Donivine Stewart @ Pekin

[BradleyBrave]

12 out of 28 at the line and you lose by 9, was not there but stats do not lie, 21 out of 28 gets you a tie.

I guess you had to be there. Regardless of whether Limestone went 28 for 28, their defense and rebounding would have never allowed them to win.

[BuB]

i'll say it again, DS is very frustrating to watch. he gives little or no effort on defense, rarely crashes the boards, and is often standing around. his numbers look ok, but if you watched that game, his effort is pathetic. weeks and lawson are the only two rockets who really give anything close to full energy.

abrams to me looked the better player, but only slightly. excellent ballhandler, a bit more athletic than DS, it was hard to tell though since the game was mostly low energy. i was right behind the bench and it sounded to me like abrams was benched for poor effort and attitude. he sat the entire fourth quarter.

what's up with this trend? the entire morton starting five was benched last night for the fourth and almost fell to the 16th seed.

lanphier looks pretty good, i wouldn't be surprised if they beat limestone. at this point i'd make boylan the tournament favorite. athletic, disciplined, and play good d. morton was sleepwalking for much of their game and may be feeling all the hype placed on them. i don't see them as a clear mid illini favorite--more on par with washington (who already crushed them), limestone, and maybe even pekin.

great tournament as always, even if the overall team level is a bit down. pekin is always fun.

+1

This tournament has shown some new fans what I have seen many times over the years. DS #'s normally are good but understand it is common for him to take 20-25 shots per game. He has work to do in order to contribute at our level. It is not a shock that an incoming freshman has some holes in his game but his shooting, free throws and defense need alot of work. If SM does not come back next year.........

Limestones defense is really bad. I can't believe a team that is considered by most to be the most "athletic" team in the Mid Illini plays zone so much. Easy lanes to the rim from the point, wings, or the baseline. Looks like Sparrow can only recruit. The community is sick of that situation.

Imo I think Abrams is the better player of the 2. However Stewart could see more playing time early in his career because we are in a weakened Valley compared to the Big 10.

This is a very well run tournament with good internet info and pictures. However the quality of teams was way down this year. Pekin ALWAYS sets the brackets so they get to the final 4 but they are down. Whoever ranked the teams this year was way off. No way should Moline be a #2 seed and Morton as the 1 seed is a stretch. Some bad teams and alot of kids who show little effort but lots of attitude.

[Braves4Life]

+1
If SM does not come back next year.........

Why wouldn't he? Sammy will be back and Donivine will be able to learn from one of the best before taking over the show as a sophomore.

[BuB]

Why wouldn't he? Sammy will be back and Donivine will be able to learn from one of the best before taking over the show as a sophomore.

1. Still has to be awarded his redshirt but that should just be a formality.
2. If he graduates this year or over the Summer he may not want to come back to school as a full time student again.
3. May have a good job offer
4. A doctor may tell him that his ankles might never get better or could get worse. I am not sure if they really know what is the cause of his pain is.
5. Some kids get burnt out or frustrated. The fire stops burning. This is not likely after watching him play but you never know with 18-22 year old kids.


I don't have any knowledge of his situation but these are some reasons why kids don.t come back for a 5th year. I know others but they probably don't apply here.

[Da Coach]

Limestone won on Wednesday (12/29) to take 3rd place in the tournament-

Limestone 53
(#1 seed) Morton 42

http://www.holidaytournament.com/game31.html

stats-

http://www.holidaytournament.com/Game31stats.html

Donivine Stewart did not play due to injury.

[Braves2011]

1. Still has to be awarded his redshirt but that should just be a formality.
2. If he graduates this year or over the Summer he may not want to come back to school as a full time student again.
3. May have a good job offer
4. A doctor may tell him that his ankles might never get better or could get worse. I am not sure if they really know what is the cause of his pain is.
5. Some kids get burnt out or frustrated. The fire stops burning. This is not likely after watching him play but you never know with 18-22 year old kids.


I don't have any knowledge of his situation but these are some reasons why kids don.t come back for a 5th year. I know others but they probably don't apply here.

I think/ hope he will come back next year to play. I say Les' twitter the other day and it said Good news prognosis on Sammys long term health-ability to come back pain free! so it sounds like pretty good if everything keeps going the way it is with SM health.

[bu fan 9]

Sammy will be back that is a book it.

[Big Mike]

Sammy will be back that is a book it.

You would be "correct sir" in this statement!