Wentzville Holt's Dantiel Daniels commits to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

Another one of the STL's top players from the talented Class of 2011 came off the board this weekend when Wentzville Holt standout Dantiel Daniels gave a verbal commitment to Chris Lowery's Southern Illinois University Salukis.

 The 6'5" Daniels is coming off a fabulous 2010 season when he led the Indians to a Class 5 district title and a berth in the state quarterfinals during the winter. His excellent play carried over into the spring and summer where he helped lead the St. Louis Gameface 17U team to a fifth-place finish in the Amateur Athletic Union national tournament in Orlando last month.

 The hard-working power forward selected SIU-Carbondale over the schools such as VCU, Colorado State, Western Kentucky and Oral Roberts. Daniels made his commitment after making his visit to Carbondale over the weekend.

 "I was very comfortable with the school because it is not too far from home and I've built a good relationship with Coach Lowery," Daniels said. "My coaches have told me that I'm a perfect fit for his system because I play hard and I play defense."

 Daniels may be considered undersized at the power forward position, but his explosive, athleticism and relentless work ethic have made him one of the most productive players in the state of Missouri. Those qualities have made him attractive recruit for Lowery, who enjoyed immense success at Southern Illinois with hard-working blue collar players. Daniels plays much bigger than his actual height and he brings his game up several notches when matched up against more heralded big men.

 As a junior, Daniels averaged 17.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.9 blocks to lead Holt to a 22-9 record. His signature performance of the postseason came in the district semifinals when he had 28points and four blocks in a 51-50 upset of No. 1 seed Columbia Rock Bridge. He enjoyed many sparkling performances during the summer while playing for Gameface, including a 24-point, 18-rebound performance against 2012 No. 1 ranked big man Andre Drummond from Connecticut during the AAU 17U Nationals.

 With Daniels returning along with several other top players from last year, the Indians has aspirations of making to the Final Four for the first time since 1988. With that in mind, Daniels is happy to have the recruiting process over so he can concentrate on his senior year. However, his verbal commitment will not become official until he signs a national letter of intent in November, Still, he is ready to get on with the business of leading the Indians to a great season in 2011.

 "I'm very happy to get it out of the way early," Daniels said. "Now, I can just focus on getting my work done in the classroom and getting ready for my senior season."

 I think this is an outstanding pick-up for Chris Lowery and his staff at Southern Illinois. For many years, SIU has come into St. Louis and plucked away some nice players and they have the Missouri Valley Conference titles and NCAA bling to show for it. Daniels reminds me of players such as Randal Falker, Matt Shaw and Roland Roberts, all 6'6" to 6'7" frontcourt types that helped the Salukis win a lot of games.