Simeon wins Illinois battle of basketball state champs

A battle of defending state champions turned into a rout at Chicago State University.

Simeon (Chicago), the defending Class 4A champion in Illinois and ranked sixth nationally by MaxPreps, destroyed Class 3A champion Hillcrest 57-29 in the Chicago Public Schools Holiday Basketball Classic.

The Wolverines won their last seven games in 2009-10, and have won their first two this year. Since Robert Smith became head coach in 2006 and Illinois was still in a two-class system, the Wolverines have won three state championships and finished runner-up once, to Chicago Marshall in Class 3A in 2008. They are clearly an early favorite to repeat in 2011.

Among Simeon's stars: 6-foot-2 sophomore guard Kendrick Nunn, who drilled all three 3-pointers he attempted in the Hillcrest game and scored 14 points in total. Among the colleges showing interest in Nunn is Purdue.



RECRUITING: PAYNE IS RECEIVING INTEREST
Quinten Payne of North (St. Charles), whose older brother Cully is now a freshman basketball player at Iowa, is receiving interest as a sophomore after transferring to St. Charles North from Bishop Verot Catholic in Fort Myers, Fla.

He scored 16 points in a win over Batavia and drew a big defensive assignment in the Chicago Public Schools Holiday Basketball Showcase played at Chicago State University, when he guarded Kentucky recruit Anthony Davis. Payne already has an offer from Iowa, and has interest from Auburn, Clemson, Notre Dame and Illinois, among others.

5 BIG PERFORMANCES
* Southeast's (Springfield) Wendall Lytle hit a shot with 3 seconds left, sending the Spartans to a 62-60 win over Chicago power and 2010 Class 4A finalist Whitney Young in the AthletiCare/SportsRadio 1450 Shootout in Springfield. Young is ranked No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 2 in the Illinois Associated Press rankings. Those two points were the only points Lytle had in the entire game.

* New Mexico recruit Abdel Nader of Niles North scored 49 points in a 74-71 loss to Glenbrook North as New Mexico head coach Steve Alford watched from the stands.

* Kentucky recruit Anthony Davis scored 36 points in a Chicago Public Schools Holiday Basketball Showcase game against St. Charles North, but Chicago Perspectives lost, 71-59. The 6-foot-10 Davis also had 18 rebounds and five blocks.

* Northern Illinois recruit Claire Jakubicek broke a Cary-Grove High School record for career points when she scored 30 in a 67-52 win over Johnsburg. Jakubicek now has 1,241 points.



* Danielle Barry, a senior center at Providence Catholic, scored a career-high 29 points and had 10 rebounds and five blocks in a 61-44 win over Lincoln-Way Central. The Celtics have won 7 of 10 games.

STORYLINES AROUND CHICAGOLAND
* The best of Illinois girls basketball usually revolves around the programs at Bolingbrook, Geneva and Whitney Young (Chicago), among other schools. Keep an eye on Streamwood. The Sabres, who haven't finished with a winning record in more than 10 years, have won seven straight for the first time since 1987. Emma Schmidt, a senior, scored her 1,000th career point Saturday in a 67-53 win over St. Ignatius. She scored 22 and had 12 rebounds. Streamwood will go for eight in a row on Thursday against North (St. Charles).

* The girls basketball team at Neuqua Valley (Naperville) may have one of the toughest schedules in the state, if for no other reason than the Wildcats are playing 11 of their first 12 games on the road. Neuqua Valley won its first five games, then lost its first home game on Tuesday, 55-45 to Waubonsie Valley.

* The 50th Proviso West holiday boys basketball tournament will feature Louisville recruit Wayne Blackshear with Chicago Morgan Park, and Northwestern recruit David Sobolewski and Wisconsin recruit Frank Kaminsky of Benet Academy. The tournament field was revealed this week. Morgan Park (Chicago) will play Fenwick (Oak Park) and Benet Academy (Lisle) will play Von Steuben (Chicago) in two of eight first-round matchups Dec. 27.

* Oak Lawn native Rich Weiler, a high school and college basketball and football referee for more than 60 years, announced his retirement from high school officiating Nov. 30. According to the Chicago Tribune, he is the only official to work both the Rose Bowl and an NCAA college basketball championship game. "I really enjoyed officiating at the high school level. It was where I got my start and where I learned every day," Weiler said.

Paul Bowker, an online and newspaper sports journalist for 25 years and the author of two Major League Baseball books, covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.