Northwestern commit Rapolas Ivanauskas is transfering to prep school

Rapolas Ivanauskas, the 4-star forward from the Class of 2016 who has committed to Northwestern, will transfer from Barrington (Ill.) to prep school powerhouse Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

Ivanauskas is the second ranked player in his class in the state of Illinois and the 90th best recruit in the nation.

It's safe to say he'll face bigger, tougher competition at Brewster, a program that produced 10 (!) Division I players in 2015. They compete in the ultra-competitive NEPSAC AAA conference and won their third consecutive New England Championship last year.

This should help Ivanauskas, who is 6-foot-8 but thin, get better accustomed to the type of physical basketball played the Big Ten. Multiple NBA players played at Brewster, including Oklahoma City's Mitch McGary, Portland's Thomas Robinson and Phoenix's T.J. Warren.

The move to prep school is not an uncommon one for top high school basketball players, though Ivanauskas' departure is sure to anger purists and fans of Illinois high school basketball.