advertisement

Bartlett’s Videckis verbals to Indiana

Bartlett senior Haley Videckis had her pick of schools at which to play college basketball.

After visits to three schools on the east coast Videckis chose to stay closer to home.

A 6-foot guard/forward with a deadly shooting eye and driving ability as well, Videckis on Saturday made a verbal commitment to Indiana University and sixth-year coach Felisha Legette-Jack. Videckis becomes the second Bartlett player to accept a Big Ten scholarship offer in the last two years. Two-time Daily Herald All-Area captain Jacki Gulczynski is currently a freshman at Wisconsin.

“I’m so excited,” said Videckis Saturday night just after the Indiana-Penn State football game and a dinner with Legette-Jack, her coaching staff and the Hoosiers’ women’s basketball team. “Indiana’s a huge basketball school and they’re rebuilding the team. It’s going to be exciting to be part of something you can make big.”

Videckis has averaged 9.5 points per game in her career at Bartlett, which has as balanced an offense as any team in the area. She has 739 career points and also averages 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals for her career. She is a two-time all-Upstate Eight Conference selection and a two-time Daily Herald All-Area player.

During the 2010-11 season, when the Hawks went 28-2, she averaged 10.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She will be one of the leaders of a senior-laden team this coming season that figures to be one of the top-ranked teams in the state.

And despite an injured ankle that saw her miss part of the summer season with the Illinois Hustle AAU team, Videckis had offers to play at Providence, Yale and Colgate in addition to Indiana. She carries a 4.67 GPA on a 4.0 scale and is ranked No. 3 in Bartlett’s senior class of nearly 750 students.

“She had three or four great schools to choose from,” said Bartlett coach Denise Sarna. “It’s a tribute to how hard Haley has worked. She’s all basketball. She just puts so much time into it. I’m ecstatic for her and proud of her. She’s earned this.”

Videckis, who will study business with an emphasis on sports marketing, said she formed a good relationship with Indiana assistant coach Jose Mori, who made the official home visit recently, and that she has great respect for Legette-Jack, who in 2008-09 led the Hoosiers to a 21-win season. Last year Indiana was 9-20 overall and 3-13 in the Big Ten.

“She’s just awesome,” Videckis said of Legette-Jack. “She really cares about her players and just has an intensity that’s awesome.”

Videckis said the way Indiana recruited her set the Hoosiers apart.

“They want to hear your story here and I have a story to tell about how when everybody tells you you can’t, that if you just continue to work hard, you can.”