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RECRUITING: Service Academies collect commitments from a pair of Metro Detroit prep studs
Uncle Sam made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Local standout prep athletes Andrew Gikas (Bloomfield Hills Lahser) and Nolan Linville (Fraser) both recently committed to play for American Service Academies in college.
Gikas, a football star, committed to Air Force last week and Linville, a 6-foot-8 post prospect on the basketball floor, committed to Navy.
“It was a very proud moment in my life,” said Gikas of his commitment. “I’m truly honored for the privilege.”
A two-year all-league selection on the defensive line as a prepster, Gikas (6-4, 260) helped take Lahser to back-to-back playoff appearances, recording 92 tackles, eight sacks and 18 quarterback hurries this past fall as a senior.
Also a rugged post player on the basketball court, he is a key weapon on a Lahser hoop squad that captured league and district championships last year and is one of Metro Detroit’s best teams this season.
Members of the Mountain West Conference, Air Force is currently preparing to square off with Rice in the Bell Helicopter American Services Bowl down in Texas on December 29.
Raw, coachable and a natural patrolling the paint, the soft-handed Linville is a Division I steal for the Midshipmen.
Averaging a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds per game last year as a junior, he led Fraser to a district crown last March and this season he has his team off and running to a 3-1 start out of the gate.
Competing in the Patriot League, Navy stands with a 6-6 overall record right now on the collegiate hardwood.
The Midshipmen don’t normally recruit the Midwest, but may be switching gears in their mindset if recent snares from the region say anything about the program’s future. In addition to grabbing Linville for its 2013 recruiting class, sophomores Jared Smoot, a center from Crown Point, Indiana and Brandon Venturini a guard from Allendale, Michigan, both dot Navy’s 2012-2013 roster.
