By Jeff Vorva
It didn’t take Ahmad Henderson II long to get used to competing in college basketball.
In his first game at Niagara, the Monee native scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and gave out three assists in a 70-63 loss to Notre Dame November 6 in South Bend, Indiana.
But that paled in comparison to the debut he put on Niagara’s home court. He scored 28 points – including 18 in the second half, on Saturday in a 73-64 loss to Bucknell. It was the most points scored by a Niagara freshman in a home debut since 2011.
The 5-foot-9 guard was a star for Brother Rice in Chicago and scored more than 1,000 career points for the Crusaders. He also had a flair for the dramatic, as he had multiple late game-winning baskets.
Sign them up!
The early signing period began on November 8, and some area stars signed letters of intent to college.
Beecher’s A.J. Snell signed up to play baseball with Purdue University Northwest.
Beecher resident Jordan Bailey, a senior at Marian Catholic, inked a letter-of-intent to play at Bethel. Other Spartans who signed were girls basketball star Madison Davis to Western Illinois and softball player Jasmine Wenson to Hampton.
Peotone connection at SXU
Peotone’s Jack Halverson had a long and successful career with the St. Xavier University’s men’s basketball team, playing five seasons, including an extra year granted due to the pandemic.
But the Blue Devil connection is not done, yet. Redshirt freshman Mason Kibelkis, a 6-foot-4 guard, is getting some floor time for the Cougars.
He came off the bench on November 8 and scored 14 points in 22 minutes in an 89-69 loss to Missouri Baptist at the Shannon Center in Chicago.
Soccer standouts
Five Beecher soccer players earned honors from the Illinois High School Soccer Association Coaches Association for the 2023 season.
Wences Baumgartner and Logan Wilkins both were named all-sectional, while Tyler Kramer was an honorable mention. Ethan Palmisano was named to the all-academic team, and Ethan Rydberg won the sportsmanship award.
Breakfast of champions?
Manteno girls basketball players had a preseason bonding breakfast at Yannis Café on Saturday in anticipation of the season, which opened Monday at the Reed-Custer Thanksgiving Tipoff.
They were slated to face Gardner-South Wilmington, Coal City, and Morris in pool play.
The finals are scheduled for Saturday.
Last season, the team finished 15-13, its first winning season since 2006-07.
Have an item?
Do you have a sports item for this report? E-mail it to Jeff Vorva at jvorva@aol.com.