Grayslake Central’s Boyle fits in at Northwood U.
The big man went small.
Not that 6-foot-9 Casey Boyle “settled” for Northwood University to continue his basketball career and education.
After weighing all his options, he assures the Division II school and its modest-sized campus will be a great fit for his large frame. And he could find himself contributing immediately to a program that has been on the rise.
After signing a national letter of intent with Northwood in April, Boyle, who graduated from Grayslake Central on May 20, will soon begin summer basketball workouts before making the 5-plus-hour car ride to the Midland, Mich., university.
“It’s actually a real small school,” Boyle said. “The campus is beautiful, the town’s really nice. The campus is pretty small and it’s like in the woods. It’s nothing huge like a state school or anything like that, but I like it because it’s nice and compact. It’s not too overwhelming.”
Boyle was an overwhelming presence in the paint for Grayslake Central the last couple of winters, averaging nearly 13 points and 10 rebounds as a senior, despite being limited by a sprained ankle the last couple of the weeks of the season. He also averaged more than 2 blocks in helping the Rams win 21 games and the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division championship.
“Casey has very good size and strength and will be able to step right in with the graduation of our upper-class big men,” Northwood coach Jeff Rekeweg said on the team’s website. “Casey is an intelligent young man that is willing to be coached and wants to develop into a dominant post player.”
Northwood is coming off an 18-9 season that saw the Timberwolves share the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division title. In Rekeweg’s first season at the helm in 2010-11, he coached Northwood to 10 wins. The Timberwolves narrowly missed out on earning a berth in the GLIAC tournament, despite having just three returning players from the previous season.
“I really liked the program,” Boyle said. “I thought it was the best fit for me academically and with basketball because I want to study sports management, (focusing) more toward the business school. So it fit perfectly.
“I’m hoping to either become an agent or work in the front office of a professional team — MLB, NBA, NFL, something like that.”
Boyle, who was a two-year varsity starter for the Rams, chose Northwood over Augustana and Illinois Wesleyan. A year earlier, he had some interest from Division I schools.
“My recruitment was all over the board,” Boyle said. “During my junior year I was talking to more Division I schools, like Ball State, Jacksonville, Lehigh. But that kind of dwindled away because they went other directions. I got the offer from Northwood during a tournament (last summer) in Waukegan, and then I also got another offer from Lewis University. And I got another offer from St. Xavier.
“The recruiting process was pretty exciting,” he added. “It’s always nice getting those calls from the coaches. It was a fun time.”
Boyle visited Northwood last fall and again during spring break, at which time he gave a verbal commitment.
“I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision,” he said.