Q&A: Logan Doyle Has Western Illinois Offer, Could Walk-On With Gophers

Logan Doyle Has Western Illinois Offer, Could Walk-On With Gophers
By Chris Monter

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/170246?referrer_id=331171


Logan Doyle, a 6-foot-8 rising senior from Alexandria (MN) High, has attracted the attention of several Division I and Division II basketball programs, including Minnesota. GopherHole.com caught up recently with Doyle at the Best Buy Summer Classic as a member of the Minnesota Lockdown AAU program.

Doyle averaged 13.7 points per game this past season as the Cardinals finished 10-16.

Gopher Hole: What is the latest on schools you are hearing from right now?

Logan Doyle: NDSU, SDSU, Western Illinois. I have heard from Northern Iowa a little bit and the Gopher a little bit for D1s.

Gopher Hole: I think that you have five Division II scholarship offers, right?

Logan Doyle: I have Crookston, Moorhead, Sioux Falls, Northern State and Duluth.

Gopher Hole: What things have you been really working on to improve yourself as a player?

Logan Doyle: I know that I am going to have to put on some muscle. After this is over, I am going to hit the weights hard in August and so on to put on a couple of pounds. For the next level, I am going to have to gain some muscle, so I don’t get pushed around and I want to keep expanding my range, so I can hit the 18-footer when I have to and keep improving on my post moves to polish those up.

Gopher Hole: What are the expectations for Alexandria this upcoming season?

Logan Doyle: I think that our expectations are with two returning starters, me and John Vogeler. He is going to be a junior and we were the two best players on the team last year. We are starting something special in Alex. We have been known as a hockey town up until now and we are starting to turn that around. We have a good group of kids who
are interested and want to work hard. We are in the gym five days a week 7 am. We have workouts three days a week and open gym two days a week. I think that we are going to compete for a section title this year and I really believe that we can go to state, if we put in the time.

Gopher Hole: Have you had a chance to play much together, especially in June?

Logan Doyle: We had eight team camps, like in St. Cloud and we went to Concordia two weeks ago. We are definitely getting in a lot team-wise. No one is in baseball this year, so we are really sticking together as a team in the offseason.

Gopher Hole: Western Illinois is reportedly close to offering you a scholarship. (They have since extended an offer since this interview took place) Have you thought that some of the other Division I schools might offer you after seeing you in July?

Logan Doyle: We already set up an official visit for Western Illinois September 8th. That will be my first official visit. They were the first ones to talk to me back in April at the Best Buy Spring Classic. I really like Coach (Jim) Molinari and Coach (Wade) Hokenson and I hope that it works out.

Gopher Hole: Minnesota has talked to you about possibly being a walk-on. Is that something that would appeal to you?

Logan Doyle: Yes. I went on an unofficial there and you can’t really match those facilities anywhere else I have looked at. Playing at Williams would be amazing. Their athletic facilities are amazing. The dorms are like by far the best that I have seen. They definitely have stuff that a lot of schools can’t offer. If they really want me to walk-on, I would definitely consider it, if I could potentially earn a scholarship over the next couple of years. It would be cool playing in the Big Ten and getting to travel around everywhere.

Gopher Hole: They have had Dusty Rychart and other players who were walk-ons who end up playing a lot and earning scholarships. Is that something that they have brought up to you?

Logan Doyle: Yes. That is what Coach Taylor talked about, walking-on and earning a scholarship. I definitely would consider it if they keep pursuing that as something they want to do.

Gopher Hole: Have you been to many Gopher games in the past?

Logan Doyle: I went to two this year. Northwestern, when they beat them by 20 at home. It is definitely a cool environment down there.

Gopher Hole: What are they saying about just watching you?

Logan Doyle: They said that they are going to keep watching me and coming to a couple of my games. I don’t really look up there (in the stands) all that much to see who is up there, but they said that they are going to keep watching me and keep looking for improvements. They said that I do a lot of good things, but I just have to keep getting better.

Gopher Hole: At Bloomington Jefferson, it was a little tough since the coaches are upstairs, but do you ever catch yourself looking to see who s watching or do you try not to do that?

Logan Doyle: It is kind of hard not to, especially in warm-ups. You don’t really want to get caught up looking up there, but you do a quick glance and say “He’s here.” I went to NDSU and SDSU camps and you look up there and say “Oh, geez, they are here.” It puts a little pressure on, but that is what you want. You’ve worked your whole life to get in this position. It is two weeks away for it being almost over, so you have to finish out strong. I get caught looking up there from time to
time.

Gopher Hole: It has to make you feel good that they are taking the time to watch you play.

Logan Doyle: It definitely does make you feel good. You have to be doing something right. I have seen coaches at every game, so you have to be doing something right if they keep coming back.

Gopher Hole: Have you thought about what other schools you would like to take official visits to besides Western Illinois?

Logan Doyle: No one else really offered that, but I would definitely consider NDSU, SDSU, Northern Iowa and Nebraska-Omaha. Schools like that. I would definitely consider any D1 school.

Gopher Hole: Have you even thought about when you might a college decision?

