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Meet the 46 players from Illinois on NCAA Tournament rosters

joel boyd, chicago tribune
·7 min read
6

The state connections to this year’s NCAA Tournament go far beyond Northwestern and Illinois making the field.

Meet the 46 players who hail from Illinois and play for tournament teams, including 11 who earned postseason honors in their conference.

Illinois

Terrence Shannon Jr., Lincoln Park

The 6-foot-6 senior guard was a first-team All-Big Ten pick, averaging 17.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 30 games (29 starts) after transferring from Texas Tech. Shannon finished his high school career at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.

Ty Rodgers, Thornton

The 6-6 freshman forward has played in all 32 games, averaging 3.2 points and 4.1 rebounds.

Brandon Lieb, Deerfield

The 7-foot junior center has 15 points and 17 rebounds in 16 games.

Paxton Warden, Glenbard West

The 6-4 walk-on freshman guard has two points in 10 games.

Connor Serven, St. Rita

The 6-9 walk-on junior forward has one point and four rebounds in five games.

AJ Redd, St. Ignatius

The 6-3 walk-on freshman guard has appeared in two games.

Northwestern

Nick Martinelli, Glenbrook South

The 6-7 freshman forward is averaging 2.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 18 games.

Alabama

Nimari Burnett, Morgan Park

The 6-4 redshirt sophomore guard is averaging 5.6 points in 22 games (eight starts) after transferring from Texas Tech and sitting out last season following knee surgery. Burnett played his final three high school seasons at Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif.

Max Scharnowski, Wheaton Academy

The 6-6 walk-on junior forward has two rebounds in three games.

Arizona

Kylan Boswell, Champaign

The 6-2 freshman guard has played in all 34 games, averaging 4.6 points with 26 steals. Boswell grew up in Champaign but spent his high school career at Centennial in Corona, Calif., and Compass Prep in Phoenix.

Creighton

Sami Osmani, Oak Lawn

The 6-4 walk-on junior guard has nine points and eight rebounds in 10 games.

Devin Davis, Westinghouse

The 6-foot walk-on junior guard has three points and two rebounds in 15 games.

Drake

Roman Penn, Calumet City

The 6-foot graduate guard was a first-team All-Missouri Valley selection, averaging 12.6 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 33 games (31 starts). Penn, who transferred from Siena in 2018, played in high school at Bishop Noll in Hammond, Ind., and Don Bosco Prep in Crown Point.

Conor Enright, Mundelein

The 6-foot redshirt freshman guard made the MVC’s all-freshman team, averaging 4.2 points in 34 games (four starts).

Nate Ferguson, Lemont

The 6-8 redshirt junior forward is averaging 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 26 games.

Duke

Jaden Schutt, Yorkville

The 6-5 freshman guard is averaging 2.2 points in 13 games.

Furman

Ben VanderWal, Timothy Christian

The 6-7 freshman forward has played in all 34 games with seven starts, averaging 5.1 points and 3.2 rebounds.

Gonzaga

Malachi Smith, Belleville West

The 6-4 redshirt junior guard was the West Coast Conference sixth man of the year, averaging 8.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 24 games (one start). Smith transferred from Chattanooga, where he was the Southern Conference player of the year and national mid-major player of the year in 2022.

Braden Huff, Glenbard West

The 6-10 freshman forward has not appeared in a game while redshirting.

Iowa

Ahron Ulis, Marian Catholic

The 6-3 junior guard is averaging 6.4 points and 2.2 assists in 30 games (25 starts).

Amarion Nimmers, Rock Island

The 6-2 walk-on freshman guard has not appeared in a game.

Iowa State

Jeremiah Williams, Simeon

The 6-4 junior guard sat out the season after suffering an Achilles tendon injury. Williams transferred from Temple, where he led the Owls in assists his first two seasons.

Kansas

Joseph Yesufu, Bolingbrook

The 6-foot junior guard is averaging 3.8 points in 32 games (two starts). Yesufu was the 2021 Missouri Valley sixth man of the year at Drake before joining the Jayhawks for last year’s national title run.

Kennesaw State

Quincy Ademokoya, Bloomington

The 6-6 junior guard is averaging 4.5 points in 32 games (one start). A transfer from Temple, Ademokoya played high school basketball in Norcross, Ga.

Kent State

Chris Payton, Bloomington

The 6-7 senior forward is averaging 6.6 points and 4.8 rebounds in 33 games (four starts) after transferring from Pittsburgh.

Julius Rollins, Hillcrest

The 6-5 redshirt freshman guard is averaging 2.1 points in 27 games.

Brenden Moss, Rockford

The 6-4 freshman guard has not appeared in a game. Moss played in high school at Minnesota Prep in Minneapolis.

Kentucky

Antonio Reeves, Simeon

The 6-5 senior guard was the co-winner of the SEC’s sixth man of the year, averaging 14.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 32 games (12 starts) after transferring from Illinois State.

Marquette

RJ Walson, Perspectives

The 6-foot walk-on sophomore guard has appeared in nine games.

Memphis

Damaria Franklin, Niles North

The 6-3 graduate guard is averaging 5.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 23 games (one start) after transferring from UIC.

Conor Glennon, Brother Rice

The 5-10 walk-on junior guard has two assists in one game.

Miami

AJ Casey, Young

The 6-9 freshman forward has 27 points and 30 rebounds in 26 games.

Michigan State

Malik Hall, Metea Valley

The 6-8 senior forward is averaging 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds in 19 games (four starts). Hall finished his high school career at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas.

Nevada

Trey Pettigrew, Kenwood/Fenwick

The 6-3 freshman guard has nine points and three rebounds in five games.

N.C. State

Dusan Mahorcic, Niles Notre Dame

The 6-10 graduate forward from Serbia averaged 8.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 10 games (nine starts) before suffering a knee injury in December that required surgery. Mahorcic is on his fifth college team in five seasons after playing for Lewis, Moberly Area Community College, Illinois State and Utah.

Pittsburgh

Nate Santos, Geneva

The 6-7 sophomore forward is averaging 1.6 points and 1.3 rebounds in 28 games. Santos played in high school at Loomis Chaffee in Windsor, Conn.

Princeton

Caden Pierce, Glenbard West

The 6-7 freshman forward was the Ivy League rookie of the year, averaging 8.3 points and 7.1 rebounds in 29 games (28 starts).

Blake Peters, Evanston

The 6-1 sophomore guard has played in all 29 games, averaging 5.4 points.

Providence

Bryce Hopkins, Fenwick

The 6-7 sophomore forward was a first-team All-Big East selection, starting all 32 games and leading the Friars with 16.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Hopkins transferred from Kentucky.

San Diego State

Cam Lawin, Orr

The 6-3 walk-on freshman guard has not appeared in a game.

Southeast Missouri State

Chris Harris, Lake Forest Academy

The 6-3 fifth-year senior guard was a second-team all-conference pick in the Ohio Valley, averaging 15.4 points and 4.7 rebounds in 34 games (32 starts)

Aquan Smart, Niles North

The 6-3 sophomore guard is averaging 7.5 points and 3.1 rebounds in 31 games (25 starts). Smart is on his third college stop after playing at Maryland and Florida International.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Terrion Murdix, Springfield Southeast

The 6-1 senior guard is averaging 13.4 points, 5.4 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 31 games (30 starts). Murdix was the Southland Conference’s defensive player of the year, a first-team all-conference selection and MVP of the conference tournament. But he missed the Islanders’ First Four win over Southeast Missouri State with a knee injury suffered in the Southland Tournament final.

UCLA

Amari Bailey, Chicago

The 6-5 guard was named to the Pac-12′s all-freshman team, averaging 10.6 points and 3.7 rebounds in 27 games (25 starts). Bailey grew up in Chicago but moved to Los Angeles for high school and played at Sierra Canyon.

USC

Drew Peterson, Libertyville

The 6-9 fifth-year senior guard made the All-Pac-12 first team, averaging 14.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 28 games. Peterson transferred from Rice after his sophomore season.

Xavier

Kam Craft, Buffalo Grove

The 6-6 freshman guard is averaging 2.8 points in 14 games.