They once starred in the high school gym right down the street. Now area men's and women's basketball players are a few wins from national glory after leading their college basketball teams to NCAA tournament berths. Tourney action tips off this week. Find out which players to watch for.
D-I MEN’S
WAKE FOREST
Area player Kyle Fowler
High School Wheaton North
Position, year Guard, senior
Key stats Picked up a blocked shot in two regular-season appearances
Road to Final Four Fowler and the Demon Deacons drew a No. 9 seed in the East regional and they will have their hands full during the tournament’s first weekend. First is a Thursday showdown in New Orleans with No. 8 Texas, which ascended to No. 1 in the weekly rankings earlier this season. Should Wake win the opener, it likely would bring a second-round clash with No. 1 seed Kentucky, which enters the tourney with a 32-2 record and is led by dynamic freshmen (and All-America candidates) John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins.
NOTRE DAME
Area player Jonathan Peoples
High School St. Joseph
Position, year Guard, senior
Key stats Tri-captain earned 10 starts this season and shot 40 percent from 3-point range and netted 3.6 points per game
Road to Final Four A late-season surge and strong push in the Big East Conference tournament landed the Irish a No. 6 seed in the South regional, where they will open against No. 11 Old Dominion Thursday afternoon in Spokane, Wash.
OHIO STATE
Area player Evan Turner
Position, year Guard/forward, junior
Key stats Turner averaged 20.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.8 steals during the season.
Road to Final Four The national player of the year candidate has been arguably the most dynamic player in the country this season. Turner will look to lead the Buckeyes to their first Final Four since 2007. Ohio State (27-7) earned a No. 2 seed in the Midwest regional and will open the tournament against No. 15 California-Santa Barbara (20-9) on Friday night in Milwaukee. The winner will see either No. 7 Oklahoma State or No. 10 Georgia Tech.
D-I WOMEN’S
OHIO STATE
Area player Alison Jackson
High school Fenwick
Position, year Guard, junior
Key stats Appeared in 30 games in regular season, 91 percent free throw shooter (20-22), 2.1 points per game
Road to Final Four A March 30 showdown with powerhouse UConn could be the matchup of the tournament, but that only comes if the Buckeyes can survive three rounds in the tournament. Ohio State, No. 2 in the Dayton regional, must first survive an opening round tilt with St. Francis University of Pennsylvania. The Buckeyes are 30-4 while No. 15 St. Francis is 17-14, but the Red Flash are likely to have a vocal following as the game will be played in Pittsburgh, a little more than an hour away from campus. If the Buckeyes can survive the first round they would play either No. 7 Mississippi State (19-12) or No. 10 Middle Tennessee State (25-5) for a shot at the Sweet 16.
MICHIGAN STATE
Area players Lykendra Johnson, F, so. (Trinity); Kelsey Smith, C, fr. (St. Charles North); Brittney Thomas, G, jr. (Bolingbrook)
Key stats Johnson started all 31 games in regular season, team-best 236 rebounds, 52 steals and 21 3-pointers second on team, 8.8 points per game; Smith is learning center position from Alyssa DeHaan, who is top-10 in MSU history in both scoring and rebounding; Thomas started all 31 games in the regular season, logging a team-high 963 minutes and collecting 100 assists and 7.2 points per game
Road to Final Four Michigan State will be one of the first teams to play in the tournament when it faces Bowling Green at 11:11 a.m. Saturday in Louisville. The No. 5 Spartans enter with a record of 22-9 while the Falcons start tourney play with a 27-6 mark. A win would put the Spartans through to the second round against either No. 4 Kentucky or No. 13 Liberty. Nebraska, the No. 1 seed in the Kansas City regional, could be the Sweet 16 opponent if the Spartans can survive the first two rounds.
