By Paul D. Bowker
MaxPreps.com
In a year that has seen Whitney Young High School’s boys basketball team travel from coast to coast and beyond with a trip to Hawaii, the Dolphins’ season comes down to this: a run for the Chicago city championship over the next week and the state tournament to follow soon after.
Young (18-8), ranked No. 5 in Illinois by MaxPreps and seeded No. 1 in the city tournament, will face No. 8 seed Chicago Vocational in Sunday’s quarterfinal round at the University of Illinois-Chicago at 7 p.m. If the Dolphins survive that, they could meet No. 2-ranked North Lawndale in the semifinals next Wednesday at DePaul and No. 3 Curie in the title game Feb. 22 at UIC.
Despite not holding the city’s or state’s No. 1 ranking since an embarrassing loss to unranked Morton in the Proviso West Holiday Tournament, Young is a team to watch.
One of its senior starters, Marcus Jordan, is the son of former Bulls great Michael Jordan, guaranteeing a spectator sideshow at every game. Senior guard Chris Colvin is an Iowa State recruit, one of several Dolphins headed for Division I college hoops next year. Young did not lose a Chicago Public League game.
Jordan scored 23 points in his last home game at Young on Wednesday, a 67-60 win over Crane Technical in the second round of the city playoffs.
If Young beats Vocational and North Lawndale defeats Brooks in the quarterfinals Sunday, the Young vs. North Lawndale matchup in the semifinals will be one of the city’s most-watched games this season. The Dolphins and Phoenix have a combined record of 39-12. They will not meet in the state tournament because North Lawndale is in Class 3A, while Young is 4A. Both have already been named as No. 1 seeds in their regionals.
The bottom bracket of the city playoffs will produce Curie vs. Foreman and