St. Charles East graduate Cole Gentry saw greater opportunity elsewhere and sacrificed no college eligibility to seize it.
Gentry transferred from South Dakota State to Wright State to start the January semester, rejoining former South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy.
“They have great coaches and players at South Dakota State, but in the end it was a better basketball opportunity for me,” Gentry said.
Gentry played in 10 games with four starts, averaging 3.3 points and 16.6 minutes this season at South Dakota State. He’ll be classified a redshirt sophomore and still has 3 1/2 semesters of eligibility when he plays again in January 2018.
Gentry, a 5-foot-10 point guard, fits a need as his new team is short on point guards. Nagy’s staff recruited Gentry at South Dakota State, and Gentry spent last season as a redshirt. Nagy was hired in April to coach Wright State.
South Dakota State hired T.J. Otzelberger after Nagy’s departure.
“I had a good relationship with coach Nagy and the staff the one year I was there with them,” Gentry said. “And obviously they liked me because they recruited me to South Dakota State.
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“I feel like I’m a good fit for what they want to do on the court. It’s a good, solid connection.”
As a senior in 2014-15, Gentry averaged 18.2 points, 4.8 assists and made 59 3-pointers to lead St. Charles East to a co-championship in the Upstate Eight River.
Gentry saw one other reason to like the idea of playing at a university in Dayton, Ohio, as opposed to South Dakota State.
“Being there and playing now in the Horizon League, I’ll be a little closer to home,” Gentry said.
Holder rebounds: Streamwood graduate Blake Holder helped Bemidji State win a Division II bowl game in December.
Holder, a junior wide receiver, bounced back from an injury-plagued sophomore year by catching 32 passes for a team-high 785 yards and eight touchdowns. Bemidji State (9-3) beat Washburn 36-23 to win the Mineral Water Bowl.
“I had a good freshman season, then had a concussion and a couple other injuries last year, but felt I was back on track this past season,” Holder said.
Holder totaled 42 catches for 764 yards and six TDs as a freshman, but dropped off to 16 catches, 218 yards and two touchdowns as a sophomore.
Initially, Holder had his heart set on Division I and signed with Northern Illinois.
“When (NIU) hired Rod Carey as coach, they changed assistant coaches and I lost my receivers coach and recruiting coordinator,” Holder said. “Then I didn’t feel it would work out.
“A friend of mine from Schaumburg, Juwaan Richard, was at Bemidji State and thought I’d be a good fit up here. I’d already taken a redshirt and didn’t want to lose another year, so Division II was a good alternative.”
The move to a school in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference didn’t cost Holder a chance to compete against quality talent.
“It’s real competitive,” Holder said. “It’s definitely a speed slower than Division I, but every now and then you come across a couple guys who were Division I.
“I feel like I hold my own against them.”
Holder believes Bemidji State will build on last year’s success and challenge for a conference title in the fall.
“Jordan Hein, my quarterback, is back and that’s a big help,” Holder said. “We transferred in at the same time from Division I. And we have a couple running backs coming back, so it should be a strong offense.”
Williams milestone: Elgin graduate Arie Williams moved up to second on Barry’s all-time list in 3-pointers Saturday when he hit four 3-pointers in a 77-63 win over Nova Southeastern. Williams, a senior, moved past Yunio Barrueta with 209 3-pointers.
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