Quinn Niego is only a sophomore, but the St. Xavier point guard is already playing like a grizzled veteran.
Niego, a Brother Rice product, started 21 games his freshman season and all 30 games this year for the Cougars.
“Last year, getting all that playing time and experience, it really helped,” Niego said. “I got used to the style of play at this level and got familiar with the system coach (Tom O’Malley) runs, and I feel a lot more comfortable this season.”
Niego has done a little bit of everything this year for the Cougars, who have clinched a spot in the NAIA Division II national tournament by winning the CCAC North Division.
He’s averaging 10.5 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists and, O’Malley noted, is the team’s top defender.
“We usually have him on the opponent’s best offensive player,” O’Malley said. “We don’t make things easy on him. He’s a great kid who always plays hard. You want guys that pay attention to their play on both sides of the floor, and rebounding, and he does that.”
Niego takes pride in being an all-around player.
“I’m all about doing everything I can to help my team,” he said. “I don’t worry too much about just my scoring numbers. I want to produce in a lot of different ways. I definitely like the challenge of guarding other teams’ best players. Defense is all about mindset and toughness.”
O’Malley said Niego’s only bad game of the season came when he went scoreless in a Feb. 20 loss to Cardinal Stritch.
Niego bounced back by scoring a career-high 25 points in the next game, a win over Trinity International in the CCAC quarterfinals.
“I wanted to make up for that bad game and my teammates kept finding me,” he said. “I was open and knocked down shots.”
Maiden voyage: The Governors State men’s basketball team concluded its inaugural season by winning six of its last nine games.
The Jaguars (8-21) highlighted that streak with upsets of St. Xavier on Feb. 6 and Bellevue — ranked No. 23 in NAIA Division II — in the season finale Feb. 20.
“We felt really good about the way we were playing at the end of the year,” coach Tony Bates said. “I was an assistant at St. Xavier for 14 seasons, so to go in there and win was really special.
“For the first year, we finished strong, and we expect to go into the CCAC next season ready to compete.”
Governors State competed as an independent in NAIA Division II this season and will enter the CCAC next year.
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With no seniors on this year’s team, the Jaguars expect big things next year.
“Starting this season, we didn’t have experience playing together,” said forward Jalen Miller, a Rich Central product. “We had to improve on the fly and we got it going at the end of the year. We know we have the talent to have a lot of success next year.
“I came here to be here for the start of something great. It’s awesome. It’s great to be able to represent my community, too.”
Miller averaged 14.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. H-F product Willie Lipsey averaged 11.5 points.
Perfect season: On Thursday, the Lewis women’s team defeated Wisconsin-Parkside to cap an undefeated run through the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
The Flyers (27-1, 18-0) are ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II.
“This is all about the young ladies in that locker room,” Flyers coach Kristen Gillespie said. “I’m so proud of their focus and drive.”
Steve Millar is a freelance writer for the Daily Southtown.