Commitment Report: Collin Kramer (2016)

<h2>November 5th Update</h2>Have you taken the time to swing by the Dakota Wesleyan website to see how many of last year’s South Dakota senior standouts joined the DWU program? More than I am willing to run through at the moment I can tell you that. What’s even wilder is that they are off to an even better start to their 2016 class. Already DWU nabbed Ty Hoglund from Dell Rapids in the past couple weeks and yesterday 6-foot-7 forward Collin Kramer joined his Dakota Schooler teammate as a committed DWU future competitor. Kramer and Hoglund are both top ten player prospects in South Dakota’s 2016 class so the talent level in Mitchell, South Dakota is about to get even better. “I just really enjoyed my visit and like the way coach Wilber has his team play,” Kramer said yesterday after making his college decision. “I also have good friendships with some of the current players and Ty Hoglund, and they are a team who could make a championship run every year. They also play in a tough conference which is always fun.” Not only does Colllin get to join friends on the team in the future and play for a respected coach in Matt Wilber in the Great Plains Athletic Conference, he also gets to play in the basketball crazed town of Mitchell in the Corn Palace with early playing time a real possibility. “I also will get the opportunity to play early in my career where if I would have chosen one of the division two schools recruiting me I wouldn't have played much till sophomore or junior year,” Kramer said. With his choice out of the way Collin is now focused on basketball, right? Well, maybe soon. There is something else he is currently working on. “I’m very excited for basketball,” Collin said. “It has not hit me how close basketball really is because our football team is so deep in playoffs but our goal is to get back to the state tournament.” This Saturday Kramer and Sioux Valley take on Tri-Valley in the Class 11B state semi-finals. The 6-foot-6/6-foot-7, 195 pound talent plays wideout and defensive back on the football team totaling 23 receptions and three scores in the air while recording 57 tackles which is the third highest total on the team. At the end of the month Collin will then start thinking about his basketball team which is ranked sixth in the Class A preseason poll. <h2>August 21st Update</h2>Collin Kramer stands 6-foot-7 with length and vertical bounce that allow him to play even bigger at times. His potential placed him on the Dakota Schoolers Mueller squad that won 18 games this spring/summer. The team was hoping to play better than they did but the experience was high in value. “It went okay overall,” Collin said of his Grassroots season. “With all the talent we had our record should have been better than what it showed but it really helped me develop my game and become an overall better player! “It was exciting seeing new places and being with people on my team or possibly on the other teams that I might be playing against or playing with in college.” Kramer has now turned his focus to the winter season with Sioux Valley where expectations are high. “We have a lot returning for us,” Collin said about his senior season squad. “It should be a great season with a lot of success with the talent we have on the floor and a great coach helping us along so I expect nothing but success from us!” Collin is still looking at Dakota based division two programs for his future destination. “I have a few visits planned for schools in the NSIC,” Kramer explained. “But the schools I’m talking to most right now are Augustana, Northern State, Minot State, and University of Sioux Falls.” Kramer also said that he will visit Augustana, Northern State, and USF for sure. <h2>April 29th Update</h2>Collin Kramer is that guy that will have college coaches flipping the roster books this summer. They will see a long and agile 6-foot-7 forward and focus a bit harder. From there the coaches will see a dunk and then memorize the name. That’s how it works in the Grassroots season. Coaches looking for guys that have the right fit potentially. After that they watch consistency of production. So far the Schoolers are 6-3 so the record is fine. “It's been going all right,” Collin said of two weekends of Schoolers play. “We are getting better every game and getting in a better flow with each other! With five more tourneys for us we should be pretty good by the last tournament in St. Louis!” PHD tends to agree. This weekend the Schoolers slipped up against the Omaha Crusaders seconds squad (who is still the second best team in Nebraska) but won all the rest of the games including a hammering of Schoolers Daly. That Daly win was big as they lost to Daly two weeks ago in the Twin Cities. Let’s not forget that in the Twin Cities, the Kramer and the Mueller squad beat a very good Omaha Crusaders top team and crushed Wear Out the Net and the Wisconsin Starz. “Team wise I want to finally win the SPTS title,” said Kramer of his summer goals. “We have been so close the past two years. As an individual I want to improve at the three spot and prepare myself for my future as a player!” That’s the other part about the spring and summer. These kids want to win and show their pride in their program with championships. But they also have a coaching section watching their actions regularly. With the potential Collin has, he has extra eyes on him. “Most NSIC schools have shown interest and I’ve gotten a few invites to some elite camps from local division schools like North Dakota and South Dakota.” When we had previously talked to Collin he was hearing a lot from Augustana, Northern State, and the University of Mary amongst others. <h2>March 25th Update</h2>Six-foot-6, 195 pound forward Collin Kramer helped Sioux Valley to a 13-9 record before falling to Clark/Willow Lake. It was a solid year all around, another year of progress for Kramer and his team. “The season went pretty well for me as an individual,” said Kramer. “I raised my average from last year by eight points and got the opportunity to be a leader for my Team! “My top moments were getting to play against the best teams in the state and getting to compete with great players from around the area.” Next up is playing with the Dakota Schoolers and this is a 17U group that should be loaded with talent. “I’m very excited, this should be my best summer with the Schoolers that I had had so far,” Kramer said. “The amount of talent on our team is overwhelming! “We have players like Majok Kur, Ty Hoglund, and Sam Siganos, it is only going improve me more for my senior season! My main goals are to improve my strength and my ball handling skills along with my outside game.” Kramer has consistently heard from schools at the D2 level and that has continued into March. “I'm hearing a lot from the NSIC schools like Augustana, Northern State, and the University of Mary. A few schools from the G Pac as well.” <h2>Jan 21 update</h2>One of the top five junior prospects in South Dakota is 6-foot-6 Collin Kramer of Sioux Valley, a 6-foot-6 195 pound power forward. His Cossacks team is 7-5 on the season after the loss of one of the best players in the state. “We are trying to come together more since the loss of Tayt Vincent, after losing him we had to change our offense and how we could win games,” said Kramer. “For myself I had to step up and score more for my team and trying to be a leader after such a big loss like Tayt. But our goal remains the same and that is to win the state championship and we have proved we are up for the task and ready to take on any one we have to that gets between us and our ultimate goal!” Kramer is likely a Northern Sun recruit and schools at that level have already been in contact. “Right now Northern State, Augustana, and Univeristy of Mary are talking to me the most!,” said Kramer. “I'd like to go to a school that has great tradition of winning. “I'd like to go division one just like every other prospect out there but it's mainly just a waiting game at this point to see who has interest in me.” 2015 has been good to Kramer thus far. He started out with 24 points, seven assists, and six teals in a blowout over Baltic and recently scored 25 in a key win over McCook Central/Montrose.