Blue Star Basketball

Talent Factor

Mennig showing keen eye for nation's premier preps

By Fred Kroner
Blue Star Basketball

CHAMPAIGN  - There was a time when David Mennig must have wondered what his son, Chris, learned in college. What other conclusion could a father reach?  A 1996 graduate of Bryant University, in Springfield, R.I., Chris Mennig turned down an opportunity to join the company where his dad was a vice president, Oneida Silverware, for an $8,000-a-year job as an assistant women's basketball coach at his alma mater. It meant living frugally in a basement apartment, surrounded by cinder block walls and paying $50-a-week rent.  "I couldn't afford to do anything socially," Chris Mennig said.  If money was his main objective, he would have taken the position with benefits and a starting salary in the mid-$30,000 range.  More than a decade later, he has no regrets.  It wasn't about the money.  It was about pursuing a dream.

A national evaluator

Before he had his college diploma, young Mennig had something else.  It was a vision for his future.  "I'd started thinking this (coaching) was something I wanted to do," he said.  He is now the girls' basketball coach at St. Thomas More and a former collegiate assistant at Illinois, Illinois State, and St. Bonaventure.  In truth, his current on-court coaching duties consume only a small portion of the time for a person who is nationally renowned in women's basketball.  Mennig, 33, recently was named to the elite 23-member committee that annually selects the McDonald's All-American girls' high school basketball team.  He was already the national event coordinator for Blue Star Basketball and the event coordinator for the U.S. Junior Nationals.  Among his duties for Blue Star, a 25-year-old organization sponsored by Nike, is coordinating the individual national player rankings for girls.  That's done in conjunction with founder Mike Flynn. "Mike is expanding into other areas of scholastic athletics in the country, using a similar concept as he has done with girls' basketball," Mennig said.  "The more I can take off his plate with basketball, the more he can focus on these other ventures." Evaluating players was a natural step for a person who was the chief recruiter at his various collegiate stops.  In his two years at Illinois (2003-05), he was instrumental in the school signing recruiting classes that were ranked among the top 25 nationally by Blue Star. "When Mike reached out to me, with my business background and ties to the game, I took the chance," Mennig said.

Checking for talent

Blue Star creates opportunities for the potential all-stars to be seen and, thus, to be evaluated.  The organization sponsors tournaments where as many as 180 AAU or travel teams will play an average of seven games in a three- or four-day span at one site.  During the last exposure weekend (Sept. 28-30), Mennig said "we ran nine events across the country.”  In between the time he spends at St. Thomas More daily as a full-time sub, he is finalizing the nation's top 250 senior list for girls' basketball.  It's due to be released Monday while he is in Portland, Ore., for the annual Nike meetings for girls' basketball.  The list of the top 250 juniors will be published in December, and April is the target date for the country's 100 elite sophomores to be recognized.  It doesn't stop there.  "We cover 11-and-under, 12-and-under and 13-and-under national events," Mennig said, "keeping an eye on who the next best players will be." The recruiting rankings are a valuable tool for coaches as well as an avenue for fans to track their favorite schools.  Though Mennig has more than 7,000 contacts nationally and a staff that features more than 10 former collegiate head coaches or recruiting coordinators he said players can be overlooked if they have not made themselves visible.  "No one can expect us to find him or her all," he said.  "We can't cover the whole country.  If they want to have these opportunities, they have to meet us halfway."  That is the message Mennig is trying to get out to coaches throughout central Illinois.  "We're trying to get kids more college options, and I want to help this area to be pro-active," he said.  For those who think they are major-college prospects, help market yourself.  "When you're talking about All Americans, are you putting yourself in position to compete with the best of the best?" he said.  "We'd be hard-pressed to put someone on those types of lists if they've never competed with the top-tier kids."

State standouts

There are several high school seniors in the state who are high-level recruits and certain to be on the final Blue Star list that Mennig is compiling. As a group, however, the senior class of 2008 is not one of the best in recent years. "There are a lot who can play at that major level, but not a lot who will change it and make an impact from the beginning," Mennig said. Sarah Boothe, a 6-foot-5 center from Gurnee Warren, is projected as a top 50 player nationally.  Also highly regarded is D'Frantz Smart, a diminutive 5-foot point guard from Chicago's Whitney Young who is considering Illinois, Rice, Bowling Green, and Illinois State.  One prominent athlete from the Sangamon Valley Conference is Momence's Candace Sykes.  Her school will play at St. Thomas More on Nov. 26.  "She has been at every one of our exposure events in the Midwest," Mennig said.  "If she went to a mid major, she'd have a heck of a career.”  Sykes' interests are with Alabama, Ball State, Illinois State, and St. John's.  Mennig said fans shouldn't get too wrapped up in how high a player is rated.  "Too often, everyone glorifies the recruiting aspect so much," he said.  "Everyone wants the recruit who will fix a program right away, instead of considering the players that within a couple of years can help a program grow.  Height is always at a premium.  "There aren't a lot of them out there, which is why taller kids are sometimes at the top (of recruiting lists).  There are a lot of guards out there.”  Mennig doesn't have to wait long to find out the accuracy of his rankings.  He'll get another indication during the early signing period Nov. 14-21.  "Signing date is my report card," he said.  "Am I on or am I off?  If I say someone can play at the mid major level and they sign with Chicago State, then I'm off.”  Though basketball is a prominent part of Mennig's life, he has worked in time for other pursuits.  He is engaged to Champaign native Kristin Dressel and they are planning a June 14 wedding.  "It's in-between a tournament in Kansas City the beginning of the month and a tournament in Chicago at the end of the month," Mennig said. For more information about these Nike-sponsored organizations, visit www.bluestarbb.com or www.usjn.com.

Fred Kroner is The News-Gazette's prep sports coordinator.  He writes a weekly column on high school athletics throughout the school year.  You can reach him at 217-351-5235 or via e-mail at fkroner@news-gazette.com