Max Strus
| No. 28 – Boston Celtics | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 28, 1996 Hickory Hills, Illinois |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Amos Alonzo Stagg (Hickory Hills, Illinois) |
| College | |
| NBA draft | 2019: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2019–present |
| Career history | |
| 2019–present | Boston Celtics |
| 2019–present | →Maine Red Claws |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at NBA.com | |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Max Strus (born March 28, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball with at Lewis University and DePaul.
Early life and high school
Strus was born in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills, Illinois[1] and attended Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, where he was a member of the baseball and basketball teams. Although he entered his sophomore year at 5'9", he had a late growth spurt and was 6'6" by the end of high school.[2] As a senior, Strus averaged 19 points and nine rebounds per game and was named the area player of the year by The Reporter, All-Southwest Suburban Conference, All-Area by the SouthtownStar and third team All-State. After having only received one Division I offer (Chicago State), Strus committed to play at Division II Lewis University, where his older brother Marty had played.[3]
College career
Lewis
Strus began his collegiate career at Lewis University. As a freshman, Strus averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and started all 31 of the Flyers' games and was named second team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).[4] As a sophomore, Strus averaged 20.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game-all team highs-and was named first team all-GLVC and an honorable mention Division II All-American.[5] He also set school records with 167 free throws made and 666 points scored in a single season and points scored in a game with 52 (14 for 18 shooting) against Northwood University on November 24, 2017.[6][7] Following the season, Strus announced that he would be leaving the program in order to play at the Division I level.[8] Strus scored 1,078 points in his two seasons at Lewis.[9]
DePaul
Strus transferred to DePaul for the final two seasons of his eligibility after considering offers from Butler, Louisville, Oregon and Xavier.[2] After sitting out one season due to NCAA transfer rules, Strus began his redshirt junior season in the Blue Demons in the starting lineup and led the team with 16.8 points per game and 81 three-pointers made (second most in school history). He reached double figures in scoring in 26 of the 31 games he played in. He declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, but returned to school for his final season.[10] In his final season, Strus averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game and was named second team All-Big East Conference.[11] He became only the second Blue Demons player ever to score 700 points in a season after former 1st Overall draft pick Mark Aguirre with 705 points and set single season school records for three-point shots taken (311) and made (113).[12][13] In two seasons, Strus scored 1,226 points (29th in school history), 554 three-point attempts (second), and 194 three-pointers made (third) and finished with the fifth-highest free throw percentage at .825 (226-274).[14]
Professional career
After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA Draft, Strus was named to the Boston Celtics Summer League roster. He averaged 9.8 points per game and shot 45 percent from three for the Celtics. On July 22, 2019, Strus signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics.[15]
Personal
Strus's father, John, played college baseball as a pitcher for Eastern Illinois and his mother, Debra, played basketball and volleyball at DePaul and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. His older brother, Marty, also played basketball at Lewis and is currently the head coach at Stagg High School. He also has an older sister, Maggie, who played college volleyball at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is currently an assistant volleyball coach at DePaul.[2]
References
- ^ Kenney, Madeline (May 30, 2018). "Max Strus decides to return to DePaul after withdrawing from NBA Draft". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c Haugh, David (January 23, 2018). "Max Strus stayed close to home to give DePaul a long-range shooting threat". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ Brennan, Sean (December 15, 2017). "Local Talent Strus Leads A Streaking DePaul". BigEast.com. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ Goss, Dick. "Lewis men inexperienced, but with good nucleus". The Herald-News.
- ^ D, Joel (March 30, 2016). "Is Xavier replacing Larry Austin with a Division 2 player?". Banners On The Parkway.
- ^ "Three Flyers earn All-Midwest honors". The Herald-News. March 14, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ Millar, Steve (November 27, 2017). "Lewis' Max Strus scores school record 52 points on just 18 shots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ Westerholm, Tom (July 3, 2019). "Boston Celtics two-way signee Max Strus went from NCAA D-II to the NBA: 'Boston (found me), so I'm happy to be here'". MassLive.com. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "Lewis Men's Basketball 1,000 Point Club". LewisFlyers.com. Lewis University Athletic Department. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "DePaul's Max Strus to declare for draft, won't hire agent". ABC7 Chicago. March 28, 2018.
- ^ Quinn, Justin (July 19, 2019). "Report: Max Strus officially inks Two-Way deal with Celtics". Celtics Wire. USA Today. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- ^ Steeno, Paul (April 5, 2019). "Injury plagued Blue Demons battle for CBI championship". The DePaulia. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "Strus Signs Two-Way Contract with Boston Celtics". DePaulBlueDemons.com. June 21, 2019. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ Kreymer, Lawrence (June 21, 2019). "DePaul senior guard Max Strus signs two-way contract with Celtics". The DePaulia. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
- ^ "Celtics Sign Four Players". NBA.com. July 25, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.