Crim: Blue Devils’ Longcor on 12-player ballot for Mr. Basketball in Illinois

QUINCY — Quincy High School’s Bradley Longcor III is one of 12 finalists for the Illinois Mr. Basketball award.

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, along with the Chicago Tribune, released the names of the finalists March 23. Voting by coaches and media members concludes today (March 31.) The winner will be announced April 4.

Voting is done on a points system. Each voter selects first-, second- and third-place choices. A player receives five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for a third-place vote. The player who receives the most points receives the award.

Editor’s note: Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman votes on Mr. Basketball and will have the results when they become available.

Longcor, who was named the MVP of the Western Big 6 Conference, averaged 17.1 points and led the Blue Devils with 149 assists. The Santa Clara signee finished as the second-leading scorer in program history with 1,948 points, fourth in assists with 441 and was the all-time leader in 3-pointers.

The IBCA first-team Class 4A all-state selection led Quincy to a 31-4 record and super-sectional berth, losing to eventual state champion Lisle Benet.

Only one QHS player — Bruce Douglas in 1982 — has won the award, which was established in 1981.

The other finalists, in alphabetical order, are:

Devin Cleveland, Chicago Kenwood: One of three sophomores on the ballot, Cleveland averaged 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 1.7 steals for Kenwood, which reached the Class 4A Elite Eight. He was an IBCA all-state first-team choice and has offers from Illinois, Michigan and DePaul.

Tyreek Coleman, Aurora Waubonsie Valley: The senior averaged 21 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists for Waubonsie Valley, which lost in a sectional semifinal to eventual Class 4A state champion Lisle Benet. Coleman is a two-time IBCA all-stater, including a first-team honoree this season. He has committed to Illinois State.

Jaxon Davis, Gurnee Warren: The sophomore averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 assists and 3.9 rebounds as Warren was the Class 4A state runner-up. Davis is a two-time IBCA first-team all-state selection. He holds offers from Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern and DePaul.

Phoenix Gill, Chicago St. Ignatius: The senior averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 3.4 assists as St. Ignatius lost in a Class 4A regional championship. A three-time IBCA all-state selection, including first team this season, he scored 1,551 career points. Gill has committed to Northwestern.

Marcos Gonzales, Chicago Brother Rice: The senior averaged 18.6 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists helping Brother Rice to a Class 3A state runner-up finish. He was a two-time IBCA all-state honoree, including a first-team selection this season. Gonzales has committed to The Citadel.

Ian Miletic, Rolling Meadows: The senior averaged 18.5 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists as 30-win Rolling Meadows lost to Gurnee Warren in the Class 4A Elite Eight. Miletic earned IBCA all-state first-team honors. He has committed to Marquette.

Dietrich Richardson, Peoria Manual: The senior averaged 18.1 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5 assists in guiding Manual to a Class 2A fourth-place finish. The IBCA all-state first-team selection has committed to Bradley.

Leshawn Stowers, Peoria High: The senior averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists as Peoria High reached the Class 3A Elite Eight, losing to eventual state runner-up Chicago Brother Rice. He was named to the all-state first team by the IBCA and has committed to Miami (Ohio).

Docker Tedeschi, Benton: The senior averaged 24.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.4 blocks and 3 assists for Benton, which lost in a Class 2A sectional semifinal. He’s a two-time IBCA all-state first-team selection and is Benton’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,714 career points. Tedeschi has committed to Colorado State.

Davion Thompson, Bolingbrook: Thompson, the final of the three sophomores on the ballot, averaged 24 points and 5 rebounds as Bolingbrook made it to a Class 4A sectional semifinal. He is a two-time IBCA first-team all-state choice. He has offers from DePaul, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee.

Matthew Zobrist, Metamora: The senior averaged 19.4 points, 4 rebounds and 3.1 assists to help Metamora reach the Class 3A Sweet Sixteen. An IBCA first-team all-state choice, Zobrist has committed to Bradley.

• Two former area high school basketball standouts are looking for new college homes.

Danny Stephens, a 6-foot-7 forward from Augusta Southeastern who spent the past two seasons as a walk-on at the University of Missouri, entered the transfer portal last week. The redshirt freshman has been plagued by injuries and did not see any action for the Tigers this season.

Stephens averaged 29 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game as a senior for Southeastern during the 2022-23 season. A two-time Class 1A all-state selection, he helped the Suns reach the super-sectional as a junior and finished his prep career with 2,361 points with 818 rebounds.

He has three years of college eligibility remaining.

Katey Flynn, a 5-foot-10 guard who prepped at Brown County, is leaving the Division II Maryville University women’s program after one season.

She appeared in only 14 games and played just 71 minutes for the guard-heavy Saints, who used a late-season push to reach the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament championship game, where they fell to Quincy University.

Flynn started all 30 games and averaged 19.8 points as a freshman at John Wood Community College before transferring to Maryville. She has two seasons of eligibility remaining.