Recruit #2 of the 2025 class
For you Chicago folks, here's the Benet Academy schedule:
11/25 - vs. King, 6:30 p.m.
11/26 - vs. Jones, 6:30 p.m.
12/7 - vs. Niles West, 4 p.m.
12/13 - vs. Marist, 7 p.m.
12/15 - vs/ Hyde Park, 4:15 p.m.
12/19 - vs. Wheaton Academy, 7 p.m.
12/21 - vs. Antioch, 3 p.m.
1/4 - vs. Stevenson, 3 p.m.
1/6 - at Schaumburg, 7 p.m.
1/17 - vs. St. Patrick, 7 p.m.
1/18 - vs. St. Laurence, 2 p.m.
1/24 - at Carmel, 7 p.m.
1/31 - vs. St. Viator, 7 p.m.
2/1 - at Evanston, 4 p.m.
2/14 - vs. Nazareth Academy, 7 p.m.
2/15 - at Lake Forest, 4 p.m.
2/18 - vs.Chicago Hope Academy, 7 p.m.
2/21 - at DePaul College Prep, 7 p.m.
Yours truly has already penciled in a few contests to attend. Will be wearing my Saluki apparel proudly, with a smile on my face!!!
INSaluki ...thank you kindly for the shout out.
"In Nagy, I trusty!"
GO DAWGS!!!
And old friend of mine from Southern who is a retired coach went and saw him play and was favorably impressed. I take that as very good news.
From PrepHoops writeup: " Next up we saw Benet travel to De La Salle where two squads loaded with 2026 talent squared off. It was Benet from the jump and they more than lived up to their #3 preseason ranking. They won in dominant fashion 68-47. The starting five of this team is one of the best in the state. Their front court has a chance to be the best in Illinois. SIU commit Daniel Pauliukonis was awesome in this one as the skilled inside/outside four man stretched for a trio from beyond the arc while showing his athleticism on drives and running the floor. Went for 22 points."
Going to be pretty awesome to have a stretch 4 with some athleticism. Sounds like a taller, better version of D'Amico!From PrepHoops writeup: " Next up we saw Benet travel to De La Salle where two squads loaded with 2026 talent squared off. It was Benet from the jump and they more than lived up to their #3 preseason ranking. They won in dominant fashion 68-47. The starting five of this team is one of the best in the state. Their front court has a chance to be the best in Illinois. SIU commit Daniel Pauliukonis was awesome in this one as the skilled inside/outside four man stretched for a trio from beyond the arc while showing his athleticism on drives and running the floor. Went for 22 points."
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/11/25/boys-basketball-preview-daniel-pauliukonis-benet/
The 6-foot-9 Pauliukonis was used primarily as a shooter last season, when he demonstrated the ability to hit 3-pointers. Heidkamp envisions the Southern Illinois commit doing much more than that this season.
“We’re expanding his role,” Heidkamp said. “We will use him a lot on the perimeter. If the matchup is right, we’ll put him on the block, and we’ll use him to handle the ball quite a bit. For his size, he can handle the ball against pressure.”
It certainly looks like SIU has two fine recruits coming in for next season. Daniel Pauliukonis scored 21 as Benet Academy defeats Chicago Hyde Park 67-54 to move to 8-1 on the season. Also ranked 5th in Class 4A state rankings, and I believe number 7 in Chicago area rankings. Looking forward to seeing this young man in person and providing a full scouting report!
"In Nagy I trusty"
GO DAWGS!!!
@tj-mcflys I'm going to be in Chicago this Saturday. Benet Academy has an afternoon game that day. Meet you there!
Will certainly try to be there but may prove difficult on a Saturday before Christmas. Was planning however on a Holiday Tournament Benet is participating in, or perhaps a later date in February. If I do not make this Saturday, I look forward to your analysis later on this very board.
GO DAWGS!!!
I don’t want to be negative about one of our recruits, but he wasn’t much of a factor in yesterday’s game. Only had 6 points and only attempted 4 FGs in the entire game (the starters were pulled in the 3rd quarter). He’s tall, agile, and has some skills. But he’s also skinny, non-aggressive, and has a long way to go before he’s college-ready. Definitely a redshirt candidate. It’s pronounced “polly konis” by the way.
@rockin-dawg Thank you kindly for the honest analysis. I believe I read somewhere that Daniel is a late blossom, and played really well over the Summer. At this point he began getting noticed/offers. Hopefully the SIU strength coach can help him gain the weight warranted. I think he's going to be a very good player for us.
Benet's starting five is one of the best in the entire state. Maybe he was not needed as much due to matchups?
I know that the flu bug is going around so perhaps he was slowed by this? Anyway, thank you for attending. I look forward to seeing him, and posting my thoughts.
