Rapolas Ivanauskas is a top priority for Northwestern in the Class of 2016. The Wildcats were the first to offer the 6-foot-9 forward from Barrington (Ill.), and since then Iowa, Creighton and Purdue have reportedly followed suit.
Northwestern appears to be in a very strong position with Ivanauskas. He was blown away by a visit to Evanston in October, telling WildcatReport that he likes the role Northwestern sees him playing, as well as the fact that the campus is just 45 minutes or so from his home in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
With that in mind, I went down the street to Barrington's Tuesday night matchup with Wheeling to watch the three-star prospect in action, and I got to see why Ivanauskas is one of the most unique players in the class, a versatile wing player with the frame of a center.
The Game: This wasn't much of a contest as Barrington rolled right over badly overmatched Wheeling, 81-48. Ivanauskas paced the Broncos (14-4, 4-0 Mid Suburban League) with a game-high 21 points. Wheeling was able to keep it respectable through two quarters, trailing 42-31 at half, but the Broncos blew it open in the third quarter and coasted to the finish. As a result, Ivanauskas didn't play very much in the second half.
The Eye Test: Like most high school players who are that tall, Ivanauskas is skinny. However, he is not a sickly-thin big man that looks like a praying mantis, either. He has a big frame, with broad shoulders and wide hips, so he'll probably be able to add weight and muscle fairly easily. He also has a long wingspan.
Strengths: Ivanauskas is a rarity, a big man who can shoot, run the floor and handle the ball. He is a natural shooter with 3-point range. He doesn't have what I'd call a smooth release -- he sort of flicks the ball -- but his shot is accurate and effortless. In open-floor situations, Barrington often looked to Ivanauskas to bring the ball up the floor, and he did so easily. The most impressive play I saw him make was in just such a situation. Wheeling was running a full-court press when two defenders came down to trap Ivanauskas along the sideline. He got low like a point guard, protected the ball with his off-hand, and then weaved his way through the defenders, dribbling with both hands. Once he was in the clear, he accelerated down the court with his head up, waited for yet another defender to come over and help, and then delivered a perfect pass to 6-6 guard Chris Lester (who also looked like a potential college player) running the baseline for a dunk. He can also dribble-drive with either hand and has very good court vision, at one point delivering a no-look pass in traffic in the paint.
Areas for improvement: Obviously, Ivanuskas will have to bulk up to play major college basketball, but he's not as far away as many high school players his size. The one thing I didn't really get a chance to evaluate was his defense. He was defending wing players; he'd pick them up around the 3-point line, follow them through the lane, and then deny the ball with his superior reach. No one really tested him. He runs very well up-and-down the court, but I didn't see his lateral quickness. He spent the entire time on the perimeter offensively, so I didn't see him work in the post, either. That surprised me -- while I knew he had small-forward skills, I thought that Barrington would deploy him down low just because of his size. It might have been a case of coach Bryan Tucker not feeling the need to do so against an inferior opponent.
Projection: Ivanauskas most likely projects as a small forward at the college level, where his size will make him a matchup problem. He could also play some stretch-4, depending on matchups. He has superior shooting range and ball-handling ability for a player his size. The question mark will be his defense. He runs and jumps well, but he is not a very fluid athlete. He will have to work on his foot speed to guard 3s on the perimeter, and he will have to improve his strength to play in the post.
Player he reminds you of: This one is easy -- John Shurna. Ivanauskas has a lot of similarities with Northwestern's all-time leading scorer, including versatility and shooting range. At this stage, Ivanauskas probably gets the edge in ballhandling, and he is probably a little taller (Rivals has him at 6-8, the game program, 6-9). But it remains to be seen whether he develops into anywhere near the prolific scorer that Shurna was at the next level.
This post was edited on 1/21 9:03 AM by Lou V
Northwestern appears to be in a very strong position with Ivanauskas. He was blown away by a visit to Evanston in October, telling WildcatReport that he likes the role Northwestern sees him playing, as well as the fact that the campus is just 45 minutes or so from his home in Chicago's northwest suburbs.
With that in mind, I went down the street to Barrington's Tuesday night matchup with Wheeling to watch the three-star prospect in action, and I got to see why Ivanauskas is one of the most unique players in the class, a versatile wing player with the frame of a center.
The Game: This wasn't much of a contest as Barrington rolled right over badly overmatched Wheeling, 81-48. Ivanauskas paced the Broncos (14-4, 4-0 Mid Suburban League) with a game-high 21 points. Wheeling was able to keep it respectable through two quarters, trailing 42-31 at half, but the Broncos blew it open in the third quarter and coasted to the finish. As a result, Ivanauskas didn't play very much in the second half.
The Eye Test: Like most high school players who are that tall, Ivanauskas is skinny. However, he is not a sickly-thin big man that looks like a praying mantis, either. He has a big frame, with broad shoulders and wide hips, so he'll probably be able to add weight and muscle fairly easily. He also has a long wingspan.
Strengths: Ivanauskas is a rarity, a big man who can shoot, run the floor and handle the ball. He is a natural shooter with 3-point range. He doesn't have what I'd call a smooth release -- he sort of flicks the ball -- but his shot is accurate and effortless. In open-floor situations, Barrington often looked to Ivanauskas to bring the ball up the floor, and he did so easily. The most impressive play I saw him make was in just such a situation. Wheeling was running a full-court press when two defenders came down to trap Ivanauskas along the sideline. He got low like a point guard, protected the ball with his off-hand, and then weaved his way through the defenders, dribbling with both hands. Once he was in the clear, he accelerated down the court with his head up, waited for yet another defender to come over and help, and then delivered a perfect pass to 6-6 guard Chris Lester (who also looked like a potential college player) running the baseline for a dunk. He can also dribble-drive with either hand and has very good court vision, at one point delivering a no-look pass in traffic in the paint.
Areas for improvement: Obviously, Ivanuskas will have to bulk up to play major college basketball, but he's not as far away as many high school players his size. The one thing I didn't really get a chance to evaluate was his defense. He was defending wing players; he'd pick them up around the 3-point line, follow them through the lane, and then deny the ball with his superior reach. No one really tested him. He runs very well up-and-down the court, but I didn't see his lateral quickness. He spent the entire time on the perimeter offensively, so I didn't see him work in the post, either. That surprised me -- while I knew he had small-forward skills, I thought that Barrington would deploy him down low just because of his size. It might have been a case of coach Bryan Tucker not feeling the need to do so against an inferior opponent.
Projection: Ivanauskas most likely projects as a small forward at the college level, where his size will make him a matchup problem. He could also play some stretch-4, depending on matchups. He has superior shooting range and ball-handling ability for a player his size. The question mark will be his defense. He runs and jumps well, but he is not a very fluid athlete. He will have to work on his foot speed to guard 3s on the perimeter, and he will have to improve his strength to play in the post.
Player he reminds you of: This one is easy -- John Shurna. Ivanauskas has a lot of similarities with Northwestern's all-time leading scorer, including versatility and shooting range. At this stage, Ivanauskas probably gets the edge in ballhandling, and he is probably a little taller (Rivals has him at 6-8, the game program, 6-9). But it remains to be seen whether he develops into anywhere near the prolific scorer that Shurna was at the next level.
This post was edited on 1/21 9:03 AM by Lou V
