State's best starts with Parker

Best and the brightest

Who are the top Illinois high school products playing college basketball? Here are Bob Asmussen’s two teams of stars from the Land of Lincoln:

First team
Player of the State Jabari Parker,
Duke
If he sticks around another season, Chicago Simeon grad will be prohibitive favorite for next year’s Wooden Award

Patrick Miller,
Tennessee State
Nation’s No. 5 scorer averages 23.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Tigers, scoring at least 30 six times with a high of 38 against Morehead State.

Chasson Randle,
Stanford
One-time Illinois recruiting target leads the Cardinal in scoring with 18.8 points per game and is making 49 percent of his shots from the field. He is third in scoring in the loaded Pac-12.

Zeke Upshaw,
Hofstra
Illinois State transfer, who averaged 2.5 points for the Redbirds last season, bumped the number to 19.8. That’s good for 27th nationally. He’s hit at least 30 in three games for the Pride.

Fred VanVleet,
Wichita State
Point guard became the fourth Shocker to win Missouri Valley Player of the Year honors. Stat stuffer leads league in assists and is third in steals and three-point shooting.

Second team
David Brown, Western Michigan
Bronco leads the MAC in scoring at 19.1 points per game and had season-best 31 against Oakland.

Julius Brown,
Toledo
MAC assist leader at 6.3 per game stands 10th nationally for the 26-5 Rockets. Can score too, averaging 14.8 points. And he can shoot, hitting 88 percent of his free throws.

Dwayne Evans,
St. Louis
Best player for the NCAA-tournament-bound Billikens is averaging 14 points and 6.4 rebounds while hitting 50 percent of his shots from the field.

Rayvonte Rice,
Illinois
Hometown hero ranks among Big Ten leaders in scoring (15.7 ppg), rebounding (6.1 rpg) and steals. Best part for John Groce is that Rice has another year of eligibility.

Keifer Sykes,
Green Bay
Guard stands 20th in the nation in scoring with a 20.3 average. Hits 81 percent of his free throws and averages 4.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Horizon League champs.