College notes: Former Lorain standout Jamir Billings' wants his legacy to include getting Wooster back to the NCAA Tournament

Jamir Billings still has time to make a little more history with the College of Wooster. The senior guard and former Lorain High standout will leave the school as its all-time leader in steals and assists — regardless of what happens this postseason — but now he and the Scots are focused on making it to the Division III NCAA Tournament, something they haven't done since 2019-20. That journey begins tonight in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals where No. 3-seeded Wooster will host No. 6 Oberlin at 7 p.m. "It would mean everything," Billings said. "That's exactly what we're working for every single day. We had a good chance to make it my sophomore year, unfortunately we didn't make it that year. It's really the only thing I haven't accomplished that I need to accomplish, get to play in March. Individual things can only get you so far. When you want to make a legacy, you have to win games in March and we're trying to do that this year." Wooster started 11-0 and was ranked as high as No. 6 nationally, but a rough stretch in January has put the Scots squarely on the bubble. Most projections have Wooster missing out on an at-large bid, meaning it will have to win the conference tournament in order to qualify. The Scots have reached the NCAC final the past three years, losing to Wabash and being left on the bubble each time. Prior to Billings' freshman year, Wooster had not missed the NCAA tournament for 18 consecutive seasons — not counting 2020-21 season, which was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. If Wooster advances, it will face No. 2 Wabash in the semifinals Friday for a shot at the championship Saturday. No. 1 Denison will host the semifinals and championship. "We have the majority of the same team we had last year, so we're just picking up where we left off," Billings said. "We didn't have to start from ground zero, just get a transfer here or a freshman there. It helped us around the edges a bit, but for the most part we're just picking up where we left off last year." Billings has been a cornerstone for Wooster since his freshman year. Primarily a shooting guard with Lorain — and Clearview before that — he moved to point guard with Wooster. He said the first two years were an adjustment, but he still managed to put up big numbers. His 316 steals are a program record, one he broke Dec. 8 with his 260th. If he hits 320, he will rank among the 15 best in Division III history. The conference record is 323. For the season, he has 79 steals and could break the school record of 84 he set his freshman and junior seasons. He broke the Wooster record for assists against Wabash in the regular-season finale his junior season and enters tonight's game with 581. As for scoring, he has 1,239 points and would break into the top 20 in program history if he eclipses 1,260. "I would hope that I'm just looked at by being a good teammate and being a good person," Billings said. "Honestly, I want to get to the NCAA Tournament and play in March. Really, overall I just hope that recruits on tour can look at me as someone who came in here and changed positions to have team success, individual success and do things the way we want to do things here." Last possession Fairmont State has clinched the Mountain East Conference regular-season title and is ranked No. 24 in Division II. And Jalen Gibbs (Wellington) is once again a cornerstone of the team, which is 22-4 overall and 15-3 in the league with two regular-season games left. The graduate student is averaging 13.4 points and 7.2 rebounds with 48 total blocks and 41 steals. She is 11 rebounds shy of fourth in program history and 20 away from moving into third place. Carter McCray (Elyria Catholic) had 22 points and 11 rebounds in Wisconsin's 73-68 win against Northwestern on Sunday. The sophomore, in her first season with the Badgers after transferring from Northern Kentucky, has appeared in all 27 games with 26 starts. She's averaging 10.8 points and 7.1 rebounds — 17th in the Big Ten — with 21 steals and 12 blocks. She's scored in double figures in six of her last seven games with two double-doubles during that span. Grace Kingery (North Ridgeville) continues to see regular playing time. Since scoring 12 points Jan. 29 against Ohio University, the Ball State freshman went through a rough patch, scoring just two points in five games, but ended that drought with nine points against Kent State on Saturday. She shot 3-of-5 from 3-point range against the Golden Flashes, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc against the Bobcats and is at 35.6 percent for the season. The Cardinals have lost their last two Mid-American Conference games since starting 12-0, but hold a one-game lead on Buffalo for the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament. Emily Rapacz (Elyria Catholic) is a core member of Ave Maria University's rotation, appearing in 26 of 27 games with 22 starts. The senior is second on the team with 14 blocks and third with 36 steals while averaging 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 22.6 minutes. The Gyrenes will face Keiser in the quarterfinals of the Sun Conference Tournament today. Abby Liber (Avon) has made 18 appearances with nine starts for Youngstown State. The junior, in her second year since transferring from St. Louis, is averaging 2.5 points and 3.9 rebounds. She is fifth on the team with 19 steals. Brooke Laub (Avon) has appeared in 24 games with five starts for John Carroll. The sophomore is averaging 4.3 points with 17 steals in 20.7 minutes per game. She's averaging 5.6 points in her last eight games, highlighted by a 13-point outing against Capital on Feb. 15. Buzzer-beaters Seth Wilson (Lorain) has carved out a role in Akron's starting rotation. The senior, in his first season since transferring from West Virginia, has started the last 14 games for the Zips dating back to Jan. 7. During that span, he has five games of scoring in double figures, shooting 34 percent from 3-point range. At 21-6 overall and 13-1 in the Mid-American Conference, the Zips are two games ahead of Miami (Ohio) for the No. 1 seed in the league tournament. Aden Gregory (Midview) has emerged as one of Ashland's most reliable members off the bench, appearing in all 25 games and averaging 21.1 minutes. The 6-foot-6 redshirt sophomore wing is shooting 42.6 percent from 3-point range — and he has more than double the attempts of the two players ahead of him, neither of whom have made 10 while Gregory has made 20. He's averaging 8.2 points and 2.6 rebounds with 13 blocks and 18 steals. Griffin Turay (North Ridgeville) continues to see time as a freshman with Lake Erie College, making 18 appearances with two starts. Pinned down Dylan Shawver (Elyria) concluded the regular season with a 17-6 overall record at 133 pounds for Rutgers. The senior is ranked No. 10 nationally at 133 while Rutgers is ranked No. 11 in Division I. The Scarlet Knights, ranked No. 11 in Division I, will compete at the Big Ten championship March 8-9 at Northwestern. Riley Banyas (Elyria), a sophomore, has a 10-7 record at 103 with Campbellsville. The school will compete in the Mid-South conference championship beginning Friday. For additions to the college notebook, contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.