NU lands Capocci; will other Chicago recruits follow?
Northwestern signed Glenbard East's Mike Capocci Friday to a letter of intent for the 2008 season.
The 6-6 Capocci averaged 19.5 points per game and nine rebounds per game for Glenbard East last season.
One of the questions I have is, are NU fans still calling for coach Bill Carmody's head? The signing of Capocci represents further indication that Carmody has completely made in-roads with the Chicago recruiting market. He signed Sterling Williams from Whitney Young (soon to be a redshirt sophomore) three years ago, Marist's Jeremy Nash and Glenbrook South's Jeff Ryan for next year's freshman class and now adds Capocci to the 2008 class. We're not even mentioning transfer Jason Okrzesik from Fenwick High School who is eligible to play this year after transferring from Rice.
But, wait, there's more. The Tribune story mentions how Capocci hopes to help bring Lincoln Park High's Michael Thompson with him.
""[Capocci] informed me—his No. 1 job is to get me to go there and play with him in the backcourt," Thompson told the Tribune.
"They're one of my top choices," Thompson also said. "They have a really good academic structure, and they're on the rise in the Big Ten. With Capocci committing there, that's a plus. That could impact my decision."
With the announcement earlier in the week that recruit Casey Crawford had chosen Wake Forest, things were not looking up until Capocci's decision. The Cats lack frontcourt players, scorers and rebounders. But so what? Carmody has shifted his recruiting strategy to what he knows best -- players who can shoot, pass and move without the ball. Northwestern is building a team of deadly shooters and swingmen that will prove to be an extremely difficult matchup for any Big Ten team. Yes, there won't be the bangers inside, but if NU can bring an NCAA berth to Evanston in the next 3-4 years, even that will start happening.
The 2007 incoming freshman class of Kevin Coble, Jeff Ryan, Jeremy Nash has been fairly impressive, but the 2008 class could be even better.