Many college students spend their summers trying to get away from the grind of school and campus life.
Two incoming freshman at Illinois Wesleyan are getting a jump–start on their classmates.

Next fall Dexter Walker and Jordan Zimmer will be teammates at Illinois Wesleyan.
Last weekend they both had the chance to play in their new gym in the IBCA All–Star game.

IWU Coach Ron Rose said, "Anytime you can have a recruit good enough to play in this game it's a big deal. (And you have two) It's Outstanding."

Walker and Zimmer played in different games Saturday Night.
But having the chance to play in the Shirk Center and spend the weekend together will give them an advantage when school starts.

IWU Incoming Freshman Jordan Zimmer said, "I just think the better we know each other the better we can handle each other on the court. We’ll be able to find each other better and as we continue to play together with the other guys we’ll just get better and better."

IWU Incoming Freshman Dexter Walker said, "Going into this gym I feel like I know what I’m doing, I know where I’m at. I don’t have to worry about new rims, new hoops, nothing. I’ve been here I’m familiar with it."

Rose said, "It’s a big jump when you go from High School to college. There’s a lot of newness. You go from living at home to living in the dorms and I think the familiarity they have with each other and being here as part of Illinois Wesleyan already will make that transition even easier."

Walker and Zimmer won't just be teammates when they start their freshman years.
They'll also be roommates.

Zimmer said, "We’ll have common experiences with each other. You know kind of a common denominator to make you gel a little bit better."

Walker said, "Well, we’ll find out about that. We’ll see how neat he is and how neat I am and how well that goes together, but I think it will go great."