Biography
2020-21: Capped a remarkable career that will see him go down as one of the program’s all-time greats by earning Third Team Associated Press All-America honors, the first Rambler since Alfredrick Hughes in 1985 to be a first, second or third team All-America choice … Third Loyola player in the last four seasons to capture Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year honors and collected First Team All-MVC status for the third time in his illustrious career … Finished his time in the Maroon and Gold ranked fifth in Loyola history in scoring (1,833), seventh in rebounding (944) and eighth in assists (373), to become the only player in school history to rank in the top ten in all three categories … One of only four players in the storied history of The Valley to rack up 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 300 assists for his career, joining Oscar Robertson (Cincinnati), Larry Bird (Indiana State) and Hersey Hawkins (Bradley) … Helped Loyola to three MVC regular-season championships, two MVC tournament titles and three postseason appearances in his career … Left Loyola as the winningest player in program history over a four-year career with 99 wins … Also carted home NABC First Team All-District, USBWA All-District, Sports Illustrated Third Team All-America, MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, MVC Championship Doug Elgin Most Valuable Player, and NCAA Men’s Basketball Midwest Region All-Tournament Team honors … Was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award and was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team …Two-time MVC Player of the Week selection … Finished his career with 23 career double-doubles, including seven this season … Scored in double figures 26 times in 30 appearances, topping the 20-point plateau six times, including twice in the first three games of the season … For the year, averaged 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 blocks and 1.1 steals per game, while connecting on 57.4 percent (191-for-333) of his field goal attempts … Just missed a double-double, going for 22 points and nine rebounds in only 24 minutes in a victory against Chicago State (Dec. 9) … Followed that effort by tossing in 22 points at UIC (Dec. 13) … Produced 19 points, five boards, two assists and a pair of blocks at No. 12 Wisconsin (Dec. 15) … Tallied his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 caroms against Richmond (Dec. 18) … Dazzled in a rout of Illinois State (Dec. 28), racking up 22 points, nine boards, seven assists and no turnovers … Had 16 points, eight rebounds and two assists in a win at Indiana State (Jan. 11) … Delivered 19 points, six boards, three assists and three steals at Bradley (Jan. 24) … Did a number on Missouri State, putting up 18.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.0 apg and 2.0 spg in a two-game sweep of the Bears, January 31 and February 1 … Accounted for 20 points, 11 boards, four assists and three blocks in a win against Evansville (Feb. 6) … Went for 17 points, six boards and a half-dozen helpers versus Evansville (Feb. 7) the following day … Posted double-doubles in both games at Drake, notching 10 points and 10 boards in a win (Feb. 13) and 11 points and a career-high-tying 14 rebounds in an overtime loss (Feb. 14) … Filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a pair of steals against Southern Illinois (Feb. 27) on Senior Night in his final appearance at Gentile Arena … Provided 18 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a victory over Indiana State (March 6) in the MVC Championship semifinals … Registered 20 points, eight rebounds, four dimes and two rejections against Drake (March 7) in the MVC Championship title game … Notched a double-double in each of his final two appearances in a Loyola uniform … Dominated Kofi Cockburn in a NCAA Tournament Second Round win against top-seeded Illinois (March 21), tallying 19 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals … Produced 14 points, 10 boards and four set-ups against Oregon State (March 27) in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals ... CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District 5 selection for the second straight season ... Second Rambler in three seasons to collect CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades, earning second-team recognition.
