Four-star junior D.J. Steward talks in-state schools
LAS VEGAS -- One of the most heavily recruited junior guards in the Midwest, four-star D.J. Steward has transformed his game.
When Steward first hit the scene as a freshman, it was his quickness and athleticism that stood out. The junior at Chicago (Ill.) Whitney Young is still a blazer with the ball, but that's not his biggest strength.
"I'm a knockdown shooter coming off of screens, I can play off the ball and I can play on the ball?" Steward told Rivals.com. "I can handle the ball, go off of pick and rolls and stuff like that. What I need to work on is my defense. Maybe my IQ a little bit. Like when passing, seeing things a little earlier and making quicker decision
"I'm a combo guard but I know in college I'm going to have to be a one (point) so that's what I'm going to continue to work on."
DePaul, Northwestern, Illinois, Florida, Georgia Tech, Loyola (Chicago), Creighton, Marquette and others have offered. Louisville is another Steward mentioned as having shown recent interest.
IN HIS OWN WORDS
DePaul: "It's nice over there. It's a nice facility. We actually played there against Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.). It's a great atmosphere there. My former coach from Meanstreets, he coaches there now and is an assistant, Tim Anderson. So I have a pretty good relationship with them."
Illinois: "They say that I could come in and play right away. They really want me to help rebuild and turn Illinois around. Coach Chin (Coleman) came to see me at the Tarkanian Classic. He's a great guy, he's funny. They just want to turn everything around."
Northwestern: "They have a nice facility too. I went to go see them play against Michigan. Coach Chris Collins stays in contact with me a lot and I just like how he's so nice and down to Earth."
RIVALS' REACTION
Steward deserves a lot of credit for putting in the gym time and skill work to make sure that he's recruited as a basketball player and not just as an athlete. His self-assessment that he's a combo guard is dead-on and he's certainly more of a scorer, but Rivals.com feels that he is capable of playing the point full-time.
He hasn't yet put anything into place, but Steward said he's looking to take trips to Illinois and Louisville the next opportunity he gets to take some visits.
Overall, he's in no hurry to make a decision so there is still plenty of time for just about anybody involved to make a strong move.