NOTRE DAME
Area players Lindsay Schrader, G, sr. (Bartlett); Devereaux Peters, F, jr. (Fenwick)
Key stats Schrader started in all 30 of her appearances and shot 57 percent in conference games. Peters came off the bench to average 6.9 points per game in the regular season and is third on team with 129 rebounds
Road to Final Four The 27-5 Irish drew a No. 2 seed in the Kansas City regional and will open the tournament Sunday against No. 15 Cleveland State (19-13). The game will be televised nationally on ESPN. Aside from the seeds and records, the Irish will have a big advantage as the first and second round games will be played at the Joyce Center on the Notre Dame campus. Notre Dame will meet the winner of No. 7 Wisconsin (21-10) and No. 10 Vermont (26-6) March 23.
NIT MEN’S
NORTHWESTERN
Area players John Shurna, F, so. (Glenbard West) Mike Capocci, F, jr. (Glenbard East); Nick Fruendt, G, so. (Batavia)
Key stats Shurna started all 33 of the Wildcats games and averaged 18.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Capocci appeared in 25 games this year, averaging nearly two points per game in that time. The junior finished with 39 rebounds and 13 assists. Fruendt made 20 appearances and made all four free throw attempts this season.
Tourney tip off The No. 7 Wildcats (20-14) lost 76-64 to No. 2 seed Rhode Island (24-9) in the opening round Wednesday. Shurna finished with 15 points, including three 3-pointers. Capocci logged three minutes on the court.
ILLINOIS
Area player Demetri McCamey
Position, year Guard, junior
High school St. Joseph
Key stats McCamey is averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals.
Tourney tipoff The No. 1 seeded Illini (20-14) tipped off action Wednesday with a 76-66 win over No. 8 Stony Brook (22-10). McCamey collected 16 points and nine rebounds. Illinois will face No. 4 Kent State (24-9) at 7 p.m. Monday.
NIT WOMEN’S
PURDUE
Area player Sam Woods
Position, year Forward, sophomore
High school Bolingbrook
Key stats Woods averaged 5.2 points per game while starting 20 games of the 28 she played in. She also hauled in 3.3 rebounds per game.
Tourney tip off The Boilermakers opened tourney play Wednesday with a 56-50 victory over Eastern Michigan. Purdue will host Illinois State at noon Sunday.
NORTHWESTERN
Area player Kaitlyn McInerney
Position, year Forward, junior
High school Benet
Key stats McInerney started one game in nine appearances, shooting 72 percent from the field and averaging 2.3 points per game.
Tourney tip off McInerney, a former Player of the Year for Suburban Life Publications, and the Wildcats will host Duquesne Thursday in a first-round game in Evanston. A win would bring a second-round showdown with either St. Bonaventure or Robert Morris between March 20-23.
MICHIGAN
Area player Sam Arnold
High school Lake Park
Position, year Forward, freshman
Key stats Arnold appeared in 19 games and averaged 2.8 points per game.
Tourney tip off The Wolverines will host Kent State in a first-round game Friday and with a win would move on to play either Toledo or Pittsburgh in a second round game between March 20-23.
D-II MEN’S
ST. JOSEPH (IND.)
Area player Cory Hrynyk
High school Bartlett
Position, year Forward, sophomore
Key stats Hrynyk has seen action in 27 games, totaling 1.6 points and 1.5 rebounds in an average of nine minutes per game. The sophomore has eight steals, four blocks and four 3-pointers on the year for the 17-11 squad.
Next game St. Joseph was set to face Quincy on Tuesday for a spot in the quarterfinals March 24 against either Cal Poly or BYU-Hawaii.
D-III WOMEN’S
HOPE COLLEGE
Area player Allie Cerone
High school Wheaton North
Position, year Guard, sophomore
Key stats Cerone has appeared in all 32 games while collecting 54 assists, 45 steals and 3.8 points per game
Tourney tip off Division III tournament wins over Denison (68-40), DePauw (68-54), Marymount (53-46) and Wisconsin-Stevens Point (71-64) have Hope making its third straight Final Four appearance. Cerone and the 31-1 Flying Dutch will meet Rochester (22-6) in a semifinal Friday at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. The winner will face either Amherst or Washington University in Saturday’s championship game.
