I forgot to mention this earlier, but NIU just recently lost two offered recruits.

Jayson Kent - 6'7" - SG - 2* from Oak Forest HS (Oak Forest, IL) - Kent committed to Bradley. He had other offers from Columbia (this leads me to think he's a bit of a brainiac), Loyola (MD), SIUe, Mount St. Mary's, South Dakota State, Chicago State, and NIU.

Latrell Wrightsell, Jr. - 6'1" - PG - 2* from Omaha Central (Omaha, NE) - Wrightsell, Jr. committed to CSU Fullerton. He had other offers from North Texas, Pittsburgh State, SIUe, South Dakota State, Green Bay, Purdue Fort Wayne, Bradley, South Dakota, and NIU.

I doubt either of these losses is anything to worry about. I do like Kent's size and he was considered to be a bit of a breakout star this year, but that in and of itself brings with it some concern. He clearly wasn't on scouts top lists heading in to the season and had a really good year for the Bengals in a year when they were really good. So, who know if it was because of him or if his performance was elevated because he was on a really talented team.

Wrightsell, Jr. doesn't seem like much to me. He's small and got a handful of offers from D-II schools so, going to the Titans may be the calibre he's at. Not to say that Fullerton has a lower threshold for its recruits than NIU, just that guys like Wrightsell, Jr. are pretty easy to come by.

And to be honest, I don't think guard is going to be our biggest area of need next year anyway. I'd like to see a JUCO big man on the radar soon. For obvious reasons. But between Hankerson, Mateen, Henry-Hayes, and Beane (and if they add Gholston), I think they're more than fine at guard. (the two high schoolers haven't impressed me much in what I've seen so far...but, in the MAC, star players often come out of nowhere and typically have that 3 or 2 star attached to them when recruited.)

I will say this, if Keenan Cole grows just 2 more inches, he's got the body and strength to be a real good big in this league.