South Elgin guard Sutter to walk on at UIC

South Elgin basketball star Sammy Sutter wants to test himself against the best.

The 6-foot-2 senior guard recently turned down offers from a pair of Division-III schools to accept preferred walk-on status at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Sutter will pay his own way as a freshman, but he is guaranteed a roster spot and can earn his way into a scholarship in the future.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to play Division I,” Sutter said Thursday. “I’ve always wanted to play against the best players and compete against the best. I believe I have the ability to do so. It’s going to be a challenge, but I’m ready to take it on with a full head of steam and hope for the best.”

Sutter is a two-time Daily Herald All-Area selection. He increased his 12.5 points-per-game scoring average as a junior to 18.4 as a senior. In 2010-11, he shot 55 percent from 2-point range (124 of 225) and 33.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (57 of 169). He was a 72.6 free-throw shooter and averaged 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in South Elgin’s dribble-drive offense.

Sutter, who will graduate from South Elgin on May 28 with a grade-point average of 3.5, visited the campus and toured the facilities in late April.

“I met all the coaches and saw all the practice facilities and I knew right away it was where I wanted to go,” said Sutter, who will begin classes in June so he can begin working out with the Flames and, hopefully, turn some heads.

“I think I can definitely play,” he said. “A preferred walk on gets treated a little differently than a scholarship player. They know I’m a hard worker. I have to show them in practice what I can do for them in games. Hopefully, I can earn a scholarship by my senior year.”