By Joe Henricksen
In the never-ending search for size in the college game, Toledo landed one of the state’s biggest big men in Warren’s Nathan Boothe. The 6-9, 265-pounder gave Toledo and coach Tod Kowalczyk a verbal commitment Thursday morning.
Boothe is currently on an unofficial visit to Toledo, his second trip to the school, and believes the Mid-American Conference school is a perfect fit.
“The academics and athletics both are perfect for what I’m looking for,” says Boothe. “I like the school, the facilities, and I think there is a lot more talent coming in. Plus, I really like and get along with the coaching staff.”
Boothe stated he was receiving recruiting interest from South Dakota State, Wisconsin-Green Bay and Western Michigan.
Boothe, who played on the travel circuit with NLP this past spring and summer, was a key figure in helping Warren to a second-place finish in last year’s Class 4A state tournament. The skilled big man averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds a game in helping the Blue Devils to a 31-4 season a year ago. With Boothe, Darius Paul, JoVaughn Gaines and Jameris Smith all returning this year, Warren will be a preseason top five team in the state when the season tips off in November.
Toledo continues to recruit the state of Illinois hard and are heavily involved with Proviso East point guard Keith Carter. The Rockets landed a recruiting prize in Hillcrest point guard Julius “Juice” Brown, who will be a freshman this coming season. Mt. Carmel product Delino Dear, a 6-9 sophomore, started 31 games last season for the Rockets and averaged 8.1 points and 5 rebounds a game as a freshman.
