MaxPreps 2013-14 Preseason Xcellent 25 Basketball preview: No. 9 Whitney Young

Whitney Young (Chicago) was the early favorite to enter 2013-14 as the preseason national No. 1.

But the Dolphins were hit hard by transfers as Georgetown commitment L.J. Peak returned to his native South Carolina and uber-athlete Joseph Toye joined his sister at Indiana independent La Lumiere.

Head coach Tyrone Slaughter isn't exactly limping into the winter with a depleted roster, however. The Dolphins will feature arguably the nation's top center in 6-foot-10 Jahlil Okafor, who is expected to decide between Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky in the near future.



Okafor will be joined by a pair of Division I verbal pledges in versatile 6-9 forward Paul White (Georgetown) and point guard Miles Reynolds (Saint Louis).
"We still have the same high expectations," Slaughter said. "The goal is always to win a state championship."

Rival Simeon (Chicago) has denied Whitney Young the opportunity to win a state title each of the past three seasons. Okafor ending his high school career without a championship would be a bit of a strange asterisk on the resume given his global accomplishments.

Okafor has won gold medals with USA Basketball in three different international competitions, including the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship in Lithuania — where he was named tournament MVP.

"There's a tendency to define players based on championships, but he's never been impacted by that kind of talk," Slaughter said. "He goes about his business, never is too big on himself, just steady as you go. He plays the game, lives his life and has a great family situation that I think has helped insulate him from a lot of the trappings of basketball stardom."

Rounding out the rotation will be returning guards Erwin Henry and Rodney Herenton Jr. and transfers Skyler Nash and Anthony Mosley Jr. Herenton Jr. and Nash are both regarded as top prospects in the 2016 class.

View gallery of Whitney Young preseason photo shoot



Whitney Young last five years:
2012-13 (Tyrone Slaughter) – 27-4, No. 10 final Xcellent 25 national ranking
2011-12 (Tyrone Slaughter) – 16-10
2010-11 (Tyrone Slaughter) – 20-10
2009-10 (Tyrone Slaughter) – 23-7, Class 4A runner-up
2008-09 (Tyrone Slaughter) – 25-9, Class 4A state champions
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Classification/Division:
IHSA Class 4A

Enrollment:
2,218

Head coach:
Tyrone Slaughter (Ninth year as head coach)

Career record:
177-67

Former Dolphins in college/pro basketball:

Luke Hager (North Carolina-Wilmington sophomore forward)



Anthony Johnson (Northern Illinois junior guard)

Marcus Jordan (son of Michael Jordan, former Central Florida standout)

Quentin Richardson (New York Knicks)

Ahmad Starks (Illinois senior guard)

Sam Thompson (Ohio State junior forward)

Other notable alumni:



Russell Maryland (No. 1 overall pick in 1991 NFL Draft)

Michelle Obama

Craig Robinson (actor: Hot Tub Time Machine, This Is The End, The Office)

John Tobias (creator of video game Mortal Kombat){PAGEBREAK} Key returners:

Erwin Henry (6-1, Sr., G)

Rodney Herenton Jr. (6-1, So., G)



Jahlil Okafor (6-10, Sr., C)

Miles Reynolds (6-1, Sr., G), Committed to Saint Louis

Paul White (6-9, Sr., F), Committed to Georgetown

Newcomers:

Anthony Mosley Jr. (6-2, Jr., G)

Skyler Nash (6-4, So., G)



Circle the date:

Lining up a daunting schedule has become the norm for Whitney Young under Slaughter. The Dolphins will play games in at least six different states this season and have five preseason ranked teams on the slate excluding potential tournament showdowns.

Murderer's row begins Dec. 7 at the Chicago Elite Classic against No. 10 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.). Just five days later, the Dolphins will hit the road for an ESPN-televised matchup with Tyus Jones and No. 23 Apple Valley (Minn.).

After the holiday break, No. 7 Prime Prep (Dallas) at the Cancer Research Classic, No. 16 White Station (Memphis) at the Penny Hardaway Hoopfest and No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) at the Nike Extravaganza make for quite a gauntlet.

Tournament time:

Whitney Young will compete in two major tournaments sandwiched around Christmas. First up is the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla., where matchups with nationally-ranked opponents like Montverde Academy (Fla.), Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), St. John Bosco (again) and Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) are likely to materialize.

After Christmas, the Dolphins head to the Pacific Northwest for the Les Schwab Invitational in Hillsboro, Ore. That field is headlined by No. 6 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), back-to-back Washington 3A champ Rainier Beach (Seattle) and defending Oregon 6A champ West Linn.