Buchanan Commits to Ohio State; Turvy Chooses Northwestern
©Colette Lewis 2008--
Chase Buchanan is currently playing the Pro Circuit Futures event in Honolulu and enjoying his first visit to the 50th state, but when he starts college next fall, it will be in a state he knows well—-Ohio.
I spoke to Chase last night after I learned that he would be signing a National Letter of Intent with the Ohio State Buckeyes and he was excited about the opportunity to continue to develop his game in Columbus.
"Pretty much the main reason I'm going there is the coach, Ty Tucker," he said. "I've watched their practices, been around him and I've known him for a while. He's extremely knowledgeable about tennis, he's a good guy, he wants to help, and he's done a lot with the program in a short amount of time. It's not that easy to recruit to Ohio."
Buchanan, 17, grew up in New Albany, a suburb of Columbus, so he is pleased to be able to continue working with his longtime coach Al Matthews of the Scarborough East Tennis and Fitness Club.
"It's my hometown and my personal coach is there, so just a lot of stuff fell into place," said Buchanan, who had been courted by several of the professional sports management agencies. "One of the reasons I chose Ohio State was that I could improve a lot. I didn't want to go out onto the pro tour worried about conditioning and practicing during tournaments. If I go to college for a year or two years, or however long it takes, I can come out being the best player I can be. I thought the best way to do it was to practice and get better and come out playing at a level that is comparable to the top players in the world."
Despite being in Hawaii, Buchanan, who is at the top of the Tennis Recruiting Network's class of 2009 rankings, was aware that Buckeyes Bryan Koniecko and Justin Kronauge faced off in the ITA Indoor final Sunday in Charlottesville, and is looking forward to becoming a part of the team.
"I really enjoy the guys on the team. They're a fun group and they get along well. It should be a good group of guys to practice with. I hope to help do something good at the NCAAs."
When he returns from Hawaii, Buchanan will join fellow juniors Ryan Lipman and Gail Brodsky at Pam Shriver's annual charity event in Baltimore, the PNC Tennis Classic. Billed as a Futures/Legends challenge match, the juniors will face retired pros prior to the main event on Friday, Nov. 21, which stars Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva.
For more details on Shriver's event, visit the PNC Tennis Classic website.
For more on Chase Buchanan, see this story from New York magazine's September issue about his experience at the new Boca Raton High Performance training center.
One blue chip is staying in Columbus, but another is not. Kate Turvy has decided to attend Northwestern in the fall. I spoke to Kate late last month about her choice and the announcement appears today on The Tennis Recruiting Network.
12 comments:
So you're saying he's not playing this spring? Seems like he would start early to play/practice with a strong group that would be a favorite for the NCAAs
Looks like OSU could rise to the top of the rankings with a player like Chase in an already strong line-up.
Not surprised. He is not that good. He needs to learn how to win before he plays college tennis. Go Buckeyes.
but they lose koniecko and moneke next year. two huge losses. obviously, they will still be very good though.
OSU signed two other players from Ohio. The way Tucker develops players Kobelt and Lippert could make big jumps.
to Texas Dude
Curious...who are your referring to that is not that good...Hope you are not referring to Chase. He may not be at the same level of a Nadal or Andy Murray at his age but he is one of the best prospects that US has and had great results since the 12s when, i believe, he won the organge bowl. He has a shot and Ohio is a great choice to develop that potential. Agree he is not ready to go pro full time yet but after a year in Ohio who knows.....
Of all the blue chip recruits that have committed Buchanan and King, are by far, the best of the bunch .
to jack, since Ohio State is almost guaranteed to be pre-season number 1 in the team rankings, I think it is safe to say they rose to the top of the rankings already without him, but for next year Chase is definitley not going to hurt
look out as the Big 10 seems it gets stronger every year...and with teams like minnesota bringing in 5 foreigners it just makes it that much tougher.
I'm European and I have some questions about why the best US junior play college tennis.
Buchanan is a good player, he seems to be good enough to play pro at full time (he is already in 800 at ATP ranking). Maybe not in 2009 (still a junior), but in 2010.
A young player like this in France or Spain will try to play professional (even a lot of player worse then Buchanan). And I think it is spend his time to play collegiate tennis.
After all, I don’t see many players in top 50 ATP after playing college this past 10 years (James Blake ?). There is no visible advantage to play college, and maybe they lose time.
It is strange than so many young Americans which can be pro play college (R. Williams also, B. Khlan).
So why do these players play college tennis? Is it a question of money (they do not have enough money to play professional tennis, in the beginning it could be costly)? In this case why the USTA don’t help them, the first 2 years, just to see if they can succeed on tour?
Or is it because college sport is very important in USA? (This is very different in France for example).
eu -- I think that most junior players are realizing that very few of them will make it as professional tennis players and college tennis, with the influx of international players, is as competitive as the lower pro tiers (futures) so it is a good place to start, improve, and gauge their ability.
If they get into a top college program, they get lots of good coaching for free and practice against tough competition every day.
If they can dominate at the college level then they are ready to turn pro; if not, then they can continue to work on their game while earning a degree and giving themselves a fall-back option.
In my view, college is the smartest decision for most juniors, unless they have a really big game like Roddick or Querrey.
On college tennis...
I think it is very wise of most of our boys in the US to consider college.
Only very few can afford to make the choice to turn pro at the age of 17-18.
Unless you are Nadal or Federer, Sampras or Agassi, and have already a high ATP ranking at that time, it makes no sense to risk a career in tennis.
A few indicaters early on are winning sveral grand slam junior titles and Future events, but the real test is when you are playing on the ATP tour!
The speed at going through the ranks like the players mentioned, has been key to move into those ranks...
But there are many ways to become successful.....
A few years in college might not be the road to make it to #1 ATP....but there have been some great players needing a little more time to mature and use college play to their advantage.
Those years might be just what you need to work on your game and your confidence to finally tread in the spotlight...
So many others have shown the way
Chris Tucker
Post a Comment