Shaun Livingston Sets Record

Shaun Livingston, the 6-6, 170 pound junior point guard from Peoria, Illinois, did double duty last Saturday at Rick Barrett's Annual Gym Rat Midnight Madness in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

First, his 12 points and 12 rebounds led his squad to a 108-85 victory in the Elite undergrad game, the penultimate contest of the evening. Rick Barrett announced that Livington's 15th assist in this match broke Stephon Marbury's assist record for the event. He as named his team's MVP for his performance.

Then he helped Michigan Hurricane's Chris Greer's squad to a 122-106 win in the event finale, the All-American game.

RivalsHoops.com spoke with Livingston before he suited up for the doubleheader. "I play anywhere from the one-to-four positions but I'm most comfortable at point guard," he said. And having not seen this trim (and probably growing) young man play, I wondered if perhaps a wing position would be more appropriate for a player his size.

That mistaken thought ended once the game began. Livingston is extremely comfortable on the floor at the lead guard, has great vision and makes outstanding threaded passes. His one downside; he's not very accurate on outside jump shots.

Livingston said he averaged approximately 10 points, five assists and five rebounds as a sophomore at Peoria Richwoods High School. "I'm attending Peoria Central this year," he added.

The lanky, impressive player said he is very open in his recruiting. "Some of the schools are Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Duke, Oklahoma and Iowa," he said. Earlier, Livingston told RivalsHoops.com's Mike Sullivan that Connecticut, North Carolina, and Michigan State were also among his schools. "I'm planning to make a college decision by the summer," he added.

RivalsHoops.com's number nine player in the class of 2004 said he has a 2.5 GPA, noting, "I really didn't do that well in my freshman classes. I got B's and C's last year and plan to get better." He'll take the ACT for the first time next month.

Livingston, playing with Fort Sooy, was named Speice Tourney MVP in May of 2002. He also was named to the adidas ABCD camp underclassmen All-Star game and to the Big Time Tournament All-Star team this past July.

He said that he's been working on his jump shot, strength and foot quickness. These points do need improvement, though quickness less than the others. Can expect his game will be a good deal better by the time RivalsHoops.com catches him again.