Hawkeye Basketball adds another Player

Iowa basketball needs all the help they can get, and they have added another name to the roster. Coach Lickliter added 6'3" guard Nick Neari as a walk-on.

Neari earned 1st Team All-Conference honors playing for St. Charles North High School in Illinois. He averaged 14.3 points per game and took his team to the Sectional Finals for the first time in school history. He was named player of the year by the Press-Republican (a Chicago newspaper)

Neari had offers to play at some D-II and D-III schools, but a major factor that played into his decision to come to Iowa was the Hawkeyes signing of guard Cully Payne, who has been best friends with Neari since elementary school.

Neari at least appears to be a pretty good athlete, he was the starting QB on the football team his junior year and split time between QB and wide receiver his senior year.

Heres what Suburban Life Publications had to say about Neari: "The 2009 Press-Republican Player of the Year was more well-rounded than stats alone can tell. His court vision enabled him to find creases in the defense and get to the rim, but also let him find narrow passing lanes. He could finish an array of ways at the rim, yet his range extended well beyond the three-point line. His quick hands and aforementioned vision made him a formidable defender, able to strip the ball away or read passes and cut in for the clean steal."

For More Info...
http://scottdo.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/iowa-hoops-walk-on-has-strong-stats-character/