Hellige signs with Division III Cornell

FORT MADISON - Cornell College’s men’s basketball program was the first to take an interest in Holy Trinity senior Luke Hellige.
It was a big part of the reason Hellige signed with the program on Tuesday.
“I just really liked the school, and I really liked the coach,” Hellige said after his signing ceremony as part of Holy Trinity’s senior awards day. “They were the first ones that offered me, and that meant a lot to me.”
“They were the first school to offer him right after his junior year,” said John Hellige, Luke’s father and Holy Trinity’s boys basketball coach. “Dave Schlabaugh runs the Snow Valley Camp, a really, really popular camp. Luke's been there several times, so we knew Dave super well. Great school, great athletic facilities. We've been up and watched several practices. We've been up to watch several games, and it just really felt like a good fit for Luke overall.”
Luke Hellige was a first-team Class 1A all-state selection by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association last season, his second all-state honor. He averaged 26.6 points per game, ranking fifth in Class 1A and 10th overall, was 12th in the state in points with 639, and tied for seventh in the state with 89 3-pointers. He finished his career with the Crusaders with 1,792 points, including 238 3-pointers. 
John Hellige said it was fitting that Luke signed with Cornell in Holy Trinity’s Shottenkirk Gym.
“It’s just really exciting,” he said. “Luke's worked super hard. We spent a lot of late nights and weekends in here with the team, or it was just me and him just putting up shot after shot after shot. I couldn't think of a more deserving kid to get a chance to play at the next level.”
Cornell, an NCAA Division III school, went 15-10 last season, 6-6 in the Midwest Conference.
Luke Hellige has already been working on playing at the college level, including working with former Iowa Wesleyan coach Alan Magnani.
“You can see the little tape marks on the floor where we’ve put down the college 3-point line,” John Hellige said, smiling. “He’s been getting up a lot of shots late at night, and then hitting the weight room really hard. Alan’s just kind of toughening him up for that next level. He knows what it takes to get there, and it's really beneficial.”
“I'm going to have to really get in the weight room,” said Luke Hellige, who will be completing his baseball career with Fort Madison High School this summer. “I just need to work on my overall game, because I’m going to be playing at a different level.”