Words by Dan Shalin
Photography by Joel Lerner
The hyped up and humble Evanston star keeps it all in perspective.
This past fall, Evanston High School boys basketball coach Mike Ellis regularly used Twitter to reveal which Division I college coaches attended the school’s open gyms.
Such high-profile visitors produced plenty of tweets and re-tweets throughout the Twitter-verse.
Inside the gym, the presence of these coaches created a buzz.
Perhaps the only player unfazed by the guests was the kid they all were coming to see—Nojel Eastern. The sophomore point guard may not be eligible for a driver’s license until May, but he’s been getting national attention since he was a fifth-grader living in Rogers Park. His first college recruiting letter arrived two years later, just before he moved to Evanston.
Eastern, who is 6-foot-4 and likely still growing, already has scholarship offers from schools like University of Illinois, Purdue, and Seton Hall. Recruiters from Michigan State and Marquette are also watching closely. Generally considered one
of the top two or three sophomores in the state, Eastern is rated a top 35-40 prospect nationally in the Class of 2017, and soon will find out if he makes the United States U16 National Team.
But Eastern appears to take it all in stride. He refuses to get caught up in the hype.
“There are people who tell me, ‘You are going to be real good and play in the NBA.’ I’m used to that. But I don’t pay too much attention to it. I appreciate it, but then I go on with my day,” says Eastern, whom teammates say is always in the gym practicing. “I try to stay humble. I am trying to be the same person (I’ve been) and just work to develop my game to a high level. That’s just who I am.”
Eastern has the respect of his teammates. “He’s the nicest kid on the team and probably the hardest worker,” Evanston junior forward Dylan Mulvihill says. “He’s the most humble kid I know. A lot of guys getting all of this attention would let it go right to their head. But not him; he’s special.”
Eastern fully embraces his role-model status within the school and community, calling it a blessing that younger kids look up to him. He sometimes uses the term student/athlete to describe himself, and he generally seems happy his classmates like him for his personality—and not for his jump shot.
This off-the-court selflessness and maturity is reflected in Eastern’s game, according to Ellis.
“He’s not a guy who worries about his points,” Ellis says. “He’s more concerned about how he can make plays for his teammates—and how he can move the defense one way and make the smart pass.
“He’s wise beyond his years in the game of basketball,” the coach adds.
This winter, the left-handed Eastern, averaged 15.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists for a young Evanston team, which went 20-9 and claimed Central Suburban League and regional championships.
But judging Eastern, by numbers alone, would be missing the point.
“No matter how many points I get,” Eastern says, “It’s still about getting my teammates involved and getting them touches. That’s my main focus, wanting everybody to achieve.”
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