Stevenson standout Richter has quite a story

When Stevenson got bounced unexpectedly from the first round of the state tournament last week, the books closed on Dylan Richter's high school career.

Well, sort of.

An actual book -- one that is based on some of Richter's experiences with basketball -- is still very much a work in progress. His mother Laurie is in the midst of writing a self-help book that will guide families like hers through the college recruiting process, specifically at levels other than Division I.

Richter himself just completed the recruiting process and will be continuing his career at Division III Washington University in St. Louis next year.

"Part of the reason I decided to write this book is that when I talked to other people about their experiences with college recruiting, 90 percent of the stories I heard were bad," said Laurie Richter, a retired market researcher. "Coaches would say one thing and do another. Promises were broken. The whole financial end of it caused confusion. It just shouldn't be that way.

"This is my Oprah moment. I'm trying to help others who will come after us so that they won't have to go through that aggravation."

Richter says Dylan and the rest of her family enjoyed a relatively pleasant recruiting experience because they were prepared and well informed.

Only one thing stressed them out: constantly second-guessing Richter's early decision application to Washington University.

If he got accepted, he was guaranteed a spot and would be informed of that decision early on in the school year, which is a nice burden lifted for any high school senior. But, then again, those who apply early decision are also required to go to that school if accepted.

And that meant that if Richter had a break-out season on the basketball court this winter, he was still going to have to go to Washington University -- no matter what other schools came calling.

Of course, that's exactly what happened.

Richter, a bruising forward who can also hang with the guards, went from a solid role player on last year's Stevenson team that advanced downstate to the main man for the 19-8 Patriots.

In fact, the 6-foot-3 Richter was so good this season in averaging nearly a double-double (19 points and 9 rebounds per game) that he has been named the honorary captain of the Daily Herald's 2008 Lake County All-Area Boys Basketball Team.

"Did we do it the right way? I guess I don't know for sure now," Laurie Richter asked in reference to the decision to apply early to Washington. "If we had gone the other way, you never know if it would have been better or not. All I know is that we're really happy with where Dylan ended up."

In fact, Richter is so thrilled about his future that he's already immersing himself in the prep work for his new team.

Less than a week after his final game with the Patriots, he was back in the gym working out so that he'd be ready to transition to the next level.

"I'm going to be changing to the 3-guard, so I have to really work on my outside game a lot more," Richter said. "I'm going to have to work on ball-handling and shooting a lot, but I'm pretty excited about it.

"(Washington University) has been in the top 10 (in Division III) this whole year. They have a real solid program. The coaches are awesome, and the head coach has been there like 27 or 28 years. All the players are really cool, too. I already know some of the guys because they're from around here.

"I'm really looking forward to going there."

Richter isn't the only one.

He says his mom had targeted Washington University from the start for its mix of quality athletics and academics.

"My mom thought that could be a dream school for me," said Richter, who sports a 4.2 grade point average and got a 31 on the ACT. "Once they sent me a general letter expressing some interest in basketball, we jumped on it. We started contacting them to see what could happen, we sent them (videos and stats).

"That's kind of what my mom's book is all about. If you're Division I, you'll be all right, they'll find you. But if you want to play Division II or Division III, you really have to put yourself out there, make yourself known."

Richter did that locally all season long, peaking in early February with an amazing 34-point, 22-rebound performance against Mundelein.

"Dylan had so many great moments this season," Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose reminisced. "I remember against North Chicago, he dunked the ball while getting fouled. Against Libertyville at the Wheeling tournament over Christmas, he got several 3-point plays in the fourth quarter alone.

"He just had a great year. You look at him and you might not expect much, but Dylan can do so many nice things. He left his mark on this program."

Next up: the literary world.

"I haven't read my mom's book yet ... she won't let me," Richter laughed. "I'll probably be the last one to get to read it. But I'm sure it will be good."

Having good material helps.