We are watching two extraordinary freshmen, and when it comes to Bolingbrook’s Davion Thompson and Warren’s Jaxson Davis it’s time to ignore the caution of hyping young stars too soon.
There have been a slew of hot-shot freshmen in state history, but Thompson and Davis are flashing talent and producing at a level for ranked teams we haven’t seen.
What they both did over the holidays was at a whole other level, considering their age and the stage they were playing on.
Davis became the first freshman in the 62-year history of the Proviso West Holiday Tournament to be named tournament MVP. He led the Blue Devils to a title while putting up a whopping 26.8 points and 4.2 assists a game, including 36 points and five assists in the title game.
On the season, Davis is averaging 19.6 points, 5.6 assists and four steals.
Even more impressively, Davis has pushed a team that was unranked in the preseason to top 10 status and a 15-1 record. A dormant Warren basketball program has been revived.
Bolingbrook reached the finals of the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament at York and nearly upset defending state champ Metamora, thanks to Thompson’s 31 points in the championship game. In a semifinal win a day earlier, Thompson went for 27 points, eight rebounds and three assists.
Not since anyone can remember has there been a better freshman scorer in the Chicago area. The 6-2 guard is pouring in 22 points a game.
What these two players have managed to accomplish on the basketball floor in one of the most serious basketball states in the country is remarkable. Considering the long history of high school basketball in this state, that Illinois can now point to two such players in the same season begs for an explanation.
The statistics both Davis and Thompson are putting up and the success their teams are having are tangible. It’s why the two freshmen became the biggest story over the holidays.
But describing how these two freshmen seemingly hit the ground running right out of the gate this season helps explain the aforementioned numbers and the combined record of 27-3.
In reality, they are very similar in their playing styles –– beyond both being left-handed.
Davis and Thompson are cerebral and savvy with the ball in their hands. They play with a poise generally reserved for players two or three years older, and it’s their confidence that explains the ridiculous crunch-time stats they have put up this season.
Both are precise with their passes and handle pressure while never getting rattled. As scorers they bend defenses to their will, creatively getting looks with a sliver’s opening. They orchestrate offense and scoring when necessary, something that’s typically innate in a basketball player and foreign for any freshman.
The game-changing freshman is far from a new phenomenon. However, there was also a time not so long ago when it wasn’t the norm to have as many freshmen playing varsity basketball as we have today.
But a recent history lesson of Illinois high school basketball will also tell you where this double whammy of sensational freshman play stands from a historical perspective.
Most recently, the 2016-17 season is the closest we’ve seen to what is transpiring so far this year. The Class 3A title game that year featured Fenwick freshman DJ Steward scoring 26 points and Morgan Park freshman Nimari Burnett with 24 as Morgan Park beat Fenwick in overtime.
Steward has been the most recent barometer when it comes to being a top-ranked prospect with production and team success at a high level. As a freshman, Steward led Fenwick in scoring with 14.5 points a game while leading the Friars to a state runner-up finish in Class 3A.
That very same year another freshman, Peoria Manual’s Adam Miller, was generating a buzz. Miller finished his freshman season averaging 9.7 points a game for Manual before transferring to Morgan Park. Steward eventually transferred to Young and Burnett left the state following his freshman year.
And there have been other scintillating freshmen we’ve gawked over in this state. Let’s take a deep dive.
From a production standpoint, it’s hard to beat Max Christie of Rolling Meadows who averaged 20 points a game in the 2016-17 season.
The same can be said about EJ Liddell. He scored 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds in his first varsity start as a freshman at Belleville West. Before he went on to win two state titles and put up career numbers we rarely see –– he finished with over 2,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 blocks while winning 100 games –– Liddell averaged 17.3 points, 5.9 rebounds and two blocks a game as a freshman.
Before Jalen Brunson put together arguably the most decorated career in state history, he averaged 14 points a game as a freshman for a team that fell in the regional championship.
But those three teams Christie, Brunson and Liddell played on as freshmen finished a combined 46-37.
The Class of 2011 made a statement early in their high school careers, including the trio of Tracy Abrams, Chasson Randle and Ryan Boatright in 2007-08.
Boatright committed to USC as an eighth-grader and then averaged 10 points a game as a freshman, while Randle also averaged 10 points a game and was team MVP as a freshman.
Abrams, in particular, was the leader of a Caravan team and the talk of the 2008 postseason. After he also averaged 10 points a game during the regular season, he fueled a run that ended with a super-sectional loss to Evanston, averaging 16 points a game in the postseason.
Jabari Parker was a phenom and a key figure for a Simeon state championship team, but he averaged a modest 9.3 points a game. Derrick Rose didn’t play at the varsity level as a freshman.
Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst didn’t rush his freshman phenom in the 1997-98 season. Eddy Curry, who was then a 6-9, 250-pound freshman, didn’t make his varsity debut until January. He dominated immediately, scoring 24 in a win over Thornton and going for 24 points and 14 rebounds in a loss to Evanston en route to an impressive but shortened freshman campaign.
King’s Rashard Griffith (1989-90), Fenwick’s Corey Maggette (1994-95), Galesburg’s Joey Range (1994-95), Julian’s Sean Dockery (1998-99), Washington’s Matt Roth (2004-05) and Lemont’s Nojus Indrusaitis (2021-22) were a half dozen more players with significant freshmen seasons.
Donivine Stewart of Limestone, which is just outside Peoria, did things freshmen don’t do from a scoring standpoint in 2007-08.
The 5-11 guard scored 36 and 38 points in his first two varsity games. He poured in 45 points against Matt Roth’s Washington team and 32 against DJ Richardson and Peoria. Stewart scored 93 points in the Pekin Holiday Tournament and averaged 24.8 points a game as a freshman. Limestone finished 18-7 and lost in the opening game of the regional.
Then there was Jon Scheyer 20 years ago and King’s Jamie Brandon well before him. They both scored over 3,000 career points and currently rank third and fourth in state history in points scored, so there was some damage done as freshmen.
These two were the poster boys for freshman success under the bright lights over the past 40 years.
Scheyer and Glenbrook North finished third in the state in 2003. The then spindly skilled guard defied expectations as a freshman while leading the Spartans in scoring with 15.5 points a game.
Brandon was an absolute force, a freshman phenom for a team that lost in the state championship in 1987. While Brandon dazzled and filled a stat sheet, including 14 points a game, he was playing with arguably the best high school player in the country in Marcus Liberty.
And going way back in the time machine, Walter Downing was the talk of the late 1970s as an emerging young star and future McDonald’s All-American. The 6-8 freshman led Providence Catholic to a third-place finish in 1978 as he turned heads while averaging 17.2 points and 9.7 rebounds in four state finals games.
This isn’t to say Davis and Thompson are better players than many of the aforementioned freshman stars mentioned. In some cases, they may not even be the equal as prospects. But the numbers Davis and Thompson have generated as freshmen, together in the same season, while leading their teams to a current top 10 ranking is something we haven’t seen.
Forget high school. This is more reminiscent of Mark Aguirre at DePaul, where as a college freshman he averaged 24 points and 7.6 rebounds in leading the Blue Demons to the Final Four in 1979.
There is a lot of basketball to be played, both this season and in the careers of these two young stars. But if the high-end production and winning continue for Thompson and Davis, though, we could be engaging in talk we’ve never discussed before.
Freshmen all-staters? The prestigious Sun-Times all-area team with a freshman? It just doesn’t happen.
And there are certainly other individual season factors to consider in this particular season when making the statement that’s about to be made, but it would be the first time we’ve had freshmen in the Player of the Year conversation. Ever.
If there are any questions about whether a freshman deserves the increasingly bright spotlight a season can shine on them, they were answered over the holidays.
