Purdue’s Lance Jones celebrates during an Elite Eight game against Tennessee.
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Illinois high school basketball has always had a significant impact on the NCAA Tournament and, specifically, the Final Four, especially over the past two decades.
Sherron Collins and Derrick Rose squared off in the 2008 national championship game when Collins’ Kansas team stunned Rose and Memphis in the final.
All-American Jon Scheyer fueled Duke’s 2010 title run, while Kentucky won the 2012 title behind freshman phenom and national Player of the Year Anthony Davis.
Ryan Boatright was named to the 2014 All-Final Four team as UConn claimed a championship. Jahlil Okafor helped Duke to the 2015 title, and Jalen Brunson was instrumental in Villanova’s 2016 title and an All-American in leading them to the 2018 championship
But we’re talking way beyond even the stars. There has been an endless list of former Illinois prep players who have made their presence felt during March Madness.
Since 1990, there have only been three Final Fours — 2021, 2007 and 1995 — where a Final Four team didn’t have an Illinois player on scholarship.
Here is a ranking of the top 10 Illinois products in this year's NCAA Tournament field who have had the biggest impact on this year’s tournament.
College: Illinois
A player who goes all the way back to the Class of 2018. A first-team All-Big Ten selection, Shannon has put together a monster final season. He’s averaging 23.3 points a game on the season, including 31.6 points a game since the start of the Big Ten Tournament. He’s been the catalyst for an Illinois team that has made it’s deepest tournament run since 2005.
College: Kentucky
While Kentucky was stunned in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Reeves has been a star for the Wildcats. Last year he averaged 14.4 points a game and upped that to just over 20 points a game this season. He played his first three seasons at Illinois State and finishes his college career with a whopping 2,350 career points.
College: Baylor
After previous stops at Boise State and Toledo, the 6-2 point guard spent his final season leading nationally ranked Baylor. While the Bears bowed out of the tournament last weekend, Dennis finished the year as one of the nation’s leaders in assists with 6.7 a game while putting up 13.6 points a game. He finishes his college career with 1,961 points.
College: Purdue
An integral part of a Purdue team that won the Big Ten and earned a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. He spent a productive four-year career at Southern Illinois before providing a real jolt for the Boilermakers. Jones, who is just short of 2,000 career points, averages 12 points a game.
College: Gonzaga
The former state Player of the Year redshirted as a freshman last season for one of college basketball’s giants. This season the 6-11 Huff played 14 minutes a game for a program that just made its ninth straight Sweet 16 appearance. He’s been productive in those minutes, averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds a game.
College: Illinois
The sophomore has been a solid role player for an Illinois team that’s been ranked all season and reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2005. Rodgers has been a regular starter and plays 23 minutes a game while filling a stat sheet: 6.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game.
College: Northwestern
Boo Bouie is the star but Northwestern wouldn’t have done what it did without Martinelli.
With injuries mounting, the Wildcats, who made the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year for the first time in program history, have leaned on Martinelli. He’s delivered in his sophomore season
While Martinelli’s season averages of 8.8 points and 4.3 rebounds a game won’t jump out at you, he’s really stepped up over the last 15 games of the season with 11.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game during that time.
College: Yale
After playing minimal minutes as a freshman, Poulakidas has been a full-time starter the past two seasons. The 6-5 junior averaged 13.4 points a game while burying 83 three-pointers and shooting 40 percent from beyond the arc as a junior.
Poulakidas helped Yale to a NCAA Tournament berth and provided a signature moment in a first-round win over Auburn. He poured in 28 points while hitting six three-pointers in the stunning upset.
College: Drake
The tough, gritty sophomore point guard helped Drake to the NCAA Tournament where they fell to Washington State in the opening round. Enright started every game of the season for the Bulldogs and has been a part of 55 wins over the past two seasons. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game.
College: McNeese State
The highly-athletic Shumate put together a stellar career at McNeese over the past three years after spending his freshman season at Tulsa. This past season he averaged 12.1 points and a whopping 9.5 rebounds a game for 30-win team that lost to Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round. In that loss Shumate went for 19 points and 11 rebounds.
