Former Libertyville basketball star dies after fall in Missouri
Former Libertyville High School basketball star Jack Lipp, a freshman at the University of Missouri, has died at University Hospital after being in critical condition since a fall from a balcony during a party.
Columbia police couldn't be reached for comment Friday, but media reports said Lipp, 19, fell 15 feet onto a driveway about 2:30 a.m. Dec. 13 at a home where the party was happening with about 100 people. They fled when officers arrived and no witnesses to the fall have come forward.
A resident of the house, Mike Novak, told the Columbia Missourian no one in the house saw Lipp fall. “We came outside and he was lying on the ground,” he said.
Libertyville-Vernon Hills Area High School District 128 officials said they were deeply saddened by the teen's death.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends at this most difficult time,” Superintendent Prentiss Lea said in a statement.
Lipp was a two-year starter for Libertyville's varsity basketball team and made the Daily Herald all-area team his senior year. He played basketball and golf all four years, District 128 spokeswoman Mary Todoric said.
“We're going to miss Jack,” said Conor Peterson, who played on varsity with Lipp last season. “Lipp was a great player, great individual, great teammate.”
The Libertyville Wildcats, just a day after learning of the death of their former teammate, got a 70-61 win Friday night over Niles North.
“We talked about just playing hard,” coach Scott Bogumil said. “That's what Jack always did.”
He didn't play basketball at Missouri.
Lipp garnered national media attention in 2013 when ESPN aired video of an at-the-buzzer shot he took in a game in Waukegan.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 29, at McMurrough Funeral Chapel, 101 Park Place, Libertyville. The funeral is private.
Lipp's survivors include his parents, John and Stephanie Lipp, and three grandparents.
Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society in honor of a grandfather, Ellis Lipp, and an uncle, Marty Schade.
• Daily Herald staff writer Joe Aguilar contributed to this report.