CHAMPAIGN—While DePaul Prep waited for star juniors Jaylan McElroy and Payton Kamin to get healthy, an unheralded group of players kept the team heading in the right direction and prepared for success when all the pieces were in place.
Senior Maurice Thomas, junior PJ Chambers and sophomore Makai Kvamme didn’t recede from the spotlight when McElroy and Kamin returned last month. The trio became key players on a team destined for the Class 2A state championship.
“It means everything,” Thomas said. “We put the hard work in. It means the world to us. This is a younger group. It was my job to mentor them and take them under my wing.”
Kvamme ran the show, Thomas and Chambers scored and all three defended well as the Rams knocked off Bloomington Central Catholic 65-41 in the 2A title game Saturday at State Farm Center.
It’s the first state championship for DePaul Prep (23-12), which finished third in Class 2A in 2022 and 2019. The Rams lost the Class AA title game to King back in 1990 when the school was known as Gordon Tech.
DePaul Prep led 28-19 at halftime and dominated the third quarter, limiting the Saints (26-12) to just five points and two baskets. The Rams led 42-24 heading into the fourth quarter.
Thomas led DePaul Prep with 21 points. McElroy, an athletic 6-7 forward, added 11 points and 11 rebounds. Chambers scored 11 and grabbed four boards.
“After a tough loss to a team from Michigan earlier this season we had a player-led meeting and said we aren’t going out like last year,” Thomas said.
The future is bright for DePaul Prep, which starts three juniors and a sophomore. The Rams will move up to Class 3A next year due to the Illinois High School Association’s success factor rule.
Bloomington Central Catholic junior Cole Certa was the highest-rated prospect at the State Finals. The 6-5 guard led the Saints with 18 points, he was 4 for 13 from three-point range.
“I have to get bigger and stronger and faster and just keep working hard,” Certa said.
Bloomington Central Catholic won the Class 2A championship in 2014 and finished third in 2018.
