Alex Rossi Headed To Pac Ten

June 22, 2009

1:45 P.M. CST

Alex Rossi, the 6'5 shooting guard from New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL verbally committed today to the University of California.  Rossi chose the Golden Bears over Notre Dame and Northwestern.  He had also been offered by Iowa  as well as several other programs.  News of Rossi's commitment was confirmed to us by Mike Weinstein, Rossi's traveling team coach.

While Rossi had narrowed his choices to California and Notre Dame this past week, Cal had long been considered the leader ever since Rossi received a scholarship offer from head coach Mike Montgomery.  Rossi had made it abundantly clear that he liked the West Coast atmosphere and saw himself as a Pac Ten player.  Other factors that ended up being important in Rossi's decision were the school's outstanding academics, the size and diversity of the campus and the offensive system that Montgomery runs, which is known to utilize players who are terrific spot-up shooters such as Rossi.  

Rossi has had an outstanding spring performing on the traveling team circuit with the Rising Stars Gold.  He is an outstanding 3-point shooter who has the ability to knock down shots from well beyond the arc.  In addition, Rossi has also gotten considerably stronger over the course of the past year and as a result has become even more proficient at getting inside and scoring off of offensive rebounds.

Besides his offensive skills, Rossi also has the kind of intangibles that are attractive to any college coach.  He is an elite-level student and on the court brings a high degree of mental toughness and competitiveness.  Rossi is the second player from New Trier to offer a verbal commitment in the past week, with the first one coming from 6'10 center Fred Heldring, who verballed to William and Mary.

Another Rising Stars Gold teammate who figures to be off the board at any time during the July evaluation period is 6'2 shooting guard Ben Brust from Mundelein High School in Mundelein, IL.  Brust is considering Iowa, Butler, Northwestern, Stanford and Virginia. 

Getting back to Rossi, his recruitment is a testament to the hard work put in by Montgomery and assistant coaches Gregg Gottlieb and Jay John and how the Golden Bears continue to make the Chicago area a top recruiting priority. 

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to recruiting and high school basketball in Illinois.