University of Wisconsin-Parkside Men’s Basketball Coach Luke Reigel has announced the signing of five highly-regarded players who will join the Ranger program in the fall of 2009.
Jamere Dismukes (South Chicago Heights, IL/Rich East HS), Ryan Callozzo (Homer Glen, IL/Lockport HS), Jeremy Saffold (Hazel Crest, IL/Homewood-Flossmoor HS), Kevin Senechalle (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles East HS), and Grant Johnson (Kenosha, WI/ Madison Area Technical College) all signed National Letters of Intent to attend UW-Parkside in 2009.
“I am very excited about receiving commitments from these young men,” said Reigel. “Each of these student-athletes is committed to being the best on the floor and in the classroom. They will be very important to this University and to the future of our basketball program.”
“There is no doubt that we do not have this outstanding recruiting class without the tireless efforts of Coach Wolfe. He has worked for two years on identifying potential recruits for this class. Then he went out and built incredible relationships with the players, their families, and coaches. His efforts in the Chicagoland area will pay dividends for UW-Parkside basketball for many years to come."
Jamere Dismukes has joined the UW-Parkside basketball program after averaging 7.5 points, 5.2 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game for Coach George Leonard at Rich East High School. After guiding the Rockets to a 21-7 season in the very competitive South Inter-Conference Association (SICA), Dismukes was selected to the All-conference south team. He was also selected to participate in the prestigious McLegends Game. The 6’0” point guard played AAU basketball for Coach Cedric Pennington and the Illinois Ice.
“Jamere has the qualities you look for in a point guard. While he definitely has the ability to score, he is more of a true point in the sense that he looks to get his teammates involved first and looks to score second,” said Reigel. “He has the ability to break down a defense off the dribble and as he learns the college game we believe he can be an outstanding defender. His ability to anticipate away from the ball is something you cannot teach.”
Ryan Callozzo joins the Rangers after being named 1st Team All-conference (SWSC) Southwest Suburban Conference Blue under Coach Larry Thompson at Lockport High School. He averaged 9.9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists during his senior season. During his junior season he led Lockport to a 4th place finish in the Class 4A State Tournament in Illinois. The 5’11” point guard played for Coach Larry Butler and the Illinois Warriors on the summer AAU circuit.
“Ryan addresses two areas of need for us, he’s tough and he’s skilled, and those are areas we were sorely lacking in last year”, said Reigel. “His ability to play the point guard position is based on those two qualities and when I look at the teams that have won a lot of games in our league they all have a player similar to Ryan in their program. He is not afraid to get on the floor, step in take a charge, or mix it up on the defensive end, and if you leave him open he is going to make you pay.”
Reigel further expanded on the importance of point guards in the system that is played at Parkside by stating that, “The fact is everything starts with the point guard position and Jamere and Ryan are going to complement each other very well and allow us to get back to the style of play that has made us successful.”
Jeremy Saffold has joined the Rangers after leading Homewood Flossmoor High School to a 14-0 Conference Record and the Conference title in the Southwest Suburban Conference. Homewood Flossmoor finished the season with a 21-6 record. Jeremy averaged 11 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game, which included a 38-point performance in the season finale that saw him hit nine three pointers. He played for Coach James McLaughlin.
Saffold was named 1st Team All-conference (SWSC) Southwest Suburban Conference and was named to the Southtown Star Newspaper Sweet 16 All-Area Team. He also was selected to play in the prestigious McLegends Game. The 6’6 wing played AAU basketball for Coach Kevin Dockery and the Illinois Bobcats.
“The thing that really excites us about Jeremy is how he is just scratching the surface of his potential," said Reigel. “He was a little bit of a late bloomer but by the end of his senior year I’m not sure there were many wings in the state of Illinois playing better than he was. He is going to love playing in our system and is going to remind our fans of the great wing players we’ve had during the past five years. We believe he will be an explosive offensive player because he has the ability to score in a lot of different ways. Plus, with his wing-span and athleticism, the sky is the limit on his defensive capabilities.”
Kevin Senechalle joins the Rangers after a terrific senior season at St. Charles East High School under Coach Brian Clodi. Senechalle was a unanimous selection to the Upstate-Eight All-conference Team after averaging 19.9 points and 10.3 rebounds during his senior season. During the 2008-09 season the 6’7” forward was selected to the St. Charles East Thanksgiving All-Tournament and the Jack Tosh Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team, as well as being named the Daily Herald Player of the Week. Senechalle played in 87 games starting 80 of those games during his 3 year varsity career while also finishing his career with 991 points.
Senechalle finished up his senior season by being on the Illinois Mr. Basketball ballot as well as being named Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State 4th Team. Kevin played his AAU Basketball with Coach Marty Dello and the Illinois Magic Basketball Club.
“In a lot of ways Kevin is a throw-back type of player," said Reigel. “I’m not sure I’ve seen a high school big-man who plays as hard as he does every night. When you add his effort with his skill level, you see a player who has the potential to be an outstanding post player for many years. He posts very strong and finishes well around the basket and his face-up game is ahead of a lot of players his size. He is a perfect fit for how we like to play and is going to have the opportunity to have an immediate impact on our program.”
Grant Johnson played for one season at Madison Area Technical College for Coach Scott Vesterdahl before deciding to come back to his hometown and play for the Rangers. The 6’3” guard averaged 9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for the Wolfpack. Johnson played his senior season at Kenosha Christian Life High School for Coach Steve Powell where he averaged 22.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.6 steals. He was named 1st Team All-Conference and Player of the Year in the Midwest Division of the Midwest Classic Conference, while also garnering Honorable Mention All-State for his performance during his senior season.
“Grant will surprise people with his athleticism. He has a terrific pull-up jumper, which really is a lost art, and as he gets stronger he is going to be able to score in a lot of different ways," said Reigel. "As he continues to develop we believe he is going to be a huge weapon for us on the perimeter. There’s no question it’s also nice to add another local player to the program. We’re looking forward to getting Grant to UWP and having him as a part of our program.
In summary, Reigel said the following:
“With this class we felt we needed to address three major areas: Number one, we had to get back to being skilled at every position. This allows us to get back to running our motion the way we want to. Secondly, we needed to recruit kids who have some toughness to them. The GLVC is not a league for weak-minded people. And finally we needed to develop more depth so we can play the game the right way, and that means playing hard all the time. I believe we’ve taken a huge step toward those goals with this class. Now it’s a matter of having a great off-season, maybe adding one or two more players to the mix and then being ready to get after it next fall. We definitely are very excited about the future of Ranger basketball.”