Grcic to Loras; Motzel to Augustana
A pair of Lake County boys basketball standouts have made their college selections.
Lake Zurich senior Mirko Grcic has verbally committed to Loras College to play basketball next season, while Carmel Catholic senior Brandon Motzel has announced that he will be attending Augustana College, where he will be a member of coach Grey Giovanine’s highly successful basketball program.
Grcic, a 6-foot-6 forward, is a two-time All-North Suburban Conference and Daily Herald All-Area player. He was named to the all-tournament teams at Palatine and Jacobs his senior year and finished the season averaging 17.9 points and 9.7 rebounds. As a junior, he averaged 14 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Wisconsin-Parkside, Missouri S & T, Wisconsin-Whitewater, Augustana and Cardinal Stritch were among his other top options.
“I think Mirko can be an impact player for Loras right away,” Lake Zurich coach Billy Pitcher said. “He is excited about the opportunity to step in and play as a freshman and to team up with 2009 Lake Zurich grad Connor Mooney, who has two years of eligibility left after missing this season with a knee injury.
“I could tell Mirko developed a close relationship with Loras head coach Greg Gorton, and that is such an important aspect in this process. I am very happy for Mirko and confident he will be a success at the next level.”
Motzel, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound forward, was a two-year starter and team captain for Carmel. As a senior, he averaged 14 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots per game. He shot 58 percent from the field and had 65 steals and 61 assists in 26 games. He earned All-East Suburban Catholic Conference honors and was named Daily Herald All-Area honorable mention.
Motzel was an all-tournament selection in both the Coaches vs. Cancer and Wheeling Hardwood Classic. As a junior, he averaged 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds, shooting 59 percent from the field.
Motzel is the son of Karen and Larry Motzel of Buffalo Grove. He was a member of both high and superior honor rolls at Carmel, where he earned the Van Erden science scholarship and served on the school’s senior substance abuse council. He’s a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Mu Alpha Theta mathematics honor society and is planning on pre-med and physics majors at Augustana.
Motzel will be joining a Viking program that has been the most successful in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin over the last decade. During that time, Giovanine, who’ll be in his 14th season at Augustana in 2012-13, has guided the Vikings to a 201-69 (.744) record, five CCIW regular-season championships and three conference tournament titles.