A trio of unheralded prospects in the senior class recently made their college choices.
DePaul Prep’s Makai Kvamme chose Western Illinois, Hinsdale Central’s Vince Buzelis committed to South Dakota and Batavia’s Jax Abalos is headed to Cornell.
Kvamme has been instrumental in helping DePaul Prep win back-to-back state championships the last two seasons.
An intelligent point guard with great basketball IQ and feel, Kvamme is a nice recruiting win for Western Illinois coach Chad Boudreau. Kvamme is a proven winner who totaled 18 points and six rebounds in the championship victory against Mount Carmel. He averaged 8.3 points and had a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio as a junior.
Both Buzelis, 6-6, and Abalos, 6-8, are late-blooming prospects who are versatile perimeter players with size. Buzelis averaged 13 points and eight rebounds last season as a junior, while Abalos averaged 11 points and 5.5 rebounds.
They also are proof of the adage that if you’re good enough you’ll be found. Neither Buzelis or Abalos played for high-profile travel programs — Buzelis with Full Package and Abalos with M14Hoops — yet Division I programs found them both.
Abalos and Buzelis are prime examples
of the hidden depth in the senior class. While there is minimal high-major talent, the class now has 19 players committed to D-I programs.
Big man leaves a big hole for Bears
There are very few programs with a legitimate offensive post presence. Lake Zurich had it but doesn’t anymore.
Lake Zurich won 22 games and a regional championship last season behind 6-8 Anton Strelnikov. The Bears were expected to be a 20-plus win team and a key factor in the North Suburban Conference with three returning starters, including Strelnikov.
The 6-8 senior is a Division I prospect who averaged over 17 points and shot 67% from the field last season. He also was a rare back-to-the-basket threat.
But the big man announced last week he would be leaving Lake Zurich and heading to La Lumiere, a prep school in Indiana, for his senior season.
The loss of Strelnikov, one of the top players in the area, leaves a gaping hole inside and a void in production, and takes Lake Zurich out of contention in a stacked conference race.
Downstate power takes a hit
Mt. Zion, located 45 minutes east of Springfield, made headlines last year with a historical season, winning 35 games and finishing fourth in the state in Class 3A. The nucleus of that team returns this season, including the top four scorers, and figures to challenge for a state championship. However, the Braves lost a key player in Brayden Trimble, who averaged nearly eight points and provided length and athleticism. The 6-3 senior is one of the top football prospects in the state and has opted to enroll at Illinois in January to jump-start his football career.