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In the end, Bronson Koenig of La Crosse Aquinas went with his strong gut feeling.
 
Turning down scholarship offers from the likes of Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Virginia, among many others, Koenig on Saturday gave Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan a verbal commitment to play his college basketball in Madison.
 
Koenig, an extremely talented 6-foot-3 point guard, gave Ryan the good news during the Badgers’ football game against South Dakota at Camp Randall Stadium.
 
“It was a really difficult choice,” said Koenig, who is ranked No. 57 nationally in the class of 2013 by ESPN.com. “Obviously, Duke and North Carolina are great choices. And so is Virginia.
 
“It boiled down to Wisconsin or North Carolina, and I just feel like I belong at Wisconsin. It’s close to home and I have a great feeling in my stomach when I’m on campus. It’s home for me.”
 
Ranked No. 1 among state prospects in the class of 2013 by WisSports.net, Koenig led Aquinas to the WIAA Division 3 state championship and a 27-1 record as a sophomore when he averaged 17.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and nearly 3.0 assists per contest under coach Rick Schneider.
 
The co-Most Valuable Player in the Mississippi Valley Conference along with junior Matt Thomas of Onalaska, Koenig is a quick, shifty lead guard who has great court vision along with the ability to knock down shots from beyond the three-point arc.
 
Koenig is at his best leading the fast-break and getting the ball to his teammates with eye-opening passes in the open court.  
 
“Coach Ryan and I talked about style of play quite a bit,” Koenig said. “He is recruiting players who will be able to run. Knowing that we will run the swing offense, but also run in the future, was a big part of my decision.”
 
Another huge factor in Koenig’s decision to play in his home state centered on the opportunity to compete alongside Wisconsin Playground Warrior teammate Sam Dekker, an extremely talented and versatile 6-7 senior from Sheboygan Lutheran who will be a sophomore at Wisconsin when Koenig joins the program in the fall of 2013.
 
“I guess you could say I feel very comfortable with Sam,” Koenig said. “I’ve played with him so much and have developed a good friendship with him. He’s a guy who can definitely play in an up-tempo style so I’m looking forward to doing a lot of running with him at Wisconsin.”
 
Koenig said the fact Ryan and assistant coach Greg Gard attended the vast majority of his travel-team games with the Playground Warriors over the past two seasons definitely played a role in his decision to pick the Badgers over North Carolina.
 
“Coach Ryan and coach Gard came to pretty much all of my games the past two years,” Koenig said. “They really showed how much they wanted me and that did make an impression on me.”
 
While Koenig is content with his decision and eager to move forward, he did say he had some mixed feelings about ending the whole recruiting process in September prior to the start of his junior season at Aquinas.
 
“Yes and no,” he said when asked if he was relieved his decision was now behind him. “This is the time of year when players in the class of 2012 are committing and taking official visits.
 
“I’m giving up home visits with coaches and official visits to schools, but I am glad to have it behind me. It’s a relief.”
 
Now Koenig can concentrate on leading Aquinas to successive conference and state championships.
 
Though the Blugolds lost three starters to graduation, Koenig believes his squad can repeat its Division 3 state title.
 
“Heck, I think we can go undefeated,” he said. “I know East Troy is very good, but we wouldn’t play them until the state finals. Our team is a bit young and inexperienced, and we don’t have a big guy in the post, but we are athletic and can get up and down the floor.”
 
Koenig is the unquestioned leader for Aquinas, who also return promising 6-6 junior Mike Conway to the starting rotation along with key reserves Quinn McCartney (6-4), Mike Favre (6-2) and Reggie Rabb (5-10), among others.
 
“Size and defense are concerns,” said Schneider, who has led Aquinas to two state championships and 136 victories in six years as head coach. “But we will be very strong at the point-guard position with Bronson back, and we have some capable scorers.”
 
Aquinas will play an extremely difficult schedule. In addition to games against conference rivals Onalaska, La Crosse Logan, La Crosse Central and Holmen, the Blugolds face Madison Edgewood, Kaukauna, Whitefish Bay Dominican, Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln, Eau Claire Regis, Wisconsin Dells and St. Paul Johnson in non-league outings.