Former Incarnate Word Academy All-American Napheesa Collier is off to an excellent start to her junior season at the University of Connecticut.
Collier is currently averaging 14.4 points a game on a well-balanced UConn machine that is currently 5-0 and ranked No. 1 in the country. Collier is also averaging a team high 7.6 rebounds and three steals a game, which is also tops on the team. She is shooting 49 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line.
Collier was a three-time state champion and a McDonald’s All-American during her stellar high school career at Incarnate Word. As a freshman, she was a top reserve on the Huskies’ march to a NCAA national championship.
Shawn Roundtree shines at Central Michigan
Former Edwardsville High basketball standout Shawn Roundtree has been putting in some work during the early part of the season at Central Michigan. The 6’0” Roundtree led the Chippewas to the championship of the Great Alaska Shootout last week and earned the Most Valuable Player honors in the process.
Roundtree scored a team-high 16 points with six assists in Central Michigan’s 75-72 victory over Cal-State Bakersfield in the championship game. For the season, Roundtree is averaging 14.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 38 percent from 3-point range.
Stars take the Borgia Turkey title
McCluer North started its prep basketball season in grand fashion by winning the championship of the St. Francis Borgia Turkey Tournament. The Stars defeated host Borgia 62-42 in the semifinals, then defeated Pacific 59-52 in the championship game. Junior guard Atavian Butler was selected the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament. Butler scored a team-high 18 points in the championship game victory over Pacific.
Metro League girls succeeding in collegiate ranks
A pair of former girls’ basketball standouts from the Metro League have been doing quite well at the collegiate level. Former Lutheran North standout Shug Dickson is currently the top player at Tulsa University as a sophomore while former MICDS standout Rachel Thompson is doing an excellent job as a sophomore at Colgate University.
The 5’9” Dickson is currently averaging a team-high 16.2 points and five rebounds a game while shooting 88 percent from the free throw line. She has surpassed the 20-point mark in games against American and Detroit. As a freshman, Dickson averaged eight points and 3.5 rebounds. Dickson was a former St. Louis American Fab Five Player of the Year as a senior at Lutheran North.
The 5’9” Thompson has emerged as one of the top young players in the Patriot League. As a freshman, she averaged 10 points and led Colgate in assists, steals and field goal percentage in earning Patriot League All-Rookie honors. Through six games this season, Thompson is averaging 10.3 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the field. She led MICDS to back-to-back Class 4 state championship game appearances in 2015 and 2016.
