Nation's top big man has quiet final outing statistically, but helps Chicago powerhouse win first state title since 2009.
Jahlil Okafor (center with ball) helped Whitney Young win a state title Saturday night in Illinois.
Photo by John Rowland
Something wouldn't have seemed quite right about
Jahlil Okafor leaving high school without a state title on his resume.
But the nation's top big man won't have to live with that cruel footnote as he helped national No. 13
Whitney Young (Chicago) hold off
Benet Academy (Lisle) 46-44 on Saturday night in the Illinois Class 4A state championship game.
After putting up 33 points and 14 rebounds in the semifinals, Okafor was held to just eight points and nine field goal attempts by an always-stingy Benet Academy (25-9) defense.
Saint Louis-bound guard
Miles Reynolds picked up the slack for the Dolphins (29-5), finishing with a game-high 19 points.
Okafor, a 6-foot-10 center headed to Duke, has won three gold medals with USA Basketball and was the MVP of the U17 World Championship in 2012. But Jabari Parker and
Simeon (Chicago) helped keep a state championship out of reach, ending Whitney Young's season each of the past two years.
Under head coach Tyrone Slaughter, the Dolphins won 92 games during the Okafor era and will finish nationally-ranked for the second year in a row. Whitney Young's last state title came in 2009.
