Offers keep rolling in for Rolling Meadows' Christie

Just a sophomore, Rolling Meadows forward Max Christie has already made quite a name for himself.

But not just around here.

Many coaches in the Northwest suburbs believe that Christie, who is one of the leading scorers in the area at 26 points per game while also averaging 12 rebounds per game, will be an All-American someday.

"He is big-time," Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said of the 6-foot-6 Christie. "He's gotten a bunch of offers, he had a great freshman year and he's grown and gotten even better since last year."

Katovich says that Christie has gotten scholarship offers and interest from a Who's Who list of college basketball powerhouses, including the likes of Duke, Villanova, Michigan, and various other big-time programs.

"He's handling it amazingly," Katovich said. "Max is one of the nicest and most unselfish kids I've ever coached. He just wants to win. You'd think a kid that has his numbers might be some kind of ball hog but that's not him at all. He is constantly passing to his teammates, he works hard to help us win. He is just fantastic to coach."

Christie was about 6-foot-2 as a freshman last year and grew about four inches over the offseason. He also worked hard on his midrange game, adding to his previous strengths of getting to the rim and hitting 3-pointers from NBA range.

"Another change from last year with Max is he has taken on much more of a leadership role for us," Katovich said. "We have a tight-knit group and everyone gets along well and being a leader in that group is a natural position for Max."

Christie, who faces double and triple teams nearly every game, has been on a tear lately, averaging more than 30 points over the last four games.

"He is a very, very good player and his confidence is at a way higher level than even last year," Katovich said. "We've had a bunch of kids play at the Division III level over the years, but we've never had anybody at this high of a level. He's going to be able to go (to college) pretty much anywhere."