Western Michigan Lands A 2 For 1 With Latest 2012 Commitment

By Roy and Harv Schmidt

October 24, 2011

6:00 P.M. CST

There are few D1 basketball programs that enjoy a stronger relationship with the Full Package Athletics traveling team program right now than Western Michigan University.  For further proof, look no further than the fact that Broncos head coach Steve Hawkins has landed back-to-back commitments from prospects who both played for the Full Package Elite squad. 

The latest 2012 recruit to pledge for Western Michigan is 6'8 power forward Darius Paul from Warren Township High School in Gurnee, IL.  Paul chose the Broncos over offers from Detroit, Kent State and Florida Gulf Coast.  He had also received interest from a number of Big Ten programs as well as Bradley, although none of those schools came forward with scholarship offers.

Paul's commitment comes as somewhat of a surprise seeing as though it initially appeared as though he might wait until the spring signing period before rendering a decision.  That is because the only school that Paul had visited during the fall recruiting period (prior to visiting Western Michigan this past weekend) was Northwestern and it looked as though he would be taking the recruiting process slowly.  With that being said, give Hawkins and the assistants at Western Michigan credit, as they made it clear to Paul that he was a top recruiting priority and were thus able to close the deal.

We believe that Paul epitomizes a player who was right on the cusp of projecting as a high major recruit.  Call him a mid-major plus if you will, and with that in mind he is unquestionably an absolute steal for Hawkins and company.

Paul is highly athletic and sports considerable up side.  He also has a huge wing span which allows him to flourish in the open court, both offensively and defensively.  In addition, Paul has great hands, runs the floor and finishes with consistency.  To top it all off, he has also continued to grow and get stronger.  What he now must work on is learning to utilize his muscle instead of totally relying on his length when it comes to defensive positioning and boxing out.

Another thing that Paul has going for him is bloodlines, as he is the younger brother of University Of Illinois guard Brandon Paul.  Paul becomes the fourth player from the Full Package program to commit to a D1 program, joining 6'0 point guard Ka'Darryl Bell (Bradley), guard Mike LaTulip (Illinois) and 6'4 wing forward Charles Harris, who committed to Western Michigan last night.

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