CHAMPAIGN — Quinton Kitt dominated the Mid-Illini Conference this past season. The East Peoria sophomore boys’ basketball player topped 1,000 career points, averaging 23 points on the season, to go with eight rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
The Raiders’ season might have ended sooner than they would have liked with a Class 3A regional semifinal loss to Peoria Richwoods, but their final 23-9 record was the best in nearly three decades. A young team that had Kitt at the heart of its success.
What Kitt has accomplished playing for Meanstreets on Nike’s E16 circuit this spring might not be as gaudy, but his successes playing alongside — and against — some of the nation’s best players his age have been as meaningful in his recruitment.
More so, probably, given the 6-foot-5 Kitt is showing he can compete at the highest level. Averaging 15.5 points and 4.2 rebounds during the opening weekend in Memphis, Tenn., from May 16-18 secured scholarship offers from Illinois and Northwestern. Following that up with 10.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last weekend in Kansas City, Kan., further pushed Kitt’s status upward among the best young players in the Class of 2027.
“I think I showed a lot of things that weekend,” Kitt said about the four games in Memphis that secured his Illinois offer. “That I can score in different ways — any way that’s needed. That I can do a lot of other things on the floor that impact winning. That I can guard and play defense on any position.”
Playing with Meanstreets has been a crucial part of Kitt’s ongoing development on the court.
He’s teamed up with fellow in-state 2027 stars Davion Thompson (Bolingbrook) and Jaxson Davis (Warren) — both sporting their own Illini offers — and he’s gotten the chance to match up against other top talent.
Kitt drew the defensive assignment on Mac Irvin Fire’s five-star guard Devin Cleveland in Memphis. While the now-former Kenwood standout had 18 points, he missed all seven of his three-point attempts and turned the ball over four times.
“To be relevant on a team like that, you have to expand your game,” East Peoria coach Jarrett Brown said. “You’re going to have to guard. He’s considered their best defender. You’ve got to find how you can impact games when one of their guards is dominating the ball. You’ve got to find ways to impact the game on the offensive glass or defensive end or sharing the ball. That’s a great opportunity for him because here he’s the best player.”
Kitt proved his value for East Peoria throughout the 2024-25 season. While he had some help — fellow sophomore Cole DuBois was also a 20 points per game scorer — Kitt was the centerpiece of the Raiders’ success.
Their 23 wins was the most for the program since the 1996-97 team went 24-5 and won a regional title.
“I don’t know that we had those type of expectations,” Brown said. “We just knew what we were going to have to battle was the youth and inexperience. It exposed itself. We had great moments where we beat really, really good teams, and we had really bad moments where we had really bad losses.”
The early postseason exit stung, but the breakout season and its unexpected end both serve as motivation for Kitt moving forward. A state tournament run to State Farm Center in Champaign remains the goal.
“I think I learned more about the game and myself,” Kitt said. “I think I matured more and learned a lot of different things to help me on and off the court. Being able to think the game out more and survey everything really helped.
“I think my game IQ separates me a lot. I see a lot of things that maybe some other people don’t, and I can help other people if they don’t know. I think it’s always come natural. I love the game of basketball. I always watch it. Spending time around the game, it’s just something that naturally developed.”
Kitt’s development as a scorer stuck out to Brown during the 2024-25 season.
Particularly the way his standout guard was able to exploit different matchups.
“To be able to separate himself or really differentiate himself from others as a really versatile type of player, he embraced that,” the East Peoria coach said. “That’s not always a sexy thing to do, I think, for players. He really started embracing when he had matchup advantages, going to the post calling for the ball. We had matchup advantages with a big guarding him, iso and driving. Demonstrating that IQ was really important for him to do, and he did it.”
The developmental focus this summer for Kitt? Overall guard skills — especially with the ball in his hands.
“I’d love him to look at himself as a point guard,” Brown said. “I don’t think he’s a point guard at (the Big Ten) level, but train like that. Having that kind of handle so he could be even more versatile would be a big aspect of his game to work on, too.”
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