Logan Doyle: I think that I probably want to go earlier than later. I am probably leaning more toward November right now, unless something happens. I am leaning more towards November right now than the late signing period.

Doyle sees his stock soar

http://www.echopress.com/event/article/id/97057/

By: Eric Morken, Alexandria Echo Press
"Up until early August, Alexandria’s Logan Doyle hadn’t really taken a day off from basketball this summer.

He couldn’t. Not when his dream of playing college basketball hinged on how he performed in front of coaches every weekend across the Midwest.

“This summer was kind of make or break for me,” Doyle said. “Going into my senior year, coaches usually say if you don’t get noticed your junior summer going into your senior year, they probably won’t come to your games.”

That’s what drove Doyle to wake up early and practice with his Alexandria teammates five days a week. It’s why he made the two-hour trip to Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope almost every Wednesday to practice with his AAU teammates on the Minnesota Lockdown 17U team.

Doyle put together a strong junior season for Alexandria. He averaged a double-double with 13.2 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. That still wasn’t enough to get him noticed by many coaches.

Doyle had no scholarship offers coming into the summer. He’s now up to nine, including a Division I offer from Western Illinois University. The Fighting Leathernecks play in the Summit League and are coached by former University of Minnesota assistant and interim head coach Jim Molinari.

Last year’s Summit League champion, South Dakota State University, is also showing serious interest in the 6’8” forward. He plans on taking an official visit to SDSU in October. Doyle’s Division II offers are all from teams in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

That’s how fast things can change in the world of college recruiting. Doyle went from an unknown to having plenty of options a few months later. It’s indicative of how critical the summer months are for kids, especially those who aspire to play at the next level but don’t show up on any of the national top-150 lists.

“It’s extremely important,” Doyle said. “If you’re an outstate kid, I think it’s very hard to get serious looks from different schools if you’re not on an AAU team…I didn’t have any calls coming in. My goal and dream has always been to play college basketball at the highest level I could. Going into the summer, I was hoping to get a scholarship offer. Now I’m positive I’ll have that.”

College coaches flock to two or three-day tournaments during the AAU season to see how kids stack up against other quality competition. Doyle does not see a lot of individual match-ups against guys with his size and athleticism in the Central Lakes Conference.

He said he matches up against those kinds of players at every tournament during the summer. With that comes the opportunity to prove he can hold his own physically against the kind of competition he would see at the next level.

“I think the biggest thing is they get exposed to some high-quality basketball players,” Alexandria head coach Forrest Witt said. “It’s not necessarily team basketball, but they see what competition is out there from an individual standpoint. And then obviously they’re playing basketball. The more they’re playing, the better off they will be.”

With it comes the pressure of performing well for coaches almost every time out. Doyle said he has played at tournaments this summer where he knew at least 20 college coaches were in attendance.

“I knew I had to step up big,” he said. “I had a few missteps early where I played bad one or two games and that hurts. You think [coaches] might not come back, but you just need to keep battling. You got to get it out of your head quick and play twice as hard your next time out.”

Doyle was confident enough in his game to do that. He feels all the hours in the gym have added consistency to his jump shot and at the free throw line where he shot 68.9 percent last season. His time in the weight room has helped him add the strength to be more aggressive in the paint.

“From a coach’s standpoint, it’s been exciting to just have a kid or two that are fired up about basketball,” Witt said. “I think that’s something that will begin to rub off on other kids, seeing the success that Logan is having. That’s a credit to Logan. He’s worked hard. He set his mind to something and worked hard to achieve it.”

It meant giving up a lot of his summer to make it happen. In the end, he got the final result he was looking for.

“It is really rewarding,” he said. “All the stuff you’ve been working for the last three years, everything you’ve done in the off-season, it’s extremely worth everything I’ve ever done. When I got my first Division I offer, knowing you have an opportunity to get your school paid for and play basketball; there’s not really a better feeling than that.”

Schools that have offered

Alexandria’s Logan Doyle has a scholarship offer on the table from Western Illinois University in Division I.

His Division II offers include the University of Mary, Bemidji State, Northern State, St. Cloud State, University of Minnesota-Moorhead, University of Minnesota-Duluth, University of Minnesota-Crookston and the University of Sioux Falls."

I'm surprised that the late, great lakesbison dude (banned) hasn't jumped into the fray by another name telling us how great this kid will be at NDSU and how the Gophers missed out on him. Good luck to Logan Doyle, wherever he ends up.

Dr.Don said:

I'm surprised that the late, great lakesbison dude (banned) hasn't jumped into the fray by another name telling us how great this kid will be at NDSU and how the Gophers missed out on him. Good luck to Logan Doyle, wherever he ends up.

Click to expand...

I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss old lakesbison.

He added some 'color' to the board.

Edit: BTW Doc, you might want to quit stalking me. People are beginning to talk(see Gopherhomer).

station19 said:

I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss old lakesbison.

He added some 'color' to the board.

Edit: BTW Doc, you might want to quit stalking me. People are beginning to talk(see Gopherhomer).

Click to expand...

Ya, I saw that and laughed my butt off. I would say more stalking goes on over on the OT Board between a few of the political pundits there.

Doyle commits to South Dakota State.