Dual Sports Stars- Given Kalipinde & Dontae Johnson
by Alex Schwartz
I was on ESPN Rise today checking out the site's boys' soccer All-America teams (I like a lot of sports, not just basketball!!!), and saw something interesting. Given Kalipinde '09 of the Episcopal School (VA) was listed as a Third Team All-America and it stated that he was going to Loyola Marymount for basketball. This is the same Kalipinde who was great at The Hoop Group Elite Camp Session II over the summer and was, at one time, ranked in the Rivals 150. Looking back on it, Given had told me at HG Elite that LMU "might consider . . . making [him] play soccer too." Well, it appears that Kalipinde truly is a major two-sport star. Not only is he one of the best senior basketball players in the nation, he is one of the top soccer players in America, regardless of class. It is much more often that you hear about a basketball player also shining in football, so the fact that Kalipinde is so adept at soccer along with basketball is quite special. Congratulations to Given Kalipinde on a fabulous high school athletic career, one that is not done just yet.
Another dual sport star that has been featured a few times by Northstar Basketball is Dontae Johnson '10 of The Pennington School (NJ). A 6'3 combo forward on the hardwood, Johnson is a big-time safety/wide receiver on the gridiron. Dontae is being heavily recruited by many major college programs as a safety, and plans to play football in college. Johnson, who has a GPA of about 3.6, currently holds offers from Maryland, North Carolina State, and Michigan State. As well, he is being courted, in varying degrees, by schools such as Penn State, Rutgers, Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Boston College, Minnesota, Oregon, Princeton, Richmond, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Stanford, and Vanderbilt. The junior is already under consideration for next year's Under Armour All-America Game, and is on the ESPNU 250 Watch List. Meanwhile, Johnson is leading the 9-3 Pennington Red Raiders' basketball team in rebounds at 8.6 per game and is also averaging nearly 11 points per contest.
I was on ESPN Rise today checking out the site's boys' soccer All-America teams (I like a lot of sports, not just basketball!!!), and saw something interesting. Given Kalipinde '09 of the Episcopal School (VA) was listed as a Third Team All-America and it stated that he was going to Loyola Marymount for basketball. This is the same Kalipinde who was great at The Hoop Group Elite Camp Session II over the summer and was, at one time, ranked in the Rivals 150. Looking back on it, Given had told me at HG Elite that LMU "might consider . . . making [him] play soccer too." Well, it appears that Kalipinde truly is a major two-sport star. Not only is he one of the best senior basketball players in the nation, he is one of the top soccer players in America, regardless of class. It is much more often that you hear about a basketball player also shining in football, so the fact that Kalipinde is so adept at soccer along with basketball is quite special. Congratulations to Given Kalipinde on a fabulous high school athletic career, one that is not done just yet.
Another dual sport star that has been featured a few times by Northstar Basketball is Dontae Johnson '10 of The Pennington School (NJ). A 6'3 combo forward on the hardwood, Johnson is a big-time safety/wide receiver on the gridiron. Dontae is being heavily recruited by many major college programs as a safety, and plans to play football in college. Johnson, who has a GPA of about 3.6, currently holds offers from Maryland, North Carolina State, and Michigan State. As well, he is being courted, in varying degrees, by schools such as Penn State, Rutgers, Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Boston College, Minnesota, Oregon, Princeton, Richmond, Ohio State, Virginia Tech, Stanford, and Vanderbilt. The junior is already under consideration for next year's Under Armour All-America Game, and is on the ESPNU 250 Watch List. Meanwhile, Johnson is leading the 9-3 Pennington Red Raiders' basketball team in rebounds at 8.6 per game and is also averaging nearly 11 points per contest.
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