Illinois Next-Level Preps: December 16 College Basketball Roundup
On Wednesday, 47 former Illinois high school basketball players played in a Division I basketball game. There were plenty of strong performances, as 13 total players reached double digits, and two women had double-doubles.
You can also view all Division I men from Illinois and Division I women from Illinois.
The DJ Steward Highlight Show
At 9:34 p.m. last night I got a text that simply read “Something happened” along with this Tweet:
I wasn’t watching Duke, so I took to Twitter and found dozens of tweets with plenty of flame emojis. Then, there it was: A smooth DJ Steward crossover into a three.
Steward, a former Whitney Young and Fenwick player, did most of his work from beyond the arc, knocking down a trio of threes on his way to 16 points. He’s shooting 41.7 percent from the arc for the year on nearly five attempts per game.
What I always thought was underrated about Steward’s game was his ability to cause havoc defensively with his deceptive wing span. He’s averaging 1.2 steals for the season and had two Wednesday. This one and the subsequent and-one put the nail in the coffin for Notre Dame as Duke moved to 1-0 in conference play:
More Reading:
- Duke Chronicle: “Freshman trio emerges for Duke men’s basketball in win at Notre Dame“
- ACCSports.com: “How Matthew Hurt Unlocks New Offensive Components, While Duke Goes to Its 3-Guard Approach“
Glenbrook South Grads Shine for Valpo
Another game, more milestones for Glenbrook South alumni Carie Weinman and Caitlin Morrison at Valparaiso.
On Dec. 12, Weinman scored 24 points and Morrison scored 18 points — both career highs — in a win over Western Michigan.
On Wednesday, the duo again came up big, this time in an 88-83 win over Xavier. For Weinman, it was a new career high at 26 points, adding 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Morrison scored 12 points of her own; not a career high, but her three with 33 seconds remaining put the game out of reach.
As the Crusaders move to 4-2, Weinman, a redshirt junior, leads the team in scoring and steals. Morrison, a redshirt senior, is fourth in scoring. The former Glenbrook South and All In Athletics players were fourth and sixth in scoring for Valpo a year ago, respectively.
Belleville West’s Smith Seals Comeback for Chattanooga
With just seconds left against UNC Asheville, it looked like Chattanooga’s perfect start was coming to an end. The Mocs trailed 66-63. Then, pure craziness ensued.
Trey Doomes was fouled and knocked down both free throws. With six seconds to go, Chattanooga got a steal and made a layup to go up 67-66.
With three seconds remaining, Malachi Smith — a sophomore from Belleville West — stole a tipped inbound pass. He knocked down both free throws after the foul to cement the 69-66 win.
Chattanooga is now 7-0 for the first time in school history. Smith had 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. It’s just his latest big performance in what has become a breakout season: After averaging 5.4 points as a freshman, he’s averaging 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.7 steals in 2020-21.
Career-High for Normal Grad Feit
Normal Community’s Abby Feit was an immediate star at Evansville, winning MVC Newcomer of the Year honors and starting every game in 2019-20 as a freshman. She’s picked up right where she left off.
On Wednesday against Oakland City Feit had career-highs in points (28), steals (6) and blocks (4), adding 14 rebounds.
After averaging 13.7 points and 8.4 rebounds in her freshman campaign, she’s up to 19.3 points and 10 rebounds so far through three games.
All Performances by Men from Illinois High Schools (12.15.2020)
| Player | HS | College | Result | Min. | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | Blk. | Stl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rapolas Ivanauskas | Barrington | Cincinnati | L: 71-74 (USF) | 20 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malachi Smith | Belleville West | Chattanooga | W: 69-66 (UNCA) | 34 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| Kyndall Davis | Bogan / Homewood-Flossmoor | Long Island | W: 75-55 (SH) | 13 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Darius Burford | Bolingbrook | Elon | W: 66-56 (CMPBL) | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Micah Bradford | Bradley-Bourbonnais | Southern | L: 46-88 (UAB) | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Frank Jakubicek | Cary-Grove | Belmont | W: 64-54 (KENN) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jimmy Sotos | Conant | Ohio State | L: 60-70 (PUR) | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Semaj Henderson | Downers Grove North | Jacksonville State | W: 74-50 (TT) | 15 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Javion May | Hope Academy | Sam Houston St. | L: 63-79 (TEX) | 13 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jamere Hill | Joliet West | Toledo | W: 96-87 (MARSH) | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| R.J. McGee | Kenwood | Tulane | L: 74-80 (MEMP) | 22 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Dane Quest | Lake Forest | Tennessee Tech | L: 50-74 (JSU) | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Brown | Marist | Wagner | L: 62-74 (BRYANT) | 14 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Damaria Franklin | Niles North | Tennessee Tech | L: 50-74 (JSU) | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Greg Outlaw | Orr | Central Connecticut St. | W: 78-59 (STF) | 29 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Tujautae Williams | Orr | Tennessee Tech | L: 50-74 (JSU) | 21 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Connor Kochera | Saint Viator | William & Mary | W: 75-58 (HAMP) | 17 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Willie Herenton | Stevenson | Miami (FL) | L: 55-70 (PITT) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alonzo Verge Jr. | Thornton / Willowbrook | Arizona St. | L: 63-76 (UTEP) | 30 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Xavier Castaneda | Whitney Young | South Florida | W: 74-71 (CIN) | 25 | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| DJ Steward | Whitney Young / Fenwick | Duke | W: 75-65 (ND) | 29 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
All Performances by Women from Illinois High Schools (12.15.2020)
| Player | HS | College | Result | Min. | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | Blk. | Stl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jayden Marable | Bolingbrook | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mikayla Brandon | Bradley-Bourbonnais | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 28 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| A'Jah Davis | DeKalb | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 26 | 12 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Myriah Haywood | Edwardsville | Western Kentucky | W: 82-49 (BLMN) | 31 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Allysah Boothe | Evanston | Longwood | W: 84-55 (RAD) | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emily Meinert | Galesburg | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 14 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Carie Weinman | Glenbrook South | Valparaiso | W: 88-83 (XAV) | 33 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Caitlin Morrison | Glenbrook South | Valparaiso | W: 88-83 (XAV) | 25 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Alyssa Iverson | Harvest Christian | Liberty | W: 76-66 (HP) | 32 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| Paulina Castro | Harvest Christian | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nadia Green | Homewood-Flossmoor | Missouri | W: 84-45 (NO) | 20 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan King | Hononegah | Marquette | W: 66-62 (SJ) | 32 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 5 |
| Darrion Rogers | Lake Park West | DePaul | W: 86-82 (UK) | 30 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Janae Poisson | Marian Catholic | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 19 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kaylee Bambule | Montini | Ohio | W: 77-67 (NIU) | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Aikens | Morgan Park | Southern | L: 52-86 (BAY) | 13 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Abby Feit | Normal | Evansville | W: 84-52 (OAKC) | 35 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 6 |
| Sydney Thurwalker | O'Fallon | Evansville | W: 84-52 (OAKC) | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Errin Hodges | Pontiac | NIU | L: 67-77 (OHIO) | 22 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Kiana Coomber | Prairie Central | Delaware State | L: 55-72 (LPA) | 29 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Dee Brown | Proviso East | Liberty | W: 76-66 (HP) | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Nadege Jean | Rich South | DePaul | W: 86-82 (UK) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Taylor Valladay | Rich South | Marquette | W: 66-62 (SJ) | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Camryn Taylor | Richwoods | Marquette | W: 66-62 (SJ) | 29 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Antwainette Walker | St. Francis | Marquette | W: 66-62 (SJ) | 16 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kayla Caudle | Vernon Hills | DePaul | W: 86-82 (UK) | 16 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Sign up below to receive our free weekly newsletter for the latest Illinois high school basketball news and stories.