While Chicago‘s inner-city high school boys basketball teams have spent the winter bashing each other around, from the holiday tournaments to league play to the Public League city championships, southwest suburban school Thornton High has rolled through its schedule impressively.
Consider this: The Wildcats (29-1) have not lost since November, a 68-65 loss to Springfield Southeast. That‘s 29 wins in a row, including a 71-44 defeat of Bellville East in the Supersectionals earlier this week. At No. 2 in MaxPreps‘ Illinois boys‘ basketball rankings, the Wildcats are the top Class 4A team in the poll. Only 3A power and Public League champ North Lawndale (29-5) ranks higher.
And still Thornton will arrive at tonight‘s Class 4A semifinal game against Whitney Young as a decided underdog, in many basketball minds. Guess what? They’re used to it.
“We just came into this thinking we were the underdogs,” said Thornton’s Richie Thompson, who scored 15 points in the Wildcats’ win over Belleville East. “Our goal was to get downstate and bring home the hardware.”
Young (24-9) has more losses than any team in the Class 3A or 4A Final Four. But this is not your usual 9-loss team. The Dolphins are loaded with Division I recruits, one of their starters (Marcus Jordan) is the son of Bulls great Michael Jordan, their bench may have the deepest talent of any team in the state, and their schedule has taken them from Chicago to New Jersey to Hawaii and back.
“Everybody thinks we are a one- or two-man team,“ said senior center Stanford Brown. “We love each other and we believe in each other.“
Since losing to Los Angeles Fairfax in the Nike Extravaganza tournament more than a month ago, the Dolphins have won six of seven games -- their only loss coming to North Lawndale in the Public League tournament.
Whitney Young at Nike Extravaganza
Photo By Louis Lopez
Young‘s lineup includes Iowa State recruit Chris Colvin. Junior guard Ahmad Starks is committed to Oregon State and junior guard Anthony Johnson is headed for Purdue. Jordan is yet uncommitted. Stanford Brown, a 6-foot-8 center, scored 20 points and had 15 rebounds in Young’s 62-47 super sectional win Tuesday over Hyde Park, the Public League’s runner-up.
But Thornton is clearly the hottest team in the Chicago area. Two of the Wildcats‘ last six wins have been by more than 30 points. Sophomore guard Jay Parker and junior guard Reggie Smith lead the Wildcats. Smith scored 17 points and had seven steals in the Wildcats’ supersectional win over Belleville East.
Class 4A breakdown
WAUKEGAN (25-4) vs. DUNDEE-CROWN (24-5)
When: 6:30 p.m. Friday
Where: Carver Arena, Peoria
MaxPreps rankings: Waukegan, No. 3; Dundee-Crown, unranked.
Waukegan players to watch: Senior F Colin Nickerson, junior F Jereme Richmond (6-foot-7).
Dundee-Crown players to watch: All-senior lineup includes 6-6 C Charles Kimbrough, and guards Marcus Henry, Justin Strzelczyk and Jeff Beck.
First trip: Dundee-Crown has never been to the Final Four.
Pick: Waukegan 55, Dundee-Crown 48
WHITNEY YOUNG (24-9) vs. THORNTON (29-1)
When: 8:15 p.m. Friday
Where: Carver Arena, Peoria
MaxPreps rankings: Young, No. 5; Thornton, No. 2.
Young players to watch: Senior G Chris Colvin, senior G Marcus Jordan, and junior guards Ahmad Starks and Anthony Johnson off the bench.
Thornton players to watch: Senior frontcourt includes Richie Thompson and Trevell Rivers. Sophomore G Jay Parker can dominate.
Pick: Young 58, Thornton 55
Winners play: 8:15 p.m. Saturday
No. 1 North Lawndale chases after 3A title
The reality is, North Lawndale is so strong that the Phoenix could probably blast through the 3A or 4A Final Four. The Phoenix is the No. 1 team in Illinois regardless of class, according to the MaxPreps ranking. It has been No. 1 in Chicago for much of the season. They won the city league championship, defeating Class 4A teams in the semifinals and finals to do so.
