After playing at Southwestern Illinois College the last two years, De’Antae McMurray found a new home at Drake University this year.
So far, after two months, the Alton High graduate has been a valuable player for the NCAA Division I school in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s the Bulldogs’ third-leading scorer at 8 points per game after 18 contests. He has scored in double figures seven times this season, including a season-high 24 points against Loyola on Dec. 29.
“De’Antae has been a great addition to our program,” Drake coach Jeff Rutter said. “He has provided us with not just point guard play and distributing, but also with scoring and 3-point shooting. Often times, it takes part of the season for a new player to get comfortable with his role and responsibilities. He has continued to elevate his play in each game.”
McMurray also has a team-high 61 assists with 18 steals and 28 treys.
“As a scorer, he can produce at all three levels: the 3-point line, midrange and at the rim,” Rutter said. “The combination of all this, in addition to him being a very good defender, makes him one of the top guards in our league. On top of it all, he is incredibly coachable, has a positive attitude and is very well-liked by all on our team.”
McMurray, who graduated from Alton in 2014, averaged in double figures in each of his two seasons at SWIC.
Now, McMurray is looking to help the Bulldogs get back on the winning track. Drake was 5-13 going into this week’s games with SIU Carbondale and Illinois State and hasn’t finished with a winning season in five years.
McMurray is not the only former Greater Alton high school basketball player excelling at the Division I level.
Marquette Catholic graduate Deion Lavender is enjoying a strong season with the University of Alabama Birmingham men’s basketball team. He’s playing in his first season with the Conference USA school after sitting out a year because of NCAA transfer rules. He started 13 games with SIUC as a true freshman in 2014-15, averaging 6.6 points per game and 2.5 rebounds per game.
Going into this week, Lavender leads UAB in assists with 75. He’s also averaging 6 points per game.
Carlos Anderson, who graduated from AHS in 2015, is averaging 10 points per game after 19 games at SIUE. Last winter, he was the Cougars’ second-leading scorer at 10 points per contest and was the second-highest scoring freshman in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Marquette grad Jake Coddington is on the Ole Miss roster for a second straight season but hasn’t played a game yet this year.
Civic Memorial graduate Jakob Lowrance has been a spark plug off the bench for the University of Central Missouri Mules men’s basketball team. The sophomore is averaging 7 points and 3 rebounds and has blocked 8 shots in 14 games played this season at the Division II school in Warrensburg, Mo.
“Jakob has done a great job transitioning not only his game, but his body to the collegiate level,” Central Missouri coach Doug Karleskint said. “He has lost over 40 pounds since he stepped foot on campus. That’s credit to his work ethic outside of practice and workouts and buying into the weight room.”
Another CM grad, Kyle Yates, is a senior at McKendree University. He has started 14 games for the Bearcats, averaging 3.5 points per game and leads them with 46 assists. He was a senior for the Eagles in 2013.
Roxana’s Hunter Reine is looking to end his two-year career at UMSL on a high note. He leads the Tritons in scoring (11 points per game) and rebounds (8 per game) after 17 games. Last year, he played 27 games and averaged 8 points and a team-best 4.9 rebounds per contest.
Reine graduated from Roxana in 2013. He is the Shells’ all-time leading scorer and rebounder. He played at SWIC for two seasons before joining D-II UMSL in 2015.
Another Roxana grad, Trace Gentry, is averaging 7 points per game in his first season at Lincoln Land Community College. He was the Shells’ leading scorer last year at 18 points per contest.
Alton product Tyrome Parker is a senior at Baker University, a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school in Baldwin City, Kan., averaging 8.5 points per game through 16 games.
Isaiah Thurmond, who graduated from AHS in 2015, is the second-leading scorer at 13.2 points per game at Carl Sandburg College, a junior college in Galesburg.
Marcus Latham, a 2016 Alton grad, and Shandon Boone, a ‘16 Marquette product, are also continuing their basketball careers in college. Boone is one of the top scorers at Avila University at 11 points per game and Latham is averaging 8 points per contest at Parkland Community College.
East Alton-Wood River’s Mike Stimac is a sophomore on the Illinois College roster but hasn’t played a game this year.
In the women’s division, Alton grads Jordann Wilson and Kondriauna Miller are averaging 13 and 8 points per game for Lewis and Clark Community College. Wilson is playing in her first season of college ball after sitting out last year with a knee injury while attending Loyola University in New Orleans.
Roxana’s Maddy Sheraka — the school’s all-time leading scorer — is averaging 7 points per game at SWIC, CM’s Kalyn (Troxell) Lyons has played 16 games at Illinois Central College and fellow Eagle Journey Coffman is a freshman at Missouri Baptist, playing on the JV squad.
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