Strus was born in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills, Illinois and attended Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, where he was a member of the baseball and basketball teams. Although he entered his sophomore year at 5'9", he had a late growth spurt and was 6'6" by the end of high school. As a senior, Strus averaged 19 points and nine rebounds per game and was named the area player of the year by The Reporter, All-Southwest Suburban Conference, All-Area by the SouthtownStar and third team All-State. After having only received one Division I offer, Strus committed to play at Division IILewis University, where his older brother Marty had played.
College career
Lewis
Strus began his collegiate career at Lewis University. As a freshman, Strus averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and started all 31 of the Flyers' games and was named second team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference. As a sophomore, Strus averaged 20.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game-all team highs-and was named first team all-GLVC and an honorable mention Division II All-American. He also set school records with 167 free throws made and 666 points scored in a single season and points scored in a game with 52 against Northwood University on November 24, 2017. Following the season, Strus announced that he would be leaving the program in order to play at the Division I level. Strus scored 1,078 points in his two seasons at Lewis.
Strus transferred to DePaul for the final two seasons of his eligibility after considering offers from Butler, Louisville, Oregon and Xavier. After sitting out one season due to NCAA transfer rules, Strus began his redshirt junior season in the Blue Demons in the starting lineup and led the team with 16.8 points per game and 81 three-pointers made. He reached double figures in scoring in 26 of the 31 games he played in. He declared for the 2018 NBA Draft, but returned to school for his final season. In his final season, Strus averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game and was named second team All-Big East Conference. He became only the second Blue Demons player ever to score 700 points in a season after former 1st Overall draft pick Mark Aguirre with 705 points and set single season school records for three-point shots taken and made. In two seasons, Strus scored 1,226 points, 554 three-point attempts, and 194 three-pointers made and finished with the fifth-highest free throw percentage at.825.
After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Strus was named to the Boston Celtics Summer League roster. He averaged 9.8 points per game and shot 45 percent from three for the Celtics. On July 22, 2019, Strus signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics. On October 13, 2019, the Boston Celtics announced that they had signed Strus to a standard NBA contract. Strus was ultimately one of the last players cut to trim the Celtics final roster in advance of the season.
Chicago Bulls (2019–present)
After being waived by the Celtics, Strus signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls on October 22, 2019. Strus made his NBA debut on November 22, 2019 against the Miami Heat, playing the final five minutes of a 116-108 loss and scoring five points with one rebound. On December 23, 2019, the Chicago Bulls announced that Strus suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and bone bruise on his left knee in a NBA G League game for Windy City Bulls in a 92–85 win over the Lakeland Magic on December 21 and Strus was expected to be sidelined for about eight to twelve months. Strus ended his rookie season with five points scored in two NBA games played and averaged 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 13 G League games.
Career statistics
NBA
Regular season
College
NCAA Division II
NCAA Division I
Personal life
Strus's father, John, played college baseball as a pitcher for Eastern Illinois and his mother, Debra, played basketball and volleyball at DePaul and was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000. His older brother, Marty, also played basketball at Lewis and is currently the head coach at Stagg High School. He also has an older sister, Maggie, who played college volleyball at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is currently an assistant volleyball coach at DePaul.
