Isiah Daniels Commits to Marian

By: Mark Miller, Wissports.net

Marian University coach Mark Boyle has always placed a heavy emphasis on recruiting talented local high school basketball players to his program.

The NCAA Division III school located in Fond du Lac picked up yet another gifted player from the area this week when Isiah Daniels, an athletic 6-foot-6 forward, committed to the Sabres.  

Daniels, a unanimous first-team all-league selection in the Eastern Wisconsin Conference as a senior, averaged 20 points and 12 rebounds per game while helping the Cougars to a 17-8 record, including an 8-6 league mark.

He scored a career-high 33 points in a 52-49 victory over a solid Kettle Moraine Lutheran squad early last season and finished his three-year varsity career with 1,015 points.

"Isiah worked hard getting into better physical shape so he could go longer periods of time without fatigue being an issue," Campbellsport coach Kyle Twohig said. "Mentally, he also progressed as a senior. As a junior, he'd get a bit off his game when the play became physical. But as a senior, he did not let that bother him."

Daniels averaged 16 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior and six points and six rebounds an outing as a sophomore.

"He became a leader for our team as a senior and did a great job of communicating with our guys," Twohig said.

Marian finished 22-7 and won the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title with a 17-3 mark under veteran coach Mark Boyle last season. The Sabres dropped a 66-64 decision to UW-Stevens Point in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Boyle, who enters his 27th year as the Sabres' head coach in the fall, has won 346 games during his tenure at Marian and last year relied heavily on several local high school graduates, including Cody Veleke (6-5) of Oakfield, Sam Koslowski (6-1) of St. Mary Central in Neenah, Drew Binversie (6-0) of Valders and Alex Stecker (5-7) and Mike Keller (6-4) of Oostburg.

"Coach Boyle has been involved with Isiah for a long time and made him a recruiting priority," Twohig said. "Isiah fits in well with what coach Boyle does at Marian. He is athletic, runs the floor and has very good hands."