OSUBasketballJunkie
Never Forget 31-0
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Winnebago High School (Winnebago, Illinois)
Ht: 6-4
Wt: 160
PPG: 21.0
REB: 9.0
AST: 4.0
Was one of the state's top-ranked incoming freshmen a year ago when he played varsity with the 23-5 Indians last season. Considered one of the top players in Illinois in the Class of 2008. Bawinkle is listing Georgetown, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Wisconsin, California, Stanford, N.C. State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame. He reportedly has offers from Iowa, Marquette, Wisconsin, Georgetown, DePaul, Northwestern, Northern Illinois, and Valpo.
<TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=0 width="98%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top>Bawinkle Focused On Recruiting
By Kyle Lamb
Date: Mar 25, 2005
Illinois is always one of the top states for basketball talent, and one of the better players in the Land of Lincoln is keeping Ohio State in mind. Guard Devan Bawinkle spoke with Kyle Lamb recently about his latest list of favorites.
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He's got a name everyone can remember. And lately, everyone has remembered it. Devan Bawinkle's season has come to an end, but not before making a few splashes.
The 6-4 shooting guard from Winnebago, Ill. finished the season averaging 21 points and four assists a game including tournament play. For good measure, he hit the boards with nearly nine rebounds a game as well.
Bawinkle finished the season on a high note for Winnebago as they made it all the way to the Class A championship game in the state of Illinois, where Bawinkle scored 21, 27 and 24 points in their three appearances prior to scoring 11 points in the finale.
The performances were overshadowed by a loss in the state championship game to Chicago Leo, 65-57. Bawinkle was satisfied with the year as a whole.
"It ended up being a great year," he told Bucknuts on Thursday. "I started playing well personally towards the end of the regular season, and I think I did a lot better towards the end. We played some tough teams this year, and we had a good season."
Bawinkle's season highs were 29 points and 40 points respectively in the regular season and tournament play.
There's a simple explanation for why his scoring increased late in the year.
"Well, mostly it's because at crunch time, the team needed me to step up and start scoring more often," Bawinkle noted. "We got into some close games and when the tournament started, I really just needed to carry the team on my back and make plays."
With Bawinkle's season at an end, he can now begin to focus on recruiting where he has many of the top programs in the nation interested in his game.
He listed just some of the teams he's involved with.
"Right now it's Georgetown, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Wisconsin, California, Stanford, N.C. State, Ohio State, and Notre Dame," Bawinkle rattled off. "I have offers from Iowa, Marquette, Wisconsin, Georgetown, DePaul, Northwestern, Northern Illinois, and Valpo."
Bawinkle is considering spring trips to both Georgetown and Miami among others.
So far this season, Bawinkle visited DePaul, Northwestern, Iowa, Michigan State, and Notre Dame, and hopes to visit several others. One team that remains in touch with Bawinkle is Ohio State.
Where do the Buckeyes fit within his plans, and are they still actively recruiting him?
"Yes, they are still involved a lot. They do keep in touch," Bawinkle confirmed. "They write a lot of letters to me, and talk to my coach a lot. They said they would call as soon as they were allowed to."
Junior high school prospects are allowed to receive one phone call before the end of their junior year according to NCAA regulations, which is what Ohio State plans to do next month.
For now, keep the name in mind. It shouldn't be hard to remember.
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