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Chicago-area high school basketball fans never got to see what Aaric Armstead looked like as a senior.

A Division I prospect who helped lead Hales to the Class 2A championship as a junior in 2011, Armstead moved to California with his family for his final year of high school.

Northern Illinois fans are enjoying what his senior year of college looks like.

A vital component of sixth-year coach Mark Montgomery's rebuilding effort in DeKalb, the athletic 6-foot-5 wing has started all 58 games the last two seasons and 105 in his four years as a Huskie.


A do-it-all type, Armstead (9.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals per game) has not developed into the prolific scorer Montgomery was hoping for, but his contributions are a big reason the Huskies went from winning five games in each of the two seasons before his arrival to 21 last season.

They're 14-10 this season, 6-5 in the Mid-American Conference, and they have at least a puncher's chance of winning the MAC tournament next month. Akron (20-4, 10-1) is the only team with a better conference record — five teams are 6-5 — and the Huskies had a late lead in their 76-73 loss to the Zips on Jan. 31.

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"I was part of their plan to help the program improve, and it has been an honor and a blessing to be part of it," Armstead said. "I think I have been through every struggle a college player can go through, but with the year we had last year and how this year could turn out, it is worth it."

Armstead's jump shot has long been a topic of discussion. He's accurate from midrange but inconsistent from deep, which has spurred many efforts to lower his arms from over his head into a more traditional position.

He's shooting an acceptable 33 percent from 3-point range this season — his career best is 34.4 percent in 2014-15 — but has struggled with consistency.

"My arms are pretty long, so as a little kid having long arms, my dad had me get my arms over my head early on instead of using a push shot," Armstead said. "There have been a lot of major and minor tweaks, but it is still sort of like that."

Aaric Armstead
NIU guard Aaric Armstead receives a high-five after a win over Toledo at the NIU Convocation Center in DeKalb on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)
Based on how hard Armstead practices and how well he takes care of his body, Montgomery believes Armstead's best basketball is ahead of him.

"He's incredibly good in the open court, he's automatic from 15 to 17 feet and even though the 3 comes and goes, he's shooting 33 percent," Montgomery said. "He also guards the other team's best player and gets six rebounds a game as a guard.

"He's going to get better out of college. He has a great attitude and stays in great shape. Whether it's the (NBA) D-League or leagues overseas, he is going to find his niche."

Identified: DePaul's search for core players to carry over into the new Wintrust Arena next season may have discovered one in Brandon Cyrus.

The 6-foot-5 freshman from Canada, via La Lumiere prep school in Indiana, posted a career-high 18 points and a team-best six rebounds in the Blue Demons' 72-61 loss to No. 24 Xavier on Wednesday night in Cincinnati.

Cyrus has scored in double figures in three of the last four games and has started all 24 games for DePaul (8-16, 1-10). He's averaging 7.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in Big East play and 6.0 points and 4.3 rebounds overall.

Coach Dave Leitao hasn't received much from his other freshmen. Devin Gage, who led Curie to the Class 4A state championship last season, is averaging 3.8 points in 12.7 minutes a game. He's the only DePaul reserve to play in all 24 games.

Brunson in town: Speaking of former Illinois state champions, Jalen Brunson will return to the Chicago suburbs when DePaul hosts reigning NCAA champion Villanova on Monday night at Allstate Arena.

Brunson, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, is averaging 14.1 points and 4.2 assists while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 87.2 percent from the line. He was a three-time Tribune first-team All-State selection at Stevenson and Illinois Mr. Basketball winner in 2014-15.

Georgetown v Villanova
Villanova's Jalen Brunson puts up a shot over Georgetown's Akoy Agau at The Pavilion on Feb. 7, 2017, in Villanova, Pa. (Drew Hallowell / Getty Images)
Freshman Flames: UIC probably doesn't want to think about where it would be without its productive freshman class. Thoughts of the future are far more pleasant.

In the Flames' 105-100 overtime victory against Milwaukee last week — UIC's highest output since 2001 — five freshmen accounted for 75 points. And the list does not include Marcus Ottey, who was averaging 10.3 points when he broke a wrist in a victory over Youngstown State on Jan. 14.

Tarkus Ferguson led the way Saturday with 25 points and 11 assists, while Dominique Matthews scored 23 and Geneva native K.J. Santos added 19.

Matthews, a redshirt freshman from St. Rita, has been averaging a team-high 15.5 points since Jan. 12 and is averaging 9.0 points in 18 minutes overall.

Godwin Boahen (9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game) is also having a strong freshman campaign.

Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.

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