Prep stars making college leap
No. 1
Former Illinois prep stars have made a major impact in college basketball for teams at the top of the polls.
Former Zion-Benton star Admiral Schofield has come up big for the No. 1 team in the country. He has helped Tennessee to a 20-1 record while averaging 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Ethan Happ of Rockridge has propelled Wisconsin into the Top 25, averaging AllAmerica numbers: 18.3 points, 10.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists.
Gonzaga is ranked No. 3 in the country, thanks in large part to the production of Zach Norvell. The 6-5 guard from Simeon fills the stat sheet for the Zags, averaging 15.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists. He has knocked down 72 three-pointers.
Charles Matthews of St. Rita has been instrumental in helping Michigan to a 20-2 record and No. 6 ranking, averaging 12.8 points.
The Simeon trio of Talen Horton-Tucker, Isaiah Moss and Ed Morrow are contributing for Top 25 teams at Iowa State, Iowa and Marquette, respectively.
Former Evanston star Nojel Eastern is playing 28 minutes per game and averaging seven points for 12th-ranked Purdue, and Matt Mooney, who starred at Niles Notre Dame, is averaging 10.6 points for No. 15 Texas Tech.
No. 2
Max Christie’s sophomore season was interrupted by a lingering deep thigh bruise that kept him out of five games. But the hype around the Rolling Meadows star certainly hasn’t diminished.
Christie, who scored 40 points in his return last week in a win over Niles West, took unofficial visits to Duke and Michigan State the last two weeks.
The ultra-smooth 6-6 point guard also has risen in the national rankings.
ESPN has Christie as the ninth-ranked prospect in the country in the Class of 2021. Rivals has him ranked No. 12, and 247Sports has him at No. 16.
Christie is a five-star prospect and the highest-ranked national player in Illinois since Stevenson’s Jalen Brunson was a consensus top-25 prospect in the Class of 2015.
In addition to his recent in-season visits, Christie has previously visited Ohio State, Michigan and Northwestern as his recruitment begins to heat up.
While constantly facing trick and gimmick defenses, Christie is averaging 27 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. He has also knocked down 48 three-pointers in 18 games and has shot 38 percent from beyond the arc. Christie, who has had eight 30-pluspoint games this season, has games of 51, 42 and 40 points this season.
No. 3
Coaches across the state will be seeding sectionals this week in Class 3A and 4A. There will be no stronger sectional in the Chicago area than the Eisenhower Sectional.
There’s a battle in Chicago Heights for the top seed there, with No. 6 Bloom (21-3) and No. 7 Marian Catholic (24-3) jockeying for the top spot.
Perennial power Simeon should settle in as the No. 3 seed, while Homewood-Flossmoor, Brother Rice, St. Rita and Thornton will be top- eight seeds with 20-plus wins by the time regional play begins in March.
There are 11 teams in the Eisenhower Sectional with 15-plus wins and seven that are ranked in the Sun-Times’ Super 25.