But this is one great semifinal-round game North Lawndale faces on Friday. The Phoenix will face Champaign Centennial (30-1), which has won 18 straight since losing 50-48 to Chicago Hope on the last day of 2008 -- one of two Chicago schools the Chargers faced.
James Kinney, an Ohio recruit, and Rayvonte Rice leads Centennial out of the backcourt. They’ll have to control the ball almost perfectly against a North Lawndale squad that is known for defensive pressure.
Final Four excitement has taken over at both campuses. At Centennial, where the Chargers hadn’t advanced to the Final Four since 1984, T-shirt and ticket sales took over the school’s hallways this week.
“This has energized the school,” Centennial Principal Justin Moore told the News-Gazette of Champaign. “I think people are pumped.”
The school’s baseball team planned a 6 a.m. practice Friday so that the players could make the trip to Peoria for the basketball game. A Friday rehearsal for the school play was canceled.
North Lawndale, which features a balanced frontcourt and backcourt (four starters average double figures in scoring), would love to send Centennial home Friday and perhaps make it an all-Chicago final, should Leo defeat Oswego in the other semifinal.
Class 3A breakdown
NORTH LAWNDALE (29-5) vs. CHAMPAIGN CENTENNIAL (30-1)
When: Noon Friday
Where: Carver Arena, Peoria
MaxPreps rankings: North Lawndale, No. 1; Centennial, No. 4.
North Lawndale players to watch: Four senior starters include 6-5 C Jonathan Mills and 6-4 F Miles Mayfield, and junior F Jermaine Winfield can dominate the paint.
Centennial players to watch: Quick lineup includes four starting guards -- seniors Jordan Johnson, James Kinney and Bryson Davis-Johnson, and junior Rayvonte Rice. Not to be ignored is 6-8 senior C Jeff Johnson.
Pick: North Lawndale 72, Centennial 64
OSWEGO (25-6) vs. LEO (27-4)
When: 1:45 p.m. Friday
Where: Carver Arena, Peoria
MaxPreps rankings: Oswego, unranked; Leo, No. 19.
Oswego players to watch: Junior F Andrew Ziemnik averages more than 11 rebounds per game. Senior G Jordan Mitchell leads Oswego’s scoring, with more than 16 points per game.
Leo players to watch: Four guard lineup includes seniors James Pointer and Darrin Johnson, and juniors Isaac Smith and Malcolm McFarland.
Pick: Oswego 49, Leo 47
Winners play: 12:45 p.m. Saturday
Class 2A: Title season for Seton
Seton Academy’s 83-63 victory over Massac County in the Class 2A title game at Peoria marked the school’s first state championship in any sport.
The Sting won its last 19 games, following a loss by four points to Leo, a Class 3A Final Four team, in the Big Dipper Tournament. They finished with a 30-1 record, good for the No. 7 spot in MaxPreps’ Illinois ranking.
Seton’s lineup included Northern Illinois recruit Tony Nixon, Ohio recruit D.J. Cooper and Corbin Thomas, who scored 25 points in the championship game.
“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had in my whole life,” Seton forward Jordan Walker told the Chicago Tribune.
Hockey: New Trier wins Blackhawk Cup
Power-play goals by Max Talbot and Michael Vail in the first period helped New Trier Green to a 3-2 victory over Loyola Gold in the Blackhawk Cup final Monday the United Center.
It was the 10th Cup title for New Trier.
New Trier goaltender Greg Ogard was named game MVP.
Spirit of Sport: Belvidere North athlete wins award
Amy Brechon, a senior soccer and volleyball player at Belvidere North, became Illinois’ first Spirit of Sport winner when the award was announced this week by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Brechon won over student-athletes from Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa. The award recognizes the “core mission of education-based athletics” and is open to athletes, coaches, trainers and administrators.
Brechon, a breast cancer survivor, is a member of the National Honors Society and several school organizations in addition to speaking about her experiences in her fight against cancer at Relay for Life events and to the Girls Scouts of America.
Belividere North volleyball coach Bria Holzinger calls Brechon “an inspirational leader who has made an impact on the lives of her teammates, her community, her family, her friends and her coach.”
Paul Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at
bowkerpaul1@aol.com
