By: 
Daniel Poneman
September 23rd, 2008  

The Full Package Exposure League brought to you by Illinoishsbasketball.com is back at it. With a number of nationally ranked players and dozens more top players in the state participating, the competition is at a very high level every week. Two weeks have passed and not only have the top ranked guys proved their worth, but some new players have emerged as can't miss prospects.

Dan Lopez of South Elgin High School was an unknown coming into this summer. Now it is in your best interests to know the big man's name.

Undeniably the most intimidating played in the state, the senior center stands at 6 foot 9 and has a body comprable to a young Dwight Howard, the only difference being that Lopez may be stronger. He always had the potential to be scary good, as he is virtually immovable in the post. However, Lopez never made splashes on the state basketball scene, despite his size, because he had not yet grown into his large body enough to gain the coordination neccessary to be a basketball star.

Well guess what... He has grown into that body, and as expected he is getting to be scary good.

Though Dan hasn't put up monster numbers in the Full Package Exposure League brought to you by Illinoishsbasketball.com, his presence was surely felt whenever he stepped on the floor. I personally felt this presence in a big way. Let me elaborate...

During week one of the league I got the chance to come out of retirement, lace up my Jordans, and step on the floor again to play with the (in-much-better-shape-than-me) youngins. I was playing on a team that featured Matt Sullivan (Loyola), Paul Jackson (Evanston), Rashad Wahab (Lincoln Park), Mike Dombrowski (Johnsburg) and some other good hoopers, but what we had in speed and skill we lacked in size. I am 5-11 (on a good day) and I often had to play the "4" when Sullivan wasn't in the game, as he was our biggest player at 6-5. I had watched Dan Lopez play a number of times in the past from the sidelines, but after playing against him I have trademarked a new saying: "You don't know how strong a man is until you try and box him out."

The kid they call "Teddy Bear" at school is far from that. The boy is a rock. As a matter of fact he isn't a rock... he is a boulder. A glacier. A mountain. A brick wall. A 6 foot 9 piece of steel. Any time a player on either team missed a shot and Dan was in the vicinity of the ball as it came off the rim, you better believe he snatched that orange sphere with authority. I'm pretty sure he had to try hard to hold back laughter when I would stick my rear end into him and try and box him out for the rebound. The kid was immovable. Even Matt Sullivan, who is known for his craftiness around the hoop and for his abnormally strong lower body, couldn't get a rebound in Dan's area. If it wasn't for the equal playing time rules, and the fact that every time Dan taps someone could be considered a flagrant foul, he would've finished with over 20 points and 30 rebounds in the 40 minute running clock game.

Thanks to Lopez's dominance of the lane and the surrounding areas, my team lost by about 20 points. As a competitor I wasn't happy about losing, but as a scout I was happy to have gotten a crash course in Danny Lopez.

Lopez has been working out extensively with various trainers including Full Package Athletics' Steve Pratt. Pratt, who also trains numerous NBA clients, has been putting Dan to work in drills against 6 foot 10 Australian import Angus Brandt. The Rivals 150 and Scout.com top 100 center is more polished offensively and defensively than Lopez, and is more athletic, but as Lopez proved in a very solid showing against Brandt in week two, Danny's strength is yet to be matched by any player in the state. Offensively Dan clearly has been making huge strides. He has developed a very nice jump hook, a consistant mid range shot, and a solid arsenal of pump fakes and reverses.

He holds one scholarship offer, from Sacramento State- a school he plans on visiting in the near future, and has interest from many other D1 schools. It is also pretty obvious, in my not-so-expert-in-this-field opinion, that he could play football anywhere in the country, and could have a future in the NFL, even though he hasn't stepped on the turf since his freshman year.