EDWARDSVILLE – Oliver Stephen made a huge impact on Edwardsville's boys basketball program the last four years.
A three-year varsity player, Stephen was one of several boys and girls basketball players who topped the 1,000-point barrier last season while, with teammates Mark Smith and A.J. Epenesa, went 30-2 last year, reaching the IHSA Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional, where the Tigers were eliminated by eventual Class 4A runner-up Chicago Simeon.
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Stephen will move on to the next level, signing a letter of intent to attend Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville next year in a ceremony Thursday afternoon at Edwardsville High.
“It's got a good reputation,” Stephen said. “I'm going in with a good group of guys too; I'm really looking forward to it.”
Stephen averaged 13.5 points per game in 2016-17, shooting 62.3 percent from the floor overall and 59.7 percent from behind the three-point arc. He knows that going from the high school ranks to the collegiate ranks will be a challenge. “It's going to be a big adjustment,” Stephen said, “but I was able to adjust to high school, so I can do it.”
“I'm exceptionally excited” about signing Stephen, said Blue Storm coach Jay Harrington. “He's a good player and a great kid; this year we had some kids who we weren't quite used to having – now we're going back and getting some great kids and he just happens to be a great kid that we're lucky to get.”
While Stephen's shooting skills are important to Harrington's team, it's more than just basketball to Harrington. “It's just not about basketball,” Harrington said. “It's about academics; it's about his personality – what a nice young man.
“We feel like we have upgraded in that area (shooting); we still have our 6-7 All-American coming back in Jaalam Hill (from Louisville, Ky.); he was the ninth-leading scorer in the country, but he was all inside and he was only one of nine freshmen who were named All-Americans.
“To have an All-American coming back like that, to have a guy like Oliver, the kid from (Waterloo) Gibault, Trevor Davis, and (several other incoming freshmen) – all of a sudden, things just changed and we’re back to where we’ve wanted to be and where we have been for years.”
Why Stephen was still available is a mystery to Harrington. “Anybody who shoots 62-63 percent for the year, my goodness sakes – I don’t know why he’s available,” Harrington said. “I thought that he would be snatched up – he’s just too good of a shooter and everybody wants shooters.”
The memories that were created this past season won’t soon be forgotten by Stephen. “This season, I’m not going to forget,” Stephen said. “The memories will be with me until I grow up.”
Stephen has no preference on what school he would like to attend after he leaves SWIC. “Any Division I school would be good,” Stephen said.
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