Four seniors who opened a lot of eyes
Unpredictability is a strength of high school basketball. Teenage basketball players develop their games, bodies and skills at different rates and, along the way, affect teams in different ways.
As we turn to the offseason, it’s time to take a look back at four seniors who broke out this past season, opened eyes and made their presence felt in a big way.
Terrence Shannon, Lincoln Park
The ascension of Shannon, a long, athletic, multifaceted 6- 6 forward, came quickly.
A combination of injuries, playing football and missing time on the court in the last year perhaps prevented Shannon from breaking through earlier. But what a season he put together in leading a team that won a regional championship and nearly upset Young in the sectional.
In addition to filling the stat sheet by averaging 15 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.6 steals, Shannon skyrocketed up the City/ Suburban Hoops Report’s player rankings and is among the top 20 prospects in the Class of 2018.
Dusan Mahorcic, NotreDame
There likely wasn’t a player who improved more in the last year than the 6- 9 Mahorcic, who made tremendous strides as a player and in his production.
Mahorcic put up pedestrian numbers for the Dons as a junior, averaging 4.8 points and four rebounds. He turned those into 16 points and 9.9 rebounds to go with nearly two blocks per game as a senior.
The highlight of his rise was a whopper of a triple- double — 34 points, 22 rebounds and 10 blocks — in a victory against Carmel.
Mahorcic’s recruitment started slowly but has picked up considerably. He has received a host of Division II scholarship offers as Division I programs await his grades and transcripts from the Serbian school he attended before moving to the United States for his sophomore year.
Cam Burrell, Morgan Park
In a tricky, injury- riddled season for Morgan Park, there was always one constant for coach Nick Irvin: Burrell’s play and production.
The bouncy 6- 6 forward was a double- double machine. With tenacity on the glass and a developing offensive game, Burrell went from being an overlooked player to being an all- stater, averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds.
In a victory against Marian Catholic in the Class 3A semifinals in Peoria, Burrell scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.
As a result, his recruitment has heated up recently. Burrell has received scholarship offers from Tennessee- Martin, Chicago State, Eastern Illinois and LouisianaMonroe.
Jared Crutcher, West Aurora
The progress Crutcher, an extremely long and active 6- 5 forward, made during the season was remarkable.
The run Crutcher went on in the second half of the season, in particular, lifted the Blackhawks to another level and propelled them to 17 consecutive victories and a sectional championship.
In a 15- game stretch from Jan. 12 through the victory against Bolingbrook for the sectional title, Crutcher averaged 17.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.8 blocks. That was quite an uptick from the first 14 games, in which he averaged 10.2 points and 7.4 rebounds.
Crutcher committed to Division II Lewis last week.