Stevenson's Stineman going D-I

Kevin Stineman had a basketball game to play Saturday at Whitney Young High School in Chicago.

None of his hoop-playing buddies, nor Stevenson teammates, were joining him.

"I'm playing with all inner-city kids," said Stineman, the only suburban kid he knows who is playing in this fall league. "It's only going to make me better and make me quicker."

The senior knows he has play better and be quicker to play Division I basketball, and that's what he plans on doing next year.

Stineman, a 6-foot-1 point guard, this week verbally committed to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, whose men's basketball team is transitioning from Division II to NCAA Division I.

"It's going to be real exciting," said Stineman, noting SIUE is also renovating its arena. "Just being down there on campus, everyone is jacked up about them going Division I (next year)."

Stineman played a key role last winter in helping Stevenson earn a surprising berth in the Class AA Elite Eight. He injured his shoulder just before the start of the season and was primarily coming off the bench until February.

Once he was inserted into the starting lineup, the Patriots took off. Stineman earned honorable mention all-conference honors and scored a season-high 21 points in Stevenson's upset of top-seeded Warren in the Hoffman Estates supersectional at the Sears Centre.

He eventually helped the Patriots finish fourth in the state.

While Stevenson plays a half-court game, SIUE is expected to be an up-tempo team under former Bradley top assistant Lennox Forrester, who was named the Cougars' head coach in April.

"Their style of play is really going to fit me well," Stineman said. "They like to get it and go, and the point guard makes all the decisions and always has the ball in his hands. It's a real fun offense."

Stineman also received interest from, among other schools, Weber State, William & Mary, Colgate, Eastern Illinois and Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne.

"Edwardsville recruited me probably the best," Stineman said. "They came to all my stuff, and when I went down to the campus I liked all the players, and the coaches were, by far, the best."