2019-20: Finished second in the voting for Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year … Was a First Team All-MVC pick after earning MVC Preseason Player of the Year plaudits … Captured National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 16 First Team recognition for the second straight year … Put up 15.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks per game, hitting 56.3 percent (201-for-357) of his field goal attempts … Became the first player in the storied history of The Valley top rank in the top five in the league in scoring, rebounding, assists and field goal percentage … Will enter his senior season with 1,384 points and 737 rebounds in his illustrious career … Is one of only seven players in program history to accumulate at least 1,300 points and 700 rebounds in his career … Closed out the season ranked 17thon Loyola’s all-time scoring chart and 13th on the career rebounding list … Two-time MVC Player of the Week honoree (Dec. 23 and Jan. 27) … Ran his consecutive games started streak to 74 by earning the nod in all 32 contests in 2019-20 … First Rambler since Blake Schilb (2005-07) to earn first team all-league honors multiple times in his career … Top passing big man in the country and ranked first in the nation among centers with 4.2 apg … Recorded nine double-doubles and scored in double digits on 26 occasions, never scoring fewer than seven points in a game … Started the season with a bang, posting 15 points, a career-best 11 assists and eight rebounds in a victory over UC Davis (Nov. 5) … Strung together 10 straight games with double-digit points, November 12 through December 18 … Went for 18 points, 12 rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals against Coppin State (Nov. 12) … Equaled a career high with 24 points and pitched in seven assists in a victory over Saint Joseph’s (Nov. 16) … Scored his 1,000thcareer point in Loyola’s game against South Florida (Nov. 25) at the Cayman Islands Classic … Went for 22 points and eight boards against Old Dominion (Nov. 27) … Named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team … Had 18 points and eight caroms in only 21 minutes versus Quincy (Dec. 7) … Totaled 14 points, 11 rebounds, a half dozen assists and two steals in a victory over Norfolk State (Dec. 15) … Recorded what is believed to be the first triple-double in Loyola history when he logged 22 points, 10 boards and 10 assists to lead Loyola past Vanderbilt (Dec. 18) at the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase in Phoenix … The triple-double was the first by a MVC center since 1989 … Corralled double-figure rebounds in four straight outings, December 15 through December 30 … Produced 13 points, 12 boards, three assists and three steals in a win at Valparaiso (Dec. 30) in the MVC opener … Had 23 points and seven boards to lead Loyola past Missouri State (Jan. 4) … Just missed another triple-double when he recorded 13 points, 12 caroms and nine assists in a victory over Indiana State (Jan. 22) … Followed that effort by going for 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at Northern Iowa (Jan. 26) … Scored 20 points to help the Ramblers defeat Valparaiso (Feb. 9) … Was impressive in a rematch with Northern Iowa (Feb. 15), accounting for 21 points and 11 boards in an overtime win … Came close to a triple-double yet again, collecting 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in a victory over Illinois State (Feb. 19) … Named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team and was a I-AAA Scholar-Athlete Team selection … Took home CoSIDA First Tram Academic All-District 5 recognition … Member of the MVC Honor Roll.
2018-19: Continued his development into arguably the top big man in the Missouri Valley Conference … First Team All-MVC pick, who finished third in MVC Player of the Year balloting … NABC First Team All-District 16 pick … Is the first Rambler ever to be an all-conference (first, second or third team) pick as both a freshman and a sophomore … First Loyola player since Milton Doyle (2013-15) to average 10.0 ppg in both his freshman and sophomore seasons … Averaged 14.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 blocks per game, while leading the league and ranking tied for ninth in the NCAA with a .629 (212-for-337) field goal percentage … Scored nine or more points in 33 of Loyola’s 34 outings, 30 times reaching double digits … Named to the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award Watch List … Also selected to the Lou Henson Award Watch List … Was the only player in The Valley to rank in the top six in the league in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) in conference play … Entered his junior campaign needing just 98 points to reach 1,000 and 23 rebounds to reach 500 for his career … Recorded six double-doubles … Had three outings with 20 or more points … Knocked down his first 15 field goal attempts of the season, hitting 23 of his first 25 (.920) tries on the year … Named MVC Player of the Week November 19 after putting up 18.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 1.5 apg and 2.5 bpg in wins over Niagara and Grambling State … Totaled 18 points, 11 boards, three assists and four blocks against Niagara (Nov. 14) … Had 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks versus No. 5 Nevada (Nov. 27) … Gathered a season-high 12 rebounds at Saint Joseph’s (Dec. 22) … Opened Valley play with 16 points, 10 caroms, five assists, a pair of blocks and two steals against Indiana State (Jan. 2) … Strung together 19 straight games with double-digit points, January 2 through March 8 … Notched double-doubles in back-to-back outings versus UNI (Jan. 30) and at Illinois State (Feb. 2) … Totaled 22 points, six rebounds and four dimes versus Southern Illinois (Jan. 27), then delivered 22 points, 11 boards, five assists, two blocks and sealed the outcome in a one-point win over UNI (Jan. 30) by hitting his first career three-pointer with under a minute remaining … Had five games with five or more assists, including six on a pair of occasions … In a win against MVC co-champion Drake (Feb. 5), registered 19 points, nine boards, three assists and a pair of rejections … Tossed in a season-best 24 points against Missouri State (Feb. 17) … Hung 16 points, five boards and six assists on Bradley (March 2) as Loyola clinched a share of a second straight MVC regular season championship … Totaled 17 points, four rebounds, five assists and three blocks at Creighton (March 19) in the first round of the NIT … MVC First Team Scholar-Athlete … Member of the MVC Honor Roll.
2017-18: Had one of the most impressive freshman seasons in Loyola history … Selected as the MVC Freshman of the Year and also collected Third Team All-MVC, MVC All-Newcomer Team and MVC All-Freshman Team accolades … Named MVC Newcomer of the Week on three occasions … Contributed 10.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, connecting on 59.8 percent (158-for-264) of his field goal attempts and 73.5 percent (83-for-113) of his charity tosses … Appeared in all 38 contests, earning 34 starts … Is the second player in program history to be named MVC Freshman of the Year, joining Milton Doyle (2013-14) … Led Valley freshmen in scoring (10.5) and ranked third in rebounding (6.1) … Scored in double digits in 19 games … Burst onto the scene in his Loyola debut, coming off the bench to record 17 points, the most by a true freshman in a season opener since 2013, and snagged seven rebounds, in a win over Wright State (Nov. 10) … Pulled in 11 boards versus Kent State (Nov. 25) at the Savannah Invitational, the most by a Loyola freshman since December 10, 2011 … Doled out a season-high seven assists and pitched in eight points and five boards in a win over UIC (Dec. 2) … Began to take his game to another level following a 14-point, eight-rebound, three-assist, three-steal performance to lead Loyola to a 65-59 win at No. 5 Florida (Dec. 6) … Accounted for 18 points, the most ever by a Rambler true freshman in a MVC opener, at Missouri State (Dec. 22) … Victimized Bradley for season highs of 21 points and 13 rebounds for his first career double-double (Jan. 13) … Became the first Loyola freshman to score in double figures in 10 straight games since Milton Doyle in 2013-14 when he turned the trick, January 13 through February 14 … Had 18 points and nine boards in a win against Southern Illinois (Jan. 17) … Totaled 17 points and nine rebounds versus Drake (Feb. 7) … Produced 18 points and seven boards in a victory over Valpo (Feb. 14) … Collected five rebounds to go with 16 points and four assists in a win over Illinois State (Feb. 24) in the regular-season finale … Posted 11 points and nine rebounds against Illinois State (March 4) in the MVC Championship title contest victory that put Loyola in the NCAA tourney for the first time since 1985 … Notched 11 points and four caroms against Tennessee (March 17) in a NCAA Second Round game … Recorded nine points and seven rebounds in an Elite 8 win over Kansas State (March 24) … Accounted for a team-best 17 points and snagged six boards versus Michigan (March 31) in the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio … Named to the MVC Honor Roll.
High School: Versatile big man who is also a tremendous passer … Helped Jacobs High School to a 93-29 record and three regional championships in his four seasons … Wrapped up his career at Jacobs ranked No. 4 on the school’s all-time scoring chart with 1,528 points and first with 1,281 rebounds … His rebounds total ranks eighth in IHSA history and his 448 boards in 2016-17 ranks 12th in a single-season … Also totaled 245 career blocks and 240 assists … Named Northwest Herald Boys Basketball Player of the Year as a senior after helping Jacobs to a 30-2 overall record … Helped Jacobs to its first sectional championship in school history in 2016-17, falling one assist short of a quadruple-double in a 62-39 win over Larkin with 20 points, 24 rebounds, 12 blocks and nine assists in the sectional final … Two-time Elgin Courier News Player of the Year selection … Averaged 15.6 points, 14.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game in 2016-17 … During his junior year, produced 17.7 ppg, 12.2 rpg, 2.5 apg and 2.6 bpg, while converting 65 percent of his field goal tries … Two-time all-state selection and in 2016-17, joined former Loyola teammate Lucas Williamson on the Chicago Tribune First Team All-State squad … Named MVP of the North team at the 2017 IBCA All-Star Game after putting up 12 points.
