Alex Dragicevich: A Rising Star
by Daniel Poneman, illinoishsbasketball.com

Here at IllinoisHSbasketball headquarters, we have known for years the talent that Alex Dragicevich possesses. I’ve known since I first saw him a 7th grader that he was going to be good, and since his showing in the Proviso West Holiday Tournament as a Sophomore, I’ve been convinced of the fact that he is going to be great. Now Alex has convinced some big time college programs of that fact too. After receiving an offer yesterday from Coach Mike Brey and Notre Dame, Alex got his second offer in as many days from Head Coach Chris Mack and Xavier University.

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The offer came after Coach Mack and an assistant watched Alex score 20+ points in his evening game yesterday with Full Package. A lot of coaches who saw Alex play last summer labeled the 6’7 wing from Glenbrook North High School as just a shooter and not much else. Yesterday he proved how wrong first impressions can be. Last summer Alex had just finished his big growth spurt; he went from 6’1 to 6’7 from his freshman season until last summer, and due to this and other complications Alex’s knees were bad and he wasn’t able to move around the court with ease, causing him to have to spend much of his time hanging out on the perimeter. This summer, however, Alex is comfortable in his body and is scoring his points in a variety of ways. In last night’s game he not only hit threes, drove to the hoop, and threw down a sick dunk, but most importantly he handled the ball and created opportunities on offense for his teammates. You can also credit his work with Jeff Pagliocca of Evolution Athletics, Steve Pratt of Full Package, and Scott Lidskin of Glenbrook North with taking his game to that next level.

There was never any doubt in my mind that Alex was a high major player, and now the high major coaches have figured it out too. However, Dragicevich’s talent level is not a new revelation to all big time college coaches. Utah, Miami (OH) and a handful of other schools have been making him a recruiting priority for over a year. Now that Xavier and Notre Dame have offered, and others are sure to follow suit, do not be fooled into thinking Alex will jump on these offers right away. Alex has already visited Utah for a football game against TCU and thoroughly enjoyed it, and the opportunity to be an instant starter and potential star on a perennial NCAA tourney team like Utah could be just enough to get Alex to say no to the Fighting Irish. Stay tuned for more on Dragicevich later in the week.