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Several members of our family made the trip to Wichita on Monday. The trip was even better than expected. Coach Marshall and Coach Jans did an exceptional job of selling the basketball program. Johnny, our sister, my wife, two sons (5 and 3), and myself all made the trip. Unfortunately, our dad was unable to make the trip and had to cancel out at the last moment. He has been having some major ups and down over the past month, but he is a survivor. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer 29 years ago and was told he had apporoximately 6 months to live at that time. I was 4, one sister was 3, and he had another daughter on the way. Johnny was not even thought of. I just wanted to share some of this because I want everyone on this board to understand just how important family is to Johnny and how difficult this decision will be. Our dad has taken every experimental drug known to man (it seems) and he still keeps fighting. He currently takes a new form of chemo which is a $12,000 shot every 28 days. Taking chemo off and on for 29 years really affects other parts of the body, especially the heart. He has also had numerous heart surgeries replacing valves and his stroke last month has really slowed him down even more. As fans of whatever school gets Johnny it's always good to understand the type of kid you're getting into the program and exactly why an athlete transfers from one institution to another. By understanding the family circumstances you can really understand why the relationship with the coaching staff is so important to Johnny. The university president, athletic director, basketball staff, baseball staff, strength coach, fans, etc. were all very sincere with showing Johnny just how much they all wanted him to be a part of their institution. It was very impressive.
Someone on here asked for me to post and I'm going to answer some of the things a fan might be interested in learning about his recruitment.
I read where some people are wondering if Johnny would actually be playing his entire career at whatever school he attends or instead try to play professional baseball. I would almost guarantee you that he will be a four year basketball player and at least a three year baseball player. No doubt about it.
Visits: Johnny, our dad, sister, and myself plan to attend the Wichita State game on December 28 in Omaha. There is also a plan to attend a Drake vs. Missouri State game on December 31. Johnny would also like to make two more visits during the first week of January and make a decision near January 10.
Baseball vs. basketball: The Wichita State baseball and basketball coaching staffs have a plan in place so that Johnny will be able to play both sports if he chooses Wichita State. He will work out with the basketball team in individual workouts in the fall while fully participating in fall baseball. Near October 15 he will then be a full-time basketball player until basketball season is over. He will be allowed to take grounders and batting practice on his own during basketball season. Once basketball season has ended he will be with the baseball team full-time until baseball season is over. Johnny has the option of playing summer baseball and I feel he will probably stay close to home if he chooses to play in the summer. St. Joseph will have a MINK league team this summer and that may be a very good option for Johnny.
Overall, the visit was great. Wichita State fans should feel really good about the man they have running their basketball program. Coach Marshall has a special energy that sets him apart from a lot of coaches. It's almost like he coaches with a sort of swagger and confidence that will rub off on his team once he gets "his guys" into the program for a couple of years. I coached Garrett Stutts in high school and he told me that Coach Marshall treats him even better now than he did when he was recruiting him. That statement alone says a lot about the type of person and coach that Coach Marshall is. I was impressed.
Baseball Coaches: Absolutely unbelievable. We spoke to Coach Kemnitz first. He spoke mostly in his office and he knew all about Johnny's abilities as a player. It was clear that he obviously did his homework. Coach Thomas was the next coach to speak with us. He gave us the tour of the facilities. Obviously we are very familiar with the baseball facilities and have always been great fans of the Wichita State baseball program. It was a really impressive tour. Last, but definitley not least we had the opportunity to meet Coach Stephensen. He was exactly as I would have expected. He did his homework on knowing a lot about Johnny and his family circumstances and promised to make him the best player he could be. We spent a lot of time talking about the new facilities among many other things. When you're talking to a legend like Coach Stephensen you try to listen to every word as close as possible and hope that you can learn from him. I was kind of in awe just being in the same room with him. I played baseball in college and would have given about anything at that time if Coach Stepensen would have told me several times in a single meeting that he wanted me. Needless to say, God gave Johnny some special gifts that I just didn't get. LOL...
Schools: Every school that Johnny had interest in has sincerely wanted him. One school in particular didn't have a scholarship available and asked him to attend a junior college, but that is not something that Johnny chose to consider. Getting into his new school and learning from the coaches as soon as possible is a huge priority for Johnny. I think as of today Johnny has narrowed his list down to three schools. He plans to visit each of these schools before he makes a decision.
Eduation: Johnny took 6 creidits in July and completed 16 more in the fall for a total of 22 credits. He plan on getting his degree in education with the dreams of someday being a college coach. I have been teaching for 9 years (Physical Education), both of our sisters are teachers, and my wife is also a teacher. Teaching is just something that our family enjoys doing. Helping others and being around kids is a great way to live your life.
Feelings: I honestly have no idea who Johnny's leader is at this time. Johnny is trying his best to keep an open mind about his remaining schools until he visits each. During his first recruitment I was always honest with all schools about Arizona State being the leader from start to finish. Like it or not, being honest with a school will save a lot of time and money for a school and coaching staff. Some fans of schools handle rejection better than others, but taking a rejection from an 18 year old personally or bashing an athlete for not picking their school is really immature behavior for a fan. Hopefully the fans on this message board will all treat Johnny's decision with class and understanding that he is just trying to make the decision he feels is best for him. I'm just posting this to give fans some information on what is going on with the recruits from their school. I highly doubt that a college coach is reading a message board and if they were reading my posts they would be getting the same information that Johnny has honestly shared with them from day one of his recruitment. I hope this post gave some Shocker fans some insight on one of their recruits. Take Care and have a merry Christmas.
Someone on here asked for me to post and I'm going to answer some of the things a fan might be interested in learning about his recruitment.
I read where some people are wondering if Johnny would actually be playing his entire career at whatever school he attends or instead try to play professional baseball. I would almost guarantee you that he will be a four year basketball player and at least a three year baseball player. No doubt about it.
Visits: Johnny, our dad, sister, and myself plan to attend the Wichita State game on December 28 in Omaha. There is also a plan to attend a Drake vs. Missouri State game on December 31. Johnny would also like to make two more visits during the first week of January and make a decision near January 10.
Baseball vs. basketball: The Wichita State baseball and basketball coaching staffs have a plan in place so that Johnny will be able to play both sports if he chooses Wichita State. He will work out with the basketball team in individual workouts in the fall while fully participating in fall baseball. Near October 15 he will then be a full-time basketball player until basketball season is over. He will be allowed to take grounders and batting practice on his own during basketball season. Once basketball season has ended he will be with the baseball team full-time until baseball season is over. Johnny has the option of playing summer baseball and I feel he will probably stay close to home if he chooses to play in the summer. St. Joseph will have a MINK league team this summer and that may be a very good option for Johnny.
Overall, the visit was great. Wichita State fans should feel really good about the man they have running their basketball program. Coach Marshall has a special energy that sets him apart from a lot of coaches. It's almost like he coaches with a sort of swagger and confidence that will rub off on his team once he gets "his guys" into the program for a couple of years. I coached Garrett Stutts in high school and he told me that Coach Marshall treats him even better now than he did when he was recruiting him. That statement alone says a lot about the type of person and coach that Coach Marshall is. I was impressed.
Baseball Coaches: Absolutely unbelievable. We spoke to Coach Kemnitz first. He spoke mostly in his office and he knew all about Johnny's abilities as a player. It was clear that he obviously did his homework. Coach Thomas was the next coach to speak with us. He gave us the tour of the facilities. Obviously we are very familiar with the baseball facilities and have always been great fans of the Wichita State baseball program. It was a really impressive tour. Last, but definitley not least we had the opportunity to meet Coach Stephensen. He was exactly as I would have expected. He did his homework on knowing a lot about Johnny and his family circumstances and promised to make him the best player he could be. We spent a lot of time talking about the new facilities among many other things. When you're talking to a legend like Coach Stephensen you try to listen to every word as close as possible and hope that you can learn from him. I was kind of in awe just being in the same room with him. I played baseball in college and would have given about anything at that time if Coach Stepensen would have told me several times in a single meeting that he wanted me. Needless to say, God gave Johnny some special gifts that I just didn't get. LOL...
Schools: Every school that Johnny had interest in has sincerely wanted him. One school in particular didn't have a scholarship available and asked him to attend a junior college, but that is not something that Johnny chose to consider. Getting into his new school and learning from the coaches as soon as possible is a huge priority for Johnny. I think as of today Johnny has narrowed his list down to three schools. He plans to visit each of these schools before he makes a decision.
Eduation: Johnny took 6 creidits in July and completed 16 more in the fall for a total of 22 credits. He plan on getting his degree in education with the dreams of someday being a college coach. I have been teaching for 9 years (Physical Education), both of our sisters are teachers, and my wife is also a teacher. Teaching is just something that our family enjoys doing. Helping others and being around kids is a great way to live your life.
Feelings: I honestly have no idea who Johnny's leader is at this time. Johnny is trying his best to keep an open mind about his remaining schools until he visits each. During his first recruitment I was always honest with all schools about Arizona State being the leader from start to finish. Like it or not, being honest with a school will save a lot of time and money for a school and coaching staff. Some fans of schools handle rejection better than others, but taking a rejection from an 18 year old personally or bashing an athlete for not picking their school is really immature behavior for a fan. Hopefully the fans on this message board will all treat Johnny's decision with class and understanding that he is just trying to make the decision he feels is best for him. I'm just posting this to give fans some information on what is going on with the recruits from their school. I highly doubt that a college coach is reading a message board and if they were reading my posts they would be getting the same information that Johnny has honestly shared with them from day one of his recruitment. I hope this post gave some Shocker fans some insight on one of their recruits. Take Care and have a merry Christmas.
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