2020 Recruiting Highlight: DJ Steward

DJ Steward is a 6-foot-3, 165-pound point guard from Chicago. Steward has had a wonderful spring campaign on the EYBL circuit after playing his junior season at Whitney Young.

The four-star guard currently holds offers from Illinois, DePaul, Florida, Louisville, Iowa and Notre Dame among others. Indiana, Michigan State and Mizzou have also shown interest.

Steward has proven himself a dynamic and versatile scorer on the spring circuit. He averaged over 24 points per game, good enough for 6th on the circuit.

You can watch some highlights from his 46-point outburst including a game-winning buzzer beater here.

His length allows him to finish in crafty ways despite his slender frame. He also shows great catch-and-shoot ability, and if there’s one thing Illinois will always need, it’s shooting. The way he scores may not always be the prettiest, but he has a knack for it.

Steward’s stock is only going to climb. Illinois was in early on Stewart and will have the chance to pitch him the same story that they pitched Ayo Dosunmu. It’s clear from watching even just a short bit of Steward’s tape that he plays with great swagger and confidence. Illini fans should be hoping he takes the same aggressive mindset Ayo Dosunmu took when he decided to stay home.

Illinois’ biggest priority in the class of 2020 is to find another electric guard to replace the production of Andres Feliz and likely Dosunmu himself. The Illini are lucky to have so many talented options in their recruiting territory for this year. With Caleb Love in St. Louis and Adam Miller, Nimari Burnett (Morgan Park transfer) and DJ Steward in Chicago, they are going to have more than enough opportunities to lock up their next lead guard.

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