by Kevin Trahan (@k_trahan)
Another Recruit
Northwestern picked up its fourth recruit in the last two weeks this Monday, with the addition of three-star athlete Kyle Queiro. A native of Oradell, NJ, Queiro was recruited to play both wide receiver and safety. He said Northwestern is letting him choose, and according to Scout, he is leaning toward playing safety.
Scout rates him as the No. 47 safety in his class and he reported offers from Illinois, North Carolina, Purdue, Syracuse, West Virginia and, interestingly enough, Harvard and Yale, among others.
Queiro was impressed with NU's win over Nebraska last year, mentioning it in an interview, and is seemingly taking a liking to being Chicago's Big Ten team.
“I’m heading to Northwestern,” he told Scout.com. “It was a combination of academics and football, and they’re a program on the rise. They beat Nebraska last year and it’s in a good location. It’s only about 10 miles outside of a city, which is where I’m from right now.”
Queiro is NU's 10th commit for the class of 2013.
Shurna for Three — Again (and again and again)
College basketball's 2011-2012 three-point shooting champion is at it again, this time on a bigger stage. John Shurna has reportedly been working out for a number of NBA teams in preparation for Thursday's NBA Draft, and apparently drained 36 of 40 three's in a workout with the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
This comes at no surprise for anyone who watched NU basketball last year and it certainly helps Shurna's draft stock by putting him in the spotlight once again. However, it's tough to tell where he projects in the draft, it at all. He likely won't ever crack an NBA starting lineup, but he could certainly make a team as a spark off the bench in a Kyle Korver type of role. There's a good article from Wildcat Extra on Shurna's pre-draft workouts, as well.
Phillips wins Regional Award
Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips was named the Under Armour Central Region AD of the Year on Monday by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. He's one of four regional winners at the FBS level. Here's his statement on NUSports.com:
"We are extremely proud of the phenomenal year Northwestern Athletics enjoyed across the board in 2011-12 as we continue to reach new heights athletically, academically and socially," Phillips said. "I am honored and humbled to receive this award on behalf of all the student-athletes, coaches and staff at Northwestern who have made our success possible."
This would be better fit for it's own article (don't worry, one is coming later this week), but Phillips has done an outstanding job in his time at NU. He has a marketing background and has done a great job of getting NU exposure in football and basketball. Money is key to winning and money comes from ticket sales and exposure, so as revenue continues to increase the wins should come. And with the Under Armour deal and new facilities coming, the wins may come sooner rather than later. That's thanks largely in part to Phillips, as he continues to build a solid foundation for NU athletics.
NU at the Olympic Trials
After picking up two golds and a silver from alum Matt Grevers at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Northwestern athletes have a good chance to compete for more hardware at the 2012 London Olympics, as 19 future, current and former NU swimmers are competing at the Olympic Trials in Omaha this week.
Grevers headlines the men's group, along with two-time Olympian Mike Alexandrov, who competed for Bulgaria in 2004 and 2008, but will compete for the US in 2012. On the women's side, All-American Jenny Wilson is a possible standout. Check out all of the athletes competing and the release at NUSports.com.