Miklasz makes it happen at ISU

All Kyle Miklasz wanted was a shot.

The Hersey product and Daily Herald All-Area basketball player believed it was all he needed to prove he could play at the highest level.

Miklasz's belief wasn't just a wild longshot in his mind. He played on the same Full Package Elite travel team with Glenbrook North's Alex Dragicevich (Notre Dame), Deerfield's Duje Dukan (Wisconsin) and Highland Park's Marin Kukoc (Penn).

"My whole travel team played Division I that I had played with the last two years," said the 6-foot-4 guard, who averaged 13.2 points a game last year and made 56 3-pointers at a 40-percent success rate. "With all the players I had been playing with and competing with, I was confident I could play at that level."

The original plan for Miklasz was going to Division III power Illinois Wesleyan. But after a postseason chance to showcase his skills, Miklasz ended up going across Illinois' twin cities from Bloomington to Normal and Illinois State as a walk-on.

"My goal was just originally to play college basketball and to try and find the right fit at the right level," Miklasz said. "That's why I had to take advantage of this."

Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich, who announced two weeks ago that Miklasz was officially on the team, was glad he was available.

"We are excited that Kyle has chosen to attend Illinois State University and join our basketball program," Jankovich, who is 71-31 with three National Invitation Tournament appearances in as many seasons at ISU, said in a release from the school. "He is an outstanding competitor and shooter, as well as a first-class student. He is a welcomed addition."

Miklasz said he had Division I interest before his senior season but it dropped off even as the two-time Mid-Suburban League all-conference pick's play picked up. He scored a season-high 32 points and hit a Hersey record nine 3s in a first-round regional win over Lake Zurich.

It just so happened Jankovich and Illinois State were looking for a shooter. They found Miklasz at the end of March at a postseason showcase in Merrillville, Ind.

Miklasz said Loyola and Northern Illinois were also interested in him as a walk-on. He said he also had scholarship offers from Division II Holy Family University in Philadelphia and Olivet Nazarene, an NAIA program in Bourbonnais.

A visit to Illinois State helped Miklasz make a decision that was finalized in late July.

"The coaching staff was straightforward with me and they told me how I fit in," Miklasz said. "They envision me as a pure shooter in their offense. They run off a lot of ball screens and that's the way I like to play."

But Miklasz knows he has a long way to go before he's seeing meaningful playing time.

"They like to test players out and see how they do at first," Miklasz said. "That's basically what their rule is - they try to have you come in and play hard and earn a spot."

Miklasz didn't apply at Illinois State until June. Because he registered late he'll have a delayed start in his planned major of kinesiology and exercise science.

He's already working on his game in open gyms with Illinois State players in advance of the official start of practice in mid-October. And the confident Miklasz believes he can eventually help the Redbirds and be a part of intense Missouri Valley Conference matchups such as the Interstate 74 battle with nearby rival Bradley.

"I felt I've done pretty well so far and I'm just getting used to it right now," Miklasz said. "There are five or six young guys and we're getting used to how to play, but it's been fun, though. It's definitely a higher level."

One Miklasz figured he was ready to handle.