Nov. 12--Before becoming teammates next season at Northwestern, Rapolas Ivanauskas has a score to settle with Barret Benson.
The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Benson, a senior at Hinsdale South, scored 25 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in a victory over Ivanauskas' team at the Under Armour All-American Camp in Charlotte, N.C., in early July. Ivanauskas, who played at Barrington before his summer transfer to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, N.H., finished with eight points and five rebounds before fouling out.
"It was fun," Benson said of his summer encounter with Ivanauskas. "We were talking the whole time. I gave him a lot of work. He fouled out real quick. He couldn't stop me in the post."
The 6-9, 220-pound Ivanauskas had a slightly different takeaway from his battle with Benson.
"I'm confident that won't happen again in my Northwestern career though," Ivanauskas said, laughing. "I'm sure I'll get a lot of opportunities playing him one-on-one, then we'll see who comes out winning that time. We'll have lots of battles I'm sure."
Ivanauskas and Benson both signed their national letters of intent to attend Northwestern on Wednesday during the first day of the early signing period. The Wildcats' class also includes guard Isiah Brown of Lynnwood, Wash..
In April, Ivanauskas became the first player from the Class of 2016 to commit to Northwestern coach Chris Collins. He averaged 18 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.3 blocks during his junior season at Barrington.
Benson, who averaged 18.8 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3 blocks per game last season, decided playing for Collins and staying close to home outweighed waiting for a scholarship offer from Stanford.
"I like (Collins') intensity, his fire," Benson said. "Anybody who meets him, they can see that competitive edge he has. He's such a great coach and has so much knowledge from his family and his experience playing and coaching. He's somebody great to learn from.
"I have a lot of close family and staying home allows them to come to my games. That's a big bonus."
Both recruits said they look forward to making history at Northwestern, the only major-conference program that has never been selected for the NCAA Tournament.
"Coach Collins' vision for the program is huge," Ivanauskas said. "We all have massive goals that we know we are capable of. We want to make history in our hometown and be great."
"I've learned about becoming a man in ways of taking care of myself, living without my family and the amount of responsibilities and not relying on anyone to do anything for you, just being a independent man," he said.
The Lithuanian-born Ivanauskas was named a New England Prep School Athletic Council Class AAA preseason first-team all-league selection, according to Brewster Academy coach Jason Smith.
"We're expecting big things from Rap," Smith said. "Our league is ridiculous. Without question, it's the best league in the country."
Benson said he has added five pounds of muscle since the summer, and worked on his ball-handling and mid-range jumper. He's excited to add some more purple to his wardrobe, and playing on the same team with Ivanauskas.
"I've bought two Northwestern T-shirts and a visor, but I'll get a lot of stuff once I get there, so I don't want to overload on stuff yet," Benson said. "Combining our talent and work ethic with the other people at Northwestern, that is going to be a great combination."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
