Huelsman will fly in Atlantic 10

Recruiting for Kurtis Huelsman was starting to really heat up after the busy April evaluation period. Coaches came calling on the 6-foot-9, 215-pound big man from St. Henry (Ohio) High School after watching him show off his high basketball IQ and solid skill set. Even with a number of programs coming in Huelsman decided to put an end to his recruitment and verbally committed to the Dayton Flyers on Wednesday.

According to Huelsman's head coach Joe Niekamp, the big man had a good feeling about the Atlantic-10 program all along.

"I think he finally got to the point were he knew the coaches and players really well. He had a brother that went to UD and Kurt just knew that with all of that, they have a really good package to offer him," Niekamp said. "I think he just felt really comfortable with everything there and decided to be a part of that."

Dayton was one of the first schools to get into the picture with the No. 130 ranked player in the class of 2006. DePaul, Purdue, Cincinnati, Miami (OH), Ohio University, Bowling Green, and Duquense were all involved.

"They did a tremendous job recruiting him. I give a lot of credit to coach (Brian) Gregory and (assistant Billy) Schmidt," Niekamp said. "They came early and often. They really made it a point to let Kurt know how important he was to them. Nobody came on like they did."

Huelsman helped lead St. Henry to a 20-3 record as a junior and won a state title as a sophomore. He is the first player to commit to the Flyers in the class of 2006. Niekamp says Huelsman will bring that winning attitude to the Flyers.

"Athletically and with his size and ability, I think he'll really help," Niekamp said. "He's an outstanding defender. For us, he's been more of a back to the basket player but next year we're going to have him face up more and shoot more from the perimeter. I know he's been working on that. I know Dayton will find a way to utilize him."