Buchanan Commits to Rockhurst
With the fall signing period approaching, Kimberly 2020 point guard Jake Buchanan was beginning to feel the heat from college coaches. A high priority for a number of Division 2 schools, Buchanan took an official visit to Rockhurst over the weekend, a trip that put the Hawks over the top.
“I bonded really well with the team and I really like the bigger city,” Buchanan told Prep Hoops Wisconsin. “The players are really nice, I can relate to them a lot. There’s some fellow Wisconsin connections there also. It just seemed like a great place to work hard and win a lot of games.
“It just seemed like the best fit for me.”
Buchanan also held offers from St. Leo, Bemidji State, and Michigan Tech. The state’s No. 14 ranked senior, Buchanan was drawn to playing for head coach Drew Diener, a Wisconsin native who took an active approach in his recruitment.
“They were really excited to have me,” said Buchanan. “He told me they’re going to need me to make an impact for them. They think I can follow the star players there and get a bigger role down the line.”
“He’s a big reason why I committed there,” Buchanan continued. “He’s a really good guy and me and my family love him a lot.”
Buchanan, who joins former Catholic Memorial standout Rich Byhre, was also drawing late interest from Division 1 programs such as Jacksonville and Lipscomb.
“I think I can play Division 1, but Rockhurst believed in me,” he said. “I want to play a lot in college and I can see that happening there. I think we can win a lot of games too.”
As a junior, Buchanan 17.3 points and 3.7 assists per game, while leading the Papermakers to a 22-3 overall record. Although they won the Fox Valley Association outright, Kimberly was upended by Neenah in the WIAA Division 1 sectional semifinals.
Despite the losses of Reed Miller (Minnesota-Crookston) and Levi Borchert (UW-Oshkosh), Buchanan likes his group in 2019-20.
“It feels great,” he said. “I can’t wait to focus on winning, which is the best thing for my team. It allows me to help our younger guys and hopefully get them some offers down the line too.”
“I think we’re capable of winning a state title. We want to win the conference again. Making it past sectionals would be great. I think we could win a state title if we play well and play together.”
Buchanan played for Ray Allen Select during the travel season.