During the last four weeks of the University of Illinois Springfield men’s basketball season, forward Collin Stallworth and guard Aundrae Williams ran out on the court during player introductions.
The freshmen made their first college starts on Jan. 27 in a win over Indianapolis.
Williams, who attended Lanphier, collected eight starts. He played 610 minutes, third most for the Prairie Stars. He finished as UIS’ third-leading scorer with 8 points per game and was second in steals averaging 1.1 per game.
“If you look at his assist to turnover ratio, it was really good for a freshman,” UIS coach Bill Walker said. “It was over 2 to 1, which is pretty good. He’s a very good defender. He’s got some tangibles and intensity that are just good for the team. He really gave us that spark.”
Stallworth eased his way into the season. The Rochester product started nine contests, played 488 minutes and averaged 3.9 points. He was third in rebounding with 3.8 per game and second with 0.5 blocks per game.
“Collin had some very good games against some high level talent,” Walker said. “He kind of flipped a switch midway through the (Great Lakes Valley Conference) season. It wasn’t a dominating season, but he showed flashes of why everyone around this area kind of knows his ceiling and how good he can be.”
Wins were much easier for the Stars to come by in the first 2 ½ months. They opened with a 12-5 record. After that, they won just two of their last 12 games.
One of those victories was huge. UIS upset powerhouse Southern Indiana 79-70 on Feb. 8 at The Recreation and Athletic Center.
UIS finished 14-14 overall and 6-12 in the GLVC.
This article was published in The State Journal-Register on March 10, 2018.
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