Illinois boys roster for Muddy River Showcase features champions, top scorers, playmakers

QUINCY — Winners. That’s the best way to describe the Illinois boys roster for the third annual Muddy River Showcase.

The 10 players selected to represent the Land of Lincoln helped their teams to a combined .727 winning percentage last winter. One was the leading scorer on a state championship squad. One quarterbacked his football team to a state title. This group combined to win four regional titles, two sectional titles and four conference championships.

At least half of them are planning to play basketball in college.

Here is an alphabetical look at the Illinois roster which will take the court at 4 p.m. June 15 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center:

Camden Brown, Quincy High School — A four-year varsity player and two-year starter who missed his sophomore season with a knee injury, Brown helped the Blue Devils to back-to-back regional titles the past two seasons. He committed to Quincy University before its recent coaching change, but has reopened his recruiting.

Dion Doyle, Macomb — A Class 2A honorable mention all-stater, Doyle was the leading scorer and rebounder for a team that won 25 games and reached the super-sectionals. Doyle made four straight free throws in the final 22.5 seconds, including a pair with six seconds to play, that gave Macomb a 41-40 upset of Peoria Manual in the sectional semifinals.

Zack Evans, Winchester West Central — The John Wood Community College signee became the all-time leading scorer in Cougars’ history while guiding West Central to the Class 1A state championship. Evans averaged 21 points, six rebounds and three assists per game in being named a first-team all-stater.

Wyatt Lipcaman, Griggsville-Perry — The Tornadoes won 51 games the past two seasons combined with Lipcaman at the forefront of the attack. The guard piled up 1,085 points and 262 assists in the past two seasons. He was the leading vote-getter on the All-Pike County Conference team.

Melvin McMillen, Mendon Unity — One of the area’s best post players who could also stretch the floor, McMillen averaged 17.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Defensively, he made a sizable impact in the lane, grabbing five steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

Nick Moore, Camp Point Central — The quarterback of the Central football team that went 27-1 the past two seasons and won the Class 1A state title last November, Moore plans to play basketball at John Wood Community College. He averaged 15.5 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals per game last season and was a second-team all-state selection.

Wyatt Neisen, Payson Seymour — A relentless worker, especially when rebounding, Neisen provided the Indians with some frontcourt grit. He averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game, while dishing out 3.4 assists and snaring 1.8 steals.

Tyler Sprick, Quincy High School — Described by Blue Devils coach Andy Douglas as a glue guy with an incredibly high basketball IQ, Sprick was a quality spot-up shooter from 3-point range, a distributor offensively and a sneaky good rebounder who had a nose for grabbing a loose ball.

Brennan Tomhave, Pittsfield — The son of Pittsfield coach Brad Tomhave, the 6-foot-3 guard is following his brother to Illinois Wesleyan to play college baseball. He averaged 11 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game last winter on the hardwood, while shooting 70 percent from the free-throw line.

Ralph Wires, Quincy High School — Arguably the best on-ball defender in the Western Big 6 Conference, Wires proved he had a knack for big moments throughout his career — see his game-winning shot against Collinsville in the sectional semifinals as a sophomore. The playmaking point guard has committed to Carl Sandburg College.