Little Big Man - John Little to Northern Iowa

Hiding in the background from the limelight, Richwoods sharp-shooting
John Little connected on 40 percent of his 3-point attempts his senior year.

By Frank Rusnak
John Little began to leave his mark on Illinois high school basketball early at state-power Peoria Richwoods. However, he ended his high school career barely making a scratch on recruiting radar's until Northern Iowa swept Little up after his senior season finished.

A three-year starter on a team that went Downstate his sophomore and junior years, the athletic 6'1" combo guard rode back seat his senior year, when it came to publicity, to his more hyped teammate Robert Faulkner.

"I got to play against a lot of good players early on; Eddy Curry, Darius Miles, Westinghouse when they were Number 1. A lot of great teams and a lot of great players."

John Little
Peoria Richwoods High School

"Sometimes college coaches come and see a team and they have a tendency not to notice the second best player on the team," said Peoria Richwoods Coach Bob Darling. "[John's] shot is a little different and they questioned his ability to play the point. Once [UNI] got him on campus, they loved him and loved what he could do."

What Little did was show off his unbridled athleticism, pure defensive intensity and sweet outside shot that allowed him to average 15 points his senior year while shooting 40-percent from the 3-point line for a team that finished the season 22-5. Unable to make it Downstate for a third year in a row, the Knights were upset by Limestone in the sectional semifinals.

"I think (Richwoods) had a real good season," noted Little, who also averaged four rebounds, four assists, and 2.5 steals per game. "But we just came up really short in our last game. Rob and I both got into foul trouble, and when they put us out, that's when the game got away from us. It was the worst game we had all season. I'm just trying to forget about it now."

Trying to erase the memories of the loss to Limestone in March, Little doesn't need to look back far for what were brighter days.

"I got to learn a lot early," said Little. "I got to play against a lot of good players early on; Eddy Curry, Darius Miles, Westinghouse when they were Number 1. A lot of great teams and players."

Not only did Little get to play against a lot of top players, but also he was able to shut many of them down with his defensive prowess.

Bringing out his defensive-best for the likes of Joe Brownfield (Pekin), Dan Ruffin (Peoria Central), Paul Burse (Peoria Manual) and Richard McBride (Springfield Lanphier), Little took great pride in his defense.

Perhaps, it was his liking he took to defense, the less glamorous side of the ball, or his unselfishness that equated for the reason why Western Illinois was the only Division I school to offer him a scholarship prior to UNI.

While he also could've went to the University of Iowa or Illinois State as a preferred walk-on and likely received a scholarship his sophomore year, he would've likely chose to follow, ironically, the player he's played second fiddle to at Richwoods.

"I probably would've went to junior college with Robert and Marcus (Jackson, 2001 Richwoods graduate)," said Little, who was an academic qualifier, referring to South Plains (TX) Junior College.

Good friends with Faulkner, Little attempts to avoid any talk of angst towards him for stealing some of his limelight.

"Robert was our go to guy this year, but I didn't really think I was playing behind him," said Little. "No one was selfish on the court. He made our team better and I just wanted the team to do good and he worked really hard this year and he deserved (all the awards) he got."

Darling adds that Little, who he calls a "coach's dream," would've been all-state if Faulkner didn't play on the team.

While Faulkner did garner most of the accolades, including area player of the year and all-state, Little was Mr. Clutch for the Knights in crunch time -- which was setup largely due to Faulkner being a decoy.

His last-minute-heroics began as a sophomore, when he hit a game-winning shot to oust Quincy and send the Knights Downstate. He finished his time at Richwoods with another game-winner his junior year and three his senior year.

"They'd always think Rob would get the ball, double down on him, then Rob would always kick it to me," explained Little. "I think it was real good when Rob was there; they always tried to stop him first and that always left me open for easy buckets. It just made it a little harder to stop two people, then, when I was hitting too."

A dynamic due, Faulkner never had his blinders on when he kicked the ball back out, knowing exactly where Little would be. Admiring his friend and teammates' abilities and work-ethic, Faulkner predicts nothing but success for his Little buddy.

"John's been getting overlooked a lot. He goes in there, gets the job done and never complains," said the 6'7" Faulkner. "He's a real good player. I think he'll do pretty good at Northern Iowa because he's got a good attitude and always does well, so he'll be alright wherever he goes."