Area Players Sign With Lincoln Land Community College

Jake Stombaugh (center) signs a letter of intent to play basketball for Lincoln Land Community College. Looking on are EHS Coach Ron Reed and Jake's mother.

-----------

There’s definitely going to be a local flavor on the Lincoln Land Community College men’s basketball team next season.

Already competing for the Loggers is Effingham St. Anthony graduate Reed Willenborg who will be a sophomore. Willenborg played in 31 games, averaging seven points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and a steal per game.

Joining Willenborg will be Effingham High School graduate Jake Stombaugh, Teutopolis graduate Derek Smith and Cowden-Herrick graduate Luke Moore.

Stombaugh averaged 8.5 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Hearts and led in blocked shots.

“Jake was a great addition to our team for the last two years,” said EHS Coach Ron Reed. “He was All-Apollo Conference and made the Salem All-Tournament team. He was a tremendous defender, rebounder and we went to him for post scoring on offense.

“I think he has a great chance to be a good college player. He is athletic, long, he can run the floor and is able to score both inside and outside. He needs to work on getting stronger and his ballhandling skills need to improve to have success at the next level. I believe his best basketball days are ahead of him. The best characteristic of Jake is he is a fine young man that I enjoyed getting to know as well as coach. I want to wish him the best of luck.”

“We are very excited about Jake coming to Lincoln Land,” said Lincoln Land Coach Chad Jones. “The Effingham area has been great to us in regards to the quality of player and person we have gotten and we expect Jake to fit right into that mold. He brings some scoring ability as well as versatility. He will be a tough matchup for opposing teams because of his ability to do many things.

“Jake, like most players entering college, will need to improve his strength. If he can put on some weight and get stronger, his potential is tremendous.”

T-town’s Smith averaged 14.5 points and 3.3 assists a contest.

“Derek brings a perimeter player that can get to the basket as well as knock down shots from outside,” said Jones. “We really needed a shooter for next season. Teutopolis has really been great to us. We expect Derek to be just like all the other T-town kids we have had.

“He is a hard-working, tough kid. Like Jake, if Derek gets stronger he can develop into an outstanding player.”

Cowden-Herrick’s Moore averaged 17.1 points and 10.6 rebounds for the Hornets.

“Luke can bring a lot to the table,” said Jones. “He is a great kid with a great attitude. His ability to score in various different ways will be nice to have in addition to his ability to rebound. Luke will have to adjust to the speed of the college game, but that will come with repetitions.”

Lincoln Land has also recruited Pleasant Plains’ Michael Cameron who averaged 14.2 points and 4.5 assists, Jacksonville’s Payton Dugan who averaged 6.6 points and hit 25 three-pointers, Chatham Glenwood’s Craig Fuchs who averaged 6.9 rebounds and 11 points per game, Rockville (Ind.) graduate Jordan McFall who averaged 12 points for a 25-0 regular season Rockville team, Bartonville Limestone’s Kendall Davis who averaged 8.3 points and 3.1 rebounds and transfer Kendall Smith, a Belleville West graduate, who averaged four points and four rebounds in 23 games for NAIA Missouri Baptist University last season.

“I am excited about our team,” said Coach Jones. “We should be very versatile and cause many matchup problems for our opponents. We have a lot of taller players that can shoot well as well as post up. On the other side, we have some very strong guards that we can play on the block a little. I expect us to be a great defensive team due to our size and quickness.”