Impressive state tourney for Christie
Behind five straight double/doubles by senior forward J.D. Christie, Shawnee Mission East High School of Fairway, Kan., finished the season as state runner ups. Christie, 6-foot-6, 220-pounds, now has an official offer and a new school in his top five.
"J.D.'s top five are probably Evansville, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Ball State and Arkansas-Little Rock," said Shawnee Mission East coach Shawn Hair. "Illinois State just jumped in after watching him hold Casey Crawford to one field goal and six points in the Elite Eight."
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Christie, who has officially visited Evansville, also holds an offer from the Purple Aces.
"He told me he really liked the Evansville facilities," said Hair. "He said they really take care of their athletes there. It sounded like he really enjoyed the visit.
"All the other schools want him to visit as well. I don't know if he has official offers from any of them, but in my opinion, they would all take him."
Presently on spring break, Christie is expected to decide on Monday what other schools he will visit.
Coach Hair had plenty of positive things to say about the play of his senior leader.
"J.D. had a great state tournament. He carried us all the way to the finals. He produced offensively while also guarding some of the best players in the state.
"He is going to be a steal for somebody. He is an unbelievable competitor. The bigger the game, the better he plays. He will be even better in college because he will be playing against better players."
Christie averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds per game on the year.