First of all, let me state for the record that I am not a big fan of all of this "early recruiting" that we (and most other schools) are doing these days.
Having said that, if McDermott was so willing to offer early to Dykstra and Eikmeier...then why not to Stevens?
Face the facts:
Dykstra plays on the varsity team of a school that has 277 kids (grades 7-12) in it (an average of 46 kids per grade). He plays small school BB in Iowa.
Eikmeier plays on the varsity team of a school that has 202 kids (grades 6-12) in it (an average of 28 kids per grade). He plays small school BB in Nebraska.
Stevens plays on the varsity team of a school that has 2120 kids (grades 9-12) in it (an average of 530 kids per grade). He plays bigger school BB in Indiana. His team this year was 16-4 during the regular season. They had 10 players on the varsity...5 seniors, 4 juniors, and one sophomore (Stevens).
My point is that it is much easier to play early in your HS career in places like Rock Valley HS or Bergan HS than it is in a school like Merrillville, HS.
Additionally, as I have heard adnauseam from the many Eikmeier supporters on here, most of these kids are playing in camps and in AAU sanctioned tournaments. I'm sure coaches have seen the kid play even if he has only limited minutes on his HS team.
The real question I have is why are so many Cyclone fans "drooling" over kids like Dykstra and Eikmeier?