EA's Alikakos looks to rebound after illness

Episcopal Academy junior Nick Alikakos barely recognized what he saw last spring when he looked in the mirror during what he hoped would be an important recruiting period.

Mononucleosis struck him in February and by April had leeched 25 pounds from his 6-foot-7, 200-pound frame.

"I just looked really sick and weak," he said. "I was just thinking, 'How am I going to get back to being myself?' "

Alikakos, who earned the Inter-Ac's most outstanding player award just before being diagnosed, missed about a month of school and was subsequently limited during AAU play with Team Final.

After working hard to get back into shape, Alikakos leads the Inter-Ac in scoring, averaging 26 points per game, and has collected scholarship offers from Penn, Lafayette and Hartford, with others in pursuit.

He also has the Churchmen (13-5, 4-1) poised to threaten three-time defending league champ Germantown Academy (16-5, 5-1). On Friday, the Patriots host Episcopal, which won the teams' first meeting.

"It definitely makes me feel really good because when I had mono I kind of got down on myself," he said. "Last summer, I just spent a lot of time in the gym, expanding my game, which I think really helped me this year."

Most of that gym time, however, came after months of recuperation - both mental and physical.

"It was really frustrating because I felt like I had a lot of momentum going into AAU and a lot of confidence," he said. "But ending up with mono stopped me from working on my game for two straight months, and my body just deteriorated. So it took some time to get back to where I was."

Fatigue plagued him so much while he missed school, Alikakos said, that even playing video games and watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix sapped his strength.

"When I finally got healthy I felt like I needed to make up for lost time," Alikakos said. "When I was sick I was thinking about all the people who were getting better while I was in bed."

For those not in the know, Alikakos is a versatile forward who can shoot from outside, handle the ball on the perimeter and score down low.

Perhaps his most important attribute, however, is his dogged pursuit of the basketball.

That could be why St. Joseph's, La Salle, Bucknell, Princeton, Yale, Stanford and Virginia Tech have shown various degrees of interest.

For now, proximity to his home in West Chester, Alikakos said, has little influence on his college preference. He is interested in studying business or possibly psychology.

Most important for now, Alikakos said, is staying healthy so that he can capitalize on the progress he's made.

"It feels really good," he said. "Hopefully this AAU season . . . I'll enter healthy and show my improvements."

cartera@phillynews.com

@AceCarterINQ

Grace Phillips, Bishop Shanahan, senior wing. Committed to Dartmouth, had interest from Brown, American, Manhattan and Loyola.

Maurice Waters, Constitution, senior forward. Interest: Hofstra.

Tamir Green, Constitution, junior guard. Interest: Hofstra.

Izaiah Brockington, Archbishop Ryan, junior guard. Interest: Drexel, Penn, St. Francis, Lafayette, Hartford, Yale, Colgate.

Antwuan Butler, Del-Val Charter, sophomore guard. Interest: Dayton, Cincinnati, La Salle, Tulane, Southern Methodist.

D'Andre Vilmar, Roman Catholic, junior guard. Interest: Colorado State, Long Island University (Brooklyn), Hofstra.

Rasheed Browne, Neumann-Goretti, senior guard. Interest: Florida Gulf Coast, Holy Family.

Paul Newman, Roman Catholic, senior forward. Interest: Binghamton, Brown, Hampton, Delaware State, Wagner.

Jaquan Arrington, Imhotep Charter, junior guard. Offers: Binghamton, Hampton.

Daron Russell, Imhotep Charter, junior guard. Offers: Virginia Commonwealth, La Salle, Temple, Binghamton, Seton Hall.

Koby Thomas, Imhotep Charter, junior guard. Interest: La Salle, St. Francis, Coppin State, James Madison, Binghamton.

Tyree Pickron, Archbishop Wood, sophomore guard. Interest: Temple, St. Joseph's, La Salle, Drexel, Robert Morris.

- Aaron Carter
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