Thursday evening, seven former Illinois prep athletes saw minutes in various NBA games. Below I look into and share each of their NBA performances from December 23.
Best of the Day: Max Strus and Keita Bates-Diop
Max Strus now has his first (and second) NBA start under his belt and now a GAME-WINNER.
- Max Strus (Stagg/Miami Heat)- 41 minutes, 26 points, 10/18 Fg, 5/11 3PT, 1/1 FT, an offensive rebound, 6 total rebounds, an assist, a steal, 2 turnovers, and +7 in a 115-112 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Strus played a career-high 41 minutes in the Heat win but would do again if needed. This is nothing new for Strus. Over his last three college seasons, he averaged 36.2, 35.6, and 37.4 minutes per game and had many games over 40 minutes played.
- Keita Bates-Diop (University/San Antonio Spurs)- 27 minutes, a team-high 30 points, 11/11 FG, 3/3 3PT, 5/7 FT, an offensive rebounds, 7 total rebounds, a steal, a turnover, a game-high +20 in a 138-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Bates-Diop’s 30 point performance was not just a team-high but a career-high.
History Made: Strus & Bates-Diop
The rest of the performances of the day:
- Talen Horton-Tucker (Simeon/Los Angeles Lakers)- 38 minutes, 13 points, 5/13 FG, 0/1 3PT, 3/4 FT, 2 offensive rebounds, 4 total rebounds, 3 assists, a turnover, and -16 in a 138-110 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
- Admiral Schofield (Zion-Benton Township/Orlando Magic)- 25 minutes, 8 points, 3/3 FG, 2/2 3PT, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, 2 blocks, a turnover and +14 in a 110-104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
- Jalen Brunson (Stevenson/Dallas Mavericks)- 39 minutes, 19 points, 7/15 FG, 2/5 3PT, 3/3 FT, an offensive rebound, 4 total rebounds, a game-high 8 assists, 2 turnovers, and -8 in a 102-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.
- JaVale McGee (Hales Franciscan/Phoenix Suns)- 17 minutes, 2 points, 1/4 FG, an offense rebound, 4 total rebounds, an assist, a game-high 2 blocks (tied with 2 others), a team-worst 2 turnovers (tied with several others), and -5 in 113-101 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
- John Konchar (West Chicago/Memphis Grizzlies)- 11 minutes, 0/2 FG, 0/1 3PT, 2 offensive rebounds, 3 total rebounds, an assist, a steal, and -9 in a 113-104 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Icon Sports 