Grant senior post earns D-I ride to IPFW

Ignore the triple z's (zzz) in their first names and don't sleep on the athleticism of Grant siblings Jazzlyn and Zeven Linbo.

That's no typo in little brother's name.

"My mom loved 'Deven' but my dad didn't want regular names for all of us," said Jazzlyn Linbo, whose older sisters are Keyana and Makiah. "They went through the alphabet and got to it 'Zeven.' (The name) was made up."

While the junior Zeven is off to a good start in the IHSA boys golf season, firing a 42 for nine holes in a dual meet and then winning the three-team Lee Oler invitational with an 80 at Steeple Chase in Mundelein, Jazzlyn made news recently thanks to her own ability to hit good shots.

With her mind eased, "Jazzy" can catch up on her z's.

A 6-foot-2 senior post with 3-point range, Linbo verbally committed to play basketball for Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. Coach Niecee Nelson's Mastadons are an NCAA Division I program that this summer officially announced their move from the Summit League to the Horizon League.

Linbo also had D-I scholarship offers from North Carolina-Wilmington and Indiana State. She received her offer from IPFW this summer, when she also took an unofficial visit to the Indiana campus.

"Now I'm a senior so there are going to be fewer options for me because everything is slowing down," Linbo said. "I love talking to the coaches there and one of my (AAU) teammates from Illinois Elite (Amelia Bromenschenkel from Mendota) is going there too."

Linbo, the third-oldest child of Brett and Caliann, has been a varsity basketball player for Grant since her freshman season, when she was a teammate of her sister Makiah. Keyana also played hoops for the Bulldogs, graduating in 2017. Jazzlyn earned Daily Herald All-Area honors for the second year in a row last winter after averaging 15 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots per game.

She also shot 35 % from the arc - particularly impressive for a post player. She sank six 3-pointers in a game against North Chicago.

"I've always been trying to work on my shot because it hasn't been as consistent as I would like it to be," Linbo said. "When I keep my elbow in and let it go, it's usually pretty good."

Linbo, a good athlete who was also an all-area volleyball player last fall, says she has aspirations of being a veterinarian and plans to study something in the biology field at Purdue Fort Wayne.

"I've just liked animals pretty much my whole life, and I like large animals," Linbo said. "Like I'd want to be a farm vet for cows and horses."

If she can handle bigs in the post, she can handle big animals.