Illinois Prep Bulls-eye has confirmed through most reliable sources that Northwestern University has received a verbal commitment from 6'11 center Kyle Rowley from Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, IL. Rowley had also received scholarship offers from Wisconsin, Marquette, Southern Illinois, Baylor, Davidson, DePaul and Indiana as well as heavy interest from several other programs.

There is no question that that Rowley was Wildcat head coach Bill Carmody's #1 recruiting priority from the get-go as far as post players go. With that being said, the impact of landing Rowley is absolutely huge in more ways than one.

First of all, we have learned that Rowley will reclassify as a 2008 recruit. What this means is that he could sign his letter of intent with Northwestern before the end of the Spring signing period and possibly as early as this week. Rowley is an outstanding student and has been on pace to graduate from Lake Forest Academy early.

Rowley provides the Wildcats with someone who can step in right away and be an immediate post presence. Besides being a strong and physical player, Rowley has great hands and instincts on the glass. As a result, he is a consistent finisher, an excellent rebounder and a solid scorer in the paint area. Rowley continues to compete on the traveling team circuit for Full Package Athletics and was impressive when we watched him recently at the King James Shooting Stars Classic in Akron, OH.

In addition, Rowley is also another testament to the outstanding job that Carmody and assistant coach Tavaras Hardy continue to do with respect to targeting players who are quality student-athletes and perfect fits for their system. Simply put, they work their tails off and are flat out getting it done on the recruiting trail.