In the coming weeks, we will be looking at several under-the-radar prospects that were primed to use the travel circuit to boost their recruiting stock this summer. Now, with grassroots basketball on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, these prospects may not get the exposure they would have otherwise.
Today, we take a look at Denham Wojcik.
WHO IS HE?
A 6-foot-1 point guard capable of playing either ballhandling spot in the backcourt, Wojcik is slated to run with the Illinois Wolves on the Under Armour circuit once the travel season finally begins.
Attending La Lumiere School, Wojcik was part of the national title winning team during the 2018-2019 season. His brother, Paxson Wojcik, just completed his freshman season at Loyola Chicago and his father, Doug Wojcik, is the recruiting coordinator at Michigan State and former head coach at College of Charleston and Tulsa.
On a team invited to the GEICO Nationals this past season, Wojcik averaged 8.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He posted a 3-to-1, assist-to-turnover ratio, and made 41-percent of the 3-point jumpers he attempted.
Wojcik is a three-star prospect and rated as the 36th best point guard in the 2021 class nationally. His school’s head coach Pat Holmes, spoke fondly on his two-way standout. “Denham is going to do whatever it takes to help our team win the game. He is an extremely tough-nosed kid, who will do all the little things to help a team be successful,” he said. “Denham did a tremendous job making plays for his teammates and I was really impressed with is ability to play drive-and-kick basketball, as well as making reads out of a ball screen.”
RECRUITING SNAPSHOT
College options have begun to multiply for Wojcik in recent months. He holds offers from Bucknell, DePaul, Harvard, Lehigh, Loyola Chicago, Miami Ohio, and Southern Illinois.
The high-major realm was expected to use the spring live evaluation periods to further evaluate Wojcik in which Baylor and Vanderbilt are two others showing heavy interest in him. In February, he took an official visit to Harvard.
WHY I LIKE HIM
Wojcik is not going to be known for his freakish athleticism or gaudy shot-making numbers, but it seems every winning team needs someone like him on its roster. He is tough, active, willing to do much of the dirty work, and is more than capable of filling playmaking or shooting roles.
Playing for a talented team the past two years at La Lumiere, Wojcik's intangibles are what sets him apart. There doesn’t seem to be much of an ego, if at all, with Wojcik. While he would need the proper pieces around him at the next level, it is also within reason that if such personnel and the right role was given, that he could find a place at a high major thanks to his playmaking, pass-first skill set, along with the ability to defend the opposing team’s best perimeter scorer.
The coronavirus has impacted his class as a whole due to the postponement of the travel season but I would not be surprised if a few local Big 10 programs gave a look into Wojcik. Just as Spike Albrecht and Andrew Dakich found a comfortable landing spot during their own college days, the same future could be ahead for Wojcik.
