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:

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)

PlayerHSCollegeResultMin.Pts.Reb.Ast.Blk.Stl.
Rapolas IvanauskasBarringtonCincinnatiL: 71-74 (USF)2054000
Malachi SmithBelleville WestChattanoogaW: 69-66 (UNCA)34159502
Kyndall DavisBogan / Homewood-FlossmoorLong IslandW: 75-55 (SH)1303100
Darius BurfordBolingbrookElonW: 66-56 (CMPBL)1200002
Micah BradfordBradley-BourbonnaisSouthernL: 46-88 (UAB)1000000
Frank JakubicekCary-GroveBelmontW: 64-54 (KENN)300000
Jimmy SotosConantOhio StateL: 60-70 (PUR)730000
Semaj HendersonDowners Grove NorthJacksonville StateW: 74-50 (TT)1543202
Javion MayHope AcademySam Houston St.L: 63-79 (TEX)1321100
Jamere HillJoliet WestToledoW: 96-87 (MARSH)843100
R.J. McGeeKenwoodTulaneL: 74-80 (MEMP)2285110
Dane QuestLake ForestTennessee TechL: 50-74 (JSU)1201000
Justin BrownMaristWagnerL: 62-74 (BRYANT)1445011
Damaria FranklinNiles NorthTennessee TechL: 50-74 (JSU)2142000
Greg OutlawOrrCentral Connecticut St.W: 78-59 (STF)29103312
Tujautae WilliamsOrrTennessee TechL: 50-74 (JSU)21103001
Connor KocheraSaint ViatorWilliam & MaryW: 75-58 (HAMP)1760101
Willie HerentonStevensonMiami (FL)L: 55-70 (PITT)300000
Alonzo Verge Jr.Thornton / WillowbrookArizona St.L: 63-76 (UTEP)30133301
Xavier CastanedaWhitney YoungSouth FloridaW: 74-71 (CIN)25142201
DJ StewardWhitney Young / FenwickDukeW: 75-65 (ND)29167102

All Performances by Women from Illinois High Schools (12.15.2020)

PlayerHSCollegeResultMin.Pts.Reb.Ast.Blk.Stl.
Jayden MarableBolingbrookNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)921000
Mikayla BrandonBradley-BourbonnaisNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)28310100
A'Jah DavisDeKalbNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)26129000
Myriah HaywoodEdwardsvilleWestern KentuckyW: 82-49 (BLMN)31123213
Allysah BootheEvanstonLongwoodW: 84-55 (RAD)1001000
Emily MeinertGalesburgNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)1453100
Carie WeinmanGlenbrook SouthValparaisoW: 88-83 (XAV)33265002
Caitlin MorrisonGlenbrook SouthValparaisoW: 88-83 (XAV)25123010
Alyssa IversonHarvest ChristianLibertyW: 76-66 (HP)3271301
Paulina CastroHarvest ChristianNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)1701100
Nadia GreenHomewood-FlossmoorMissouriW: 84-45 (NO)2064000
Jordan KingHononegahMarquetteW: 66-62 (SJ)3262815
Darrion RogersLake Park WestDePaulW: 86-82 (UK)30124201
Janae PoissonMarian CatholicNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)19120000
Kaylee BambuleMontiniOhioW: 77-67 (NIU)901000
Jordan AikensMorgan ParkSouthernL: 52-86 (BAY)1362000
Abby FeitNormalEvansvilleW: 84-52 (OAKC)352814046
Sydney ThurwalkerO'FallonEvansvilleW: 84-52 (OAKC)1003000
Errin HodgesPontiacNIUL: 67-77 (OHIO)2209311
Kiana CoomberPrairie CentralDelaware StateL: 55-72 (LPA)2975023
Dee BrownProviso EastLibertyW: 76-66 (HP)1402100
Nadege JeanRich SouthDePaulW: 86-82 (UK)320010
Taylor ValladayRich SouthMarquetteW: 66-62 (SJ)800101
Camryn TaylorRichwoodsMarquetteW: 66-62 (SJ)2956220
Antwainette WalkerSt. FrancisMarquetteW: 66-62 (SJ)1664000
Kayla CaudleVernon HillsDePaulW: 86-82 (UK)1653310

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