Published: January 02, 2009 08:27 pm         

Marshall's Eitel brothers commit to Indiana State

Twins cap big week with college choice

TERRE HAUTE — Raise your hand if you live in the Wabash Valley and you think you had a bigger week than Marshall High School boys basketball players Logan and Lucas Eitel.

No one’s going to accuse you of lying, but the Eitel twins have enjoyed a week that will be difficult to top for the rest of their lives.

With their team unbeaten and fresh off an eye-opening Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic championship Tuesday, Logan and Lucas Eitel of Marshall, Ill., sweetened their week by committing to play men’s basketball at Indiana State.

Both Eitels confirmed to the Tribune-Star on Friday night that they are bound for ISU, where they will walk on next season.

“It’s kind of been a blur over the last week or so. Winning games, winning tournaments, it’s unbelievable. And now we’re playing basketball at ISU? It’s a dream come true,” Lucas Eitel said.

Both Eitels made a visit to ISU on Friday and made their decision after consultation with friends and family. Both have been fixtures at ISU games. They attended ISU’s loss to Creighton on Wednesday, even before they were sought by the ISU coaching staff to play there.

“We’ve always wanted to go there. Division I has been our goal all the way through high school. [Friday] we talked to the coaches, players and went to the practice. We really liked what we saw. We think it’s a great fit,” Logan Eitel said.

Lucas Eitel said he’s been in Hulman Center for some of ISU’s most memorable recent victories.

“We were real little when [Michael] Menser and [Matt] Renn were there. But we remember a lot of [David] Moss and [Tyson] Schnitker. I watched them beat Indiana [2005] and beat Purdue [2006] once. We’ve always watched games there and have followed them for a long time. We ultimately wanted to play at the highest level possible. We wanted to stay pretty close and ISU was perfect for that, perfect in so many ways,” Lucas Eitel said.

Both Eitels are 6 foot 4, 180 pounds. Lucas Eitel averages 17.3 points per game, while Logan Eitel averages 15.1 points.

They play all over the floor in Marshall’s balanced attack, but project as guards at the collegiate level, with the possibility of playing the three in a small lineup.

They would seemingly be a very good fit in ISU coach Kevin McKenna’s spread offense. Both are adept outside shooters who cut well to the basket and can score inside. Both also have rebounded well at the high school level.

“One of Logan and I’s strong suits is … I guess you’d say we play pretty smart,” Lucas Eitel said. “The way they play over there, you have to play smart because you have to run a lot of sets. It’s not necessarily the same as what we run at Marshall, but we’re familiar with it.”

ISU beat out Eastern Illinois, Southern Indiana, the University of Indianapolis and McKendree for the Eitels, in addition to junior colleges Vincennes, Olney Central and Lincoln Land.

According to Logan Eitel, the twins did not present themselves as a package deal to potential recruiters.

“No, I’d say it was more than likely going to happen out of circumstance, we’d like to play together, and we thought that was the way it was always going to turn out to be, but it didn’t have to turn out that way,” he said.

The week has been nearly as gratifying for Marshall coach Tom Brannan — not only for the Eitels, but for the Lions’ program, which currently stands at 12-0 going into tonight’s home game against Tri-County.

“Number one, I’m excited for them. They put in a lot of hard work. It just shows that hard work pays off,” Brannan said. “It’s good for them, but it’s also good for the basketball family, by that I mean the Marshall basketball family. To have kids come through, grow, and get better each year … not only is it a feather in their cap, but it’s a feather in the cap of the program. Hopefully, young kids around Marshall will see what they’ve done and want to be a part of it.”

The Eitels join Rockville’s R.J. Mahurin and Terre Haute South’s Jake Odum as local products slated for the ISU roster, starting next season.

Not to be overlooked in the Eitels’ growing Terre Haute-based family athletic footprint is brother Derek Eitel, the starting quarterback on Rose-Hulman’s football team.