Ex-Barrington star Ivanauskas among 13 players from suburbs in NCAA Tournament
Good luck finding a player more fired up to be playing in the NCAA Tournament than Rapolas Ivanauskas.
“Just happy to be playing again and really blessed to be playing again,” Ivanauskas told The Daily Orange. “And just happy with the opportunity because there were times where I felt like through my injuries and things, it was going to be really hard getting out and being able to play well again.”
Ivanauskas was a star player at Barrington High School for three years before spending his senior season at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
After that, the 6-foot-10 forward moved on to Northwestern and was recovering from shoulder surgery two years ago when the Wildcats made it to the NCAAs for the first time in school history.
Ivanauskas had another shoulder operation in December 2017 and wound up transferring from Northwestern to Colgate, a tiny college in central New York.
Fully recovered this season, Ivanauskas led the Raiders in scoring (16.4 points per games) and rebounding (7.9) while winning Patriot League Player of the Year honors.
He also led Colgate to a 24-10 record and the conference title. The No. 15 seed Raiders play No. 2 Tennessee on Friday in the first round of the South Region at Columbus, Ohio.
Here's a look at some other local players who are going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament:
Courtese Cooper, LSU
He probably was better at volleyball than basketball while prepping at Elgin High School, but that has changed. Cooper was a force for Triton last year, helping the Trojans win the Division II junior college national basketball championship.
He's moved up to LSU, but the 6-foot-8 forward redshirted this season to add weight and strength.
Ryan Davis, Vermont
In 2018, he was wrapping up a four-year career at Conant and was named captain of the Daily Herald's Northwest all-area team. This year, the freshman forward is going to the NCAAs with Vermont. Davis helped the Catamounts make it to March Madness for the second time in three years while averaging 3.5 points and 1.9 rebounds.
Tommy Gardiner, Marquette
The walk-on freshman forward from Maine South High School played in three games for the Golden Eagles this season.
Zion Griffin, Iowa State
The freshman forward from Hinsdale South fit right in on a Cyclones roster loaded with Illinois players. In 17 games with ISU, Griffin averaged 1.8 ppg and 1.6 rpg.
Jack Hoiberg, Michigan State
Best known as the son of former Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg, Jack is a walk-on freshman guard for the Big Ten champs.
In 12 games for the Spartans, the Hinsdale Central grad scored 8 points.
Kyle King, Purdue
The freshman walk-on guard from St. Charles North didn't play much this season, but the Boilermakers are a natural fit.
Kyle's grandfather, the late George King, coached Purdue from 1965-72 and led the Boilermakers to the 1969 Final Four. His uncle, Gary Danielson, quarterbacked Purdue and now is a college football commentator on CBS.
Joey Lane, Ohio State
A senior guard and Deerfield H.S. product, Lane played in 14 games for the Buckeyes this season and scored 11 points.
Mike Lelito, Marquette
A walk-on guard for the Golden Eagles, the former Hersey High school standout played in three games this season for the Big East power.
Pat McNamara, Farleigh Dickinson
The junior guard from St. Viator helped the Knights win the Northeast Conference championship and advance to the NCAA “First Four” while playing in 17 games and scoring 16 points.
Matt Mooney, Texas Tech
The Wauconda native has been on the move since high school. Mooney made the long commute to Notre Dame College Prep before playing college basketball at Air Force and South Dakota. A graduate transfer at Texas Tech this season, Mooney was the Red Raiders' third-leading scorer with 10.9 ppg.
Admiral Schofield, Tennessee
The Volunteers roll into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed, and Schofield is a big reason why. A senior guard out of Zion-Benton Township High School, Schofield is Tennessee's second-leading scorer (16.2) and rebounder (6.1). In a 76-73 December win over No. 1 seed Gonzaga, he scored 30 points.
Trevor Stumpe, Wofford
A big-time scorer last year, Stumpe had back surgery earlier this season and only played in eight games. The junior guard out of Plainfield North averaged 10.8 ppg last year.