NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State men's basketball head coach Ryan Pedon has added Joe Petrakis to his inaugural roster with the Redbirds for 2022-23.
Petrakis, a 6-10 forward, most recently played a season at Western Carolina University, after spending two seasons at Kansas State and his first season out of high school at Dodge City College.
"We're really excited about Joe," said Pedon. "He is a high-character young man that brings an identifiable skills to our team. He has an ability to affect the game with his size and length, his ability to stretch a defense, and his ability to block shots. His versatility and mobility from the forward position fits what we are looking for, and we are excited about adding him to the Redbird family."
The Wichita, Kansas, native played in 32 games last season with 30 starts for the Western Carolina Catamounts. He averaged eight points per game, including 13 games scoring in double-figures. He scored a season-high 20 points at Mercer on January 22, where he made 5-of-10 shots from long range. He had 16 games with multiple made three-pointers and pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds against Bowling Green in the season opener for a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, the first of his career.
He also had 19 blocked shots and eight steals on the season, with four games with multiple blocked shots. For the year he made 39.6 percent (89-of-225) of his shots from the field and 58-of-168 (34.5%) from long range. Petrakis ranked 10th in the Southern Conference in blocked shots per game and 15th in three-pointers made.
A season earlier he played in 11 games for Kansas State, coming off the bench in each. He played a season-high 15 minutes on January 9 against Oklahoma State, where he scored a season-high six points with two rebounds. He made 3-of-7 long-range shots during the season, and 5-of-13 overall from the field.
His 2019-20 season was a redshirt for Petrakis, after spending his first year at Dodge City College. While at Dodge City in 2018-19 he played in 30 games with a dozen starts. He averaged 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds per game for the Conquistadors, scoring in double-figures four times including a season-high 14 points at Barton on February 9.
GoRedbirds.com and the Illinois State Redbirds App: Your sources for Illinois State tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.
