Recruiting blog: Donovine Stewart

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BARTONVILLE — Donovine Stewart spent the summer touring the nation with Peoria Carver AAU. Despite basketball filling most of his free time, the sophomore guard from Limestone is anxious to get back on the floor for the high school season. The Rockets kick off the season against Rockwood Summit (Mo.) at Washington on Wednesday.

"Now I'm back in my community, back in my own school where I got a lot of fans supporting me and wanting to do good," Stewart said. "So it's good to be back at school, back in my home playing for my home town, home city and home school."

Stewart burst on to the high school scene last season, averaging 24.8 points per game as a freshman. But the 5-foot-10 point guard isn't concentrated on matching those gaudy numbers again this season.

"My goal is to get down state, regardless of numbers," Stewart said. "Last year, I had to put up the numbers I had to put up in order for us to do as good as we did. It just depends on the need for me. If they need me to put up the numbers I put up, then I'm going to put up the numbers I need to put up. But if they need me to get assists, rebounds and steal here and there, then I'm also going to do that.

"I know people are going to try and put pressure on, ‘Can you top last year?' Things like that. I don't really feel pressure. I just have a goal of getting down state."

Stewart's monster freshman season caught the eye of several Division I programs. The skilled and intelligent point guard has already received offers from Illinois and West Virginia.

"I've been hearing from Iowa, West Virginia, Virginia, Texas, USC, Arizona. I heard from Kentucky, Utah, Penn State, Michigan," Stewart said. "I've been up to Iowa for a few football games. I called out to West Virginia, USC and Kansas State. I talked to Texas once."

Stewart keeps in contact with Illinois, but the sophomore does not expect to making a college decision any time soon. With interest from all over the nation, Stewart is open to traveling far from central Illinois.

"Distance is not a factor of all," Stewart said. "The factor is the program and where the program is headed and where I fit."

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