Interested in Notre Dame, Wake Forest, tOSU and Xavier
Chichester's stock is really on the rise.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=2>Two sport star could fill tall order <HR width="100%" noShade SIZE=1></TD></TR><TR><TD>Brian Shacochis
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Two-sport college athletes are a rare breed, but every once in a while there comes a player who can pull it off. Perhaps the most prolific prospect to balance a mix of basketball and football is Florida State's Charlie Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy (collecting the 4th most Heisman votes ever along the way) in 1993, proceeded to go undrafted by the NFL, and went on to have a successful career as a point guard in the NBA.
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The next great two-sport stud might be emerging in the Cincinnati area this summer as West Chester (Ohio) Lakota West star Josh Chichester continues to earn interest and rake in offers from elite basketball and football schools.
Chichester has reportedly been offered basketball and/or football scholarships by Purdue, Xavier, Dayton, Cincinnati, Iowa, Miami (Ohio), and Bowling Green, but he recently added an east coast offer to his midwest collection.
"BC offered me," Chichester said. "I don't know too much about their football team, but their basketball team looks great."
Both squads could use Chichester's contributions as they acclimate themselves to the ACC starting next season, but they need not worry too much about which coach would win out for Josh's services.
"I see myself as a two-sport player in college," Chichester said, and while balancing the two Division 1 sports is an ambitious goal, Chichester has the ability to excel in both.
On the gridiron, Chichester helped his team make the state playoffs for the first time ever last season, catching 27 passes for 603 yards and 11 touchdowns along the way and breaking the school record for receiving yardage.
"I'm taller than most receivers, so I can go up and get the ball," said Chichester, and he can do more than that too.
Chichester could conceivably be the tallest punt returner in the history of the game at 6-8, but he more than held his own in that special teams role last season.
With Chichester's imposing height, some have speculated that a share of prospective football programs might be looking to ultimately groom Josh into a tight end, but Chichester debunked that notion, claiming that all interested schools are recruiting him as a wide receiver.
On the basketball side of Chichester's life, he's good enough to have attracted Illinois head coach Bruce Weber and Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith to swing by Josh's home court to catch one of his games.
"I'm faster than most big men," Chichester says when asked what trait separates him from other prospects.
That quickness helped him to block 47 shots this season, breaking his own previous school record he had set as a sophomore. His agility and speed make him a versatile player, but he feels most at home in the paint.
"I will step out [to take shots] sometimes," he says, "but I like to play down low because it's easier to score down there."
Chichester figures to have a complicated decision ahead of him, as he needs to find two coaches at one school who can commit to finding a balance that will allow Josh to contribute in both sports. As a result, an early commitment is not likely in Chichester's case.
"I see myself taking my visits," he says.
It remains to be seen where he will take those visits, but Josh has an early list of schools that he finds most attractive.
"Ohio State, Notre Dame, Illinois, and Cincinnati, those are the ones right now," Chichester says of his early favorites.
However, that doesn't necessarily nix Boston College from the process altogether.
"I'd like to stay close to home, but if going away is the right thing I'm up for it," Chichester says.
Chichester is a 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior at Lakota West High (Ohio) who averaged 14 points and 8 boards per game this season. Josh is listing Cincinnati, Ohio State, Illinois and Notre Dame as his top four. He wants to try and play both football and basketball at the next level.<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top bgColor=#ffffff>
Josh Chichester
</TD><TD noWrap width=3></TD><TD vAlign=top>2006 Focus: Josh Chichester
By Jeff Goodman National Recruiting Analyst
Date: Mar 21, 2005
Josh Chichester was also a football guy growing up, but that's changed and the 6-8 junior is looking to play two sports in college.
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