutchins, the programs coming at him the strongest and making the most headway are Indiana, Ohio State, Syracuse and Georgetown. That leaves North Carolina and Connecticut with ground to make up.
Indiana signee Noah Vonleh has been a beast for New Hampton this winter.
Connecticut is in the most unique situation because of the coaching change. “Noah is obviously aware of the history and tradition at Connecticut and he saw some of that firsthand at their Midnight Madness last year,” Hutchins said. “Kevin Ollie’s a very dynamic person and coach, and he’s done a good job relating to Noah and everyone in his corner believes they’ll do a great job. As a local school, if Noah decides to not go away far from home, Noah thinks they would be a great choice.”
The month of November will be a particularly busy one for Vonleh, who is ranked No. 7 in the ESPN 100. He’ll begin with a visit to Syracuse the weekend of Nov. 3. Indiana would be next on the list the following weekend. “It’s possible that he goes to Ohio State or Georgetown the weekend of Nov. 24,” Hutchins said.
Vonleh’s high school team plays in Raleigh, N.C., after Christmas and he’s likely to make an unofficial visit to UNC at that time.
There are ties all around Vonleh between some of the schools and his prep school. Whether they have any bearing on his final decision is still to be determined, but nonetheless, they are ties.
Former Syracuse star Lawrence Moten is a graduate of New Hampton and the Big East’s all-time leading scorer.
Former Indiana Hoosiers Pat Knight, Tom Coverdale and Mike Roberts attended New Hampton. At one point a decade ago, Indiana was routinely recruiting from New Hampton under then head coach Jamie Arsenault. Current head coach Pete Hutchins was on those squads.
Georgetown assistant coach Kenya Hunter graduated from New Hampton.
Syracuse standout Todd Burgan was a New Hampton graduate.
The bulk of the schools that remain in the running for Vonleh easily made the transition in his recruitment as he switched classes. They wanted him as a junior and covet him as hard or harder now that he’s a senior. He hasn’t gone out and added a litany of new schools, rather he’s kept the programs in that mix that had previously cultivated relationships with him when he was a member of the Class of 2014.
