Northwestern added some size to its lineup Tuesday when coach Bill Carmody announced the team had signed Davide Curletti and Luka Mirkovic to National Letters of Intent for the 2008 recruiting class.
The two newcomers will immediately impact the Wildcats’ lineup – which last year did not have a player taller than 6-foot-8 and no natural centers. Curletti stands at 6-foot-9, while Mirkovic is 6-foot-11.
“With this group, I think we addressed a need for help in the frontcourt,” Carmody said in a statement. “We’ve brought in some size, some athletic ability and also some guys who can score inside and out.”
Curletti averaged 16.1 points and 10.2 rebounds per game in helping Orchard Lake St. Mary’s High School win its third straight Catholic League Championship in Farmington Hills, Mich. He was an honorable mention for the Associated Press All-State team.
Mirkovic averaged 25 points and 15 rebounds in his lone season playing for La Lumiere High School in LaPorte, Ind., after emigrating from Serbia before last year. He scored a career high 37 points in a game this season and is rated the fourth-best player in Indiana by Hoops Indiana. Mirkovic chose NU over Louisville, DePaul and Marquette.
The two players round out a highly touted recruiting class for next year, which includes top rated stars Nick Freundt and John Shurna. The Cats return all five starters from last year’s team which struggled to an 8-22 record and 1-17 in the Big Ten.
