Recruiting Report: PJ Appicelli (2016)
Update on 10/13/15 from Alex Conover Sometimes it’s very, very hard to choose a favorite sport. PJ Appicelli loves basketball, as evident by him joining a very competitive AAU team with Select Altenhofen and helping them to a No. 9-ranking…
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Continue ReadingUpdate on 10/13/15 from Alex Conover
Sometimes it’s very, very hard to choose a favorite sport.
PJ Appicelli loves basketball, as evident by him joining a very competitive AAU team with Select Altenhofen and helping them to a No. 9-ranking in our 17U section with a 36-13 record. After finishing that season, he went straight into football camp as the starting quarterback for his high school — much like fellow Select teammates Nick Dufault (Waseca) and Henry Benson (Roseville).
The Winona football team was just 1-7 in 2014, but PJ and company have gone a nearly-miraculous 7-1 this fall. They’ve got the community buzzing about the best season for WSHS since the late 1980s.
All that success has renewed PJ’s interest in playing quarterback in college, as the interest has streamed in.
“I have continued to get football stuff from multiple schools, and I am considered college ball more than last time we talked,” PJ said. “It might just be because of our winning season this year so far, but yeah, I’m still not too sure. I need to reach out a bit more to basketball coaches.
“For football, I’ve heard from Gustavus, Mankato State, I've been to two game days at Winona State, a ton of stuff from St. Olaf, some from Bethel, University of Jamestown, UW-River Falls, CSB/SJU, University of MN-Crookston and Concordia-St. Paul.”
For hoops, which is likely his top preference as a college sport, PJ has visited St. Scholastica and attended the UM-Duluth camp, where the coach said he did a good job and has followed up via email. He’s still trying to figure out which programs are serious and which ones are just sending informative materials.
“With my basketball recruitment, I've just been seeing what comes in,” PJ added. “But I need to take time to sit down and reach out a bit to some more schools.”
Update from 6/9/15 by Alex Conover
Although his varsity basketball team didn’t have the best 2014-15 year on the hardwood, PJ Appicelli still has plenty of love coming in — for multiple sports.
There are several factors in play. The schools who are interested in him playing quarterback are 15-fold, including WSU, SMSU, UMD, Bemidji, SDSU, and several more. At 6-3 with the ability to sling the ball, it’s understandable.
But in his first year of grassroots play with Select Alt, PJ has also drawn significant college hoops interest. That includes Gustavus, Saint Mary’s, St. Scholastica, Viterbo, Hamline, U of Chicago, U of Mary, and Western Texas A&M.
With both sports in play, it’s easy to see why a decision might be difficult. But for PJ, it’s not that hard.
“(I’m leaning towards) basketball for sure,” Appicelli said. “I don’t like football enough to play another four years in college.”
“I haven’t taken any visits yet, but we will this summer. If D3 is all that’s offered to me to play, then yeah. But I’d really like at least D2, and who wouldn’t like D1?”
PJ sees his role on Select Alt as someone who doesn’t do all the scoring, but still gets shots and plays good D. He hustles and passes well, showing strong team play.