Back in July, Julius Gizzi was one of top scorers at both the NY2LA Summer Jam and Final Chapter Tournaments while playing with Legacy Ice. Now the 6’3” senior two guard of New Palestine High School (IN) has announced his college commitment.
On Monday, Gizzi made his commitment to Indiana Wesleyan University. His first visit to Indiana Wesleyan was back in March when they hosted the NAIA National Tournament which is when he said he “fell in love with IWU.” Adding in on the visit, “The environment was crazy. Being able to be with the team, in the locker room and stay overnight with the team was crazy.” Indiana Wesleyan is one of the top NAIA programs in the nation having won national championships in 2014, 2016, and 2018.
Gizzi had offers from multiple other NAIA programs including Huntington, Taylor, and University of St. Francis in addition to interest from some high academic division one programs. The coaching staff played a huge role in him choosing Indiana Wesleyan over his other suitors. “The relationship that I’ve created with coach Tonagel and Coach Clark as well as the team is everything that i could ask for. Everyone at IWU plays for one goal and that’s to win a NAIA championship. Coach T is one of the best coaches to ever do it and the culture and success at IWU was something I fell in love with the first time I visited. Being able to play hoops at the highest-level while being able to grow in my faith was very important to me.”
As well to the coaching staff, their play on the court was a factor. When asked how his game will fit in with them, Gizzi said “There’s a lot of freedom and trust on the court at IWU and I don’t think there would be a better system for me to step into as a freshman than Indiana Wesleyan.”