Friday night, seven former Illinois prep athletes saw minutes in various NBA games. Below I look into and share each of their NBA performances from March 11.
Best of the Day: Max Strus
For this day’s pick, I was between Max Strus (Stagg) and Talen Horton-Tucker (Simeon). Both with strong outings off the bench and in wins but I am giving the edge to Strus. This one I got to witness live and was wowed to see someone I know make the plays he did in the NBA.
I have seen him play for my whole life and to see that he has made it to the NBA is a truly amazing accomplishment because he’s the only one to do it from Hickory Hills, Illinois.
Strus finished the night with
- Max Strus (Stagg/Miami Heat)- 19 minutes, 17 points, 6/13 Fg, 5/11 3PT, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, a game-high 1 block (tied with 7 others), a turnover, and -2 in a 117-105 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Rest of the Day’s Performances
- Patrick Beverly (Marshall/Minnesota Timberwolves)- 4 minutes, 9 points, 3/4 FG, 3/4 3PT, a steal, and +4 in a 118-110 loss to the Orlando Magic.
- Sterling Brown (Proviso East/Dallas Mavericks)- 17 minutes, 2 points, 1/3 FG, 0/1 3PT, 2 rebounds, a turnover, and -2 in a 113-100 win over the Houston Rockets.
- John Konchar (West Chicago/Memphis Grizzlies)- 16 minutes, 4 points, 2/3 FG, an offensive rebounds, 5 total rebounds, 2 assists, and +18 in a 118-114 win over the New York Knicks.
- Fred VanVleet (Auburn/Toronto Raptors)- 38 minutes, 10 points, 3/11 FG, 2/8 3PT, 2/2 Ft, a game-high 8 rebounds (tied with 2 others), 4 assists, a block, a game-worst 5 turnovers, and -4 in 117-112 win over the Phoenix Suns.
- JaVale McGee (Hales Franciscan/Phoenix Suns)- 18 minutes, 3 points, 1/3 FG, 1/2 FT, a team-high 2 offensive rebounds, a game-high 8 total rebounds (tied with 2 others), an assist, a gme-high 4 blocks, 2 turnovers, and +2 in a 117-112 loss to the Toronto Raptors.
- Talen Horton-Tucker (Simeon/Los Angeles Lakers)- 30 minutes, 15 points, 7/16 FG, 1/3 FT, a team-high 2 offensive rebounds (tied with 2 others), 5 total rebounds, 3 assists, a team-high 2 steals (tied with Stanley Johnson), and +15 in a 122-109 win over the Washington Wizards.
Extra News
Patrick Beverly (Marshall) went on “The Old Man and Three Podcast” with J.J. Redick and Tommy Alter. Check out the clip below. If you want to hear more, listen here.
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