Recruiting Report: Connor Sonius (2016)

October 23, 2015

After putting up staggering numbers during his junior season at West Hancock — 17.4 points, 6.9 assists, and 3.4 steals per game — Connor Sonius has finally started to get some well-deserved recognition from area college programs.

The 6-foot point guard has started taking some campus visits and there is one Iowa Division III school he says is pursuing him the most.

“I’ve had a lot of recruitment since the summer started really. I just visited Buena Vista and I visited Wartburg last Saturday. And I have an upcoming visit planned to Morningside. And I’ve been talking to Nebraska Wesleyan and Luther a little bit,” said Sonius.

“I would say Buena Visit is probably pursuing me the most, their coach came to talk to me at my school and then I just took the visit, and then he texts me a lot and they send a lot of mail. I really liked their campus, I like the program, they’ve done a lot of winning and that's the one thing I’m really into.”

The talented point guard was honing his skills this spring and summer with North Iowa Fire, and mentioned that his defense was an area of emphasis for him.

“I think I just really did a good job of distributing the ball to my teammates and being a true point guard. And I think I improved on my defense this summer, playing against all of the good players in AAU really helped me,” said Sonius.

“I think I need to work on my shooting still a little bit, just to become more consistent with it. I have streaks where I can get real hot, but I just need to improve on that and be more consistent in that area.”

After a stellar junior season with the Eagles, Sonius says he’ll have to assume some of the rebounding that the team lost to graduation last season.

“My role is pretty much the same. I was a leader last year and the year before that. We lose a lot of our bigger guys from last year, so I’ll be looked on to rebound a little more for the team, and then just continuing to be a leader for the team,” said Sonius. “And really I just want to win, my ultimate goal is to win a  state championship.”

November 11, 2015

Last season as sophomore, West Hancock point guard Connor Sonius shot a respectable 35 percent from 3-point range and swiped 2.4 steals per game, but that wasn’t good enough for him.

“This summer I really worked on getting better defensively and getting in better shape for defense, I also worked on improving my 3-point shot a lot, I need to be a better 3-point threat so that people can't just key on me driving,” said Sonius, who nailed 27 of his 78 3-point attempts last season.

“I started to be more consistent with it (3-point shot) this offseason, and I could hit the shot more often at the end of AAU season, it definitely looks better.”

The 6-foot prospect will lead West Hancock alongside fellow 2016 Nate Paulus and senior Trevor Nolan and what on paper looks to be one of the better teams in Class 1A this season.

Sonius says he’s best when he’s getting his mates involved and in a run ‘n gun style.

“I just like to get out and run, I don’t really like to play at a slow pace I want to get out and run, push the ball and play pressure defense and everything,” said Sonius, who averaged 6.4 assists per game last season. “I like to get my teammates involved, I love to pass and see my teammates do well if they’re scoring, that’s just as good as me scoring.”

Although Sonius, PHI’s 26th-ranked 2016 is coming off a tremendous sophomore season in which he averaged 15.2 points per game, he’s still waiting to receive any college interest.

“I have not been talked to at all,” he said,

Along with basketball, the active junior plays football, baseball and runs track, but he made it clear that it’s no contest which is his true passion.

“Basketball is definitely my priority and I want to play basketball at the next level,” Sonius said. “It’s my favorite sport and something I really want to look into.”