Van Treese ready for junior season
The time is now for Stephen Van Treese, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound power forward from Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, Ind.
As one of the few players on Lawrence North's team that played with Greg Oden and Mike Conley a two years ago, Van Treese is now one of the leaders on one of the best, and most storied, programs in the Hoosier State.
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Famed head coach Jack Keefer has already asked the four-star big man to step up and be a leader this season, Van Treese said.
"He's told me that it is going to be the same thing like it was with Greg and Mike when it was their junior year," Van Treese, a class of 2009 prospect, said. "I'm feeling good about our chances.
"Our offense, everyone plays the same position basically. Our new offense is going to be really nice. Everyone touches the ball. I could touch the ball at the top of the key. It's the swing offense. Wisconsin, that's exactly where we're getting it from."
It comes as no surprise that the Badgers are recruiting him. Van Treese said he's even trimmed his list down of late, too.
Van Treese said his list consists of Indiana (offer), Purdue (offer), Notre Dame (offer), Ohio State (offer), Kentucky, UCLA (offer), Florida, Louisville, Wisconsin, Michigan State, North Carolina, Kansas and Wake Forest. Why these schools?
"They've all shown the most interest and I like how major of a school each of them are," he said. "I definitely could see myself playing at these schools.
"Since text messaging went away, it's been less crazy. I can just calm down. They can call me just once a month now, which is all good. But I'd rather just text than have them call me. I'm always busy doing something when they call me. Sometimes I just don't feel like talking for forty minutes."
Coaches from UCLA, Louisville, Purdue, Indiana and Michigan State, Van Treese said.
Matt Painter of Purdue has been the only head coach to come in and see Van Treese as well as his talented teammates Jeff Robinson and Dominique Ferguson.
Van Treese has been to Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Louisville, Florida and North Carolina already, he said, and a return trip to Purdue this weekend is likely.
The No. 53 ranked player in the class of 2009 said he doesn't anticipate making too many more visits this fall, citing last fall's busy schedule of visiting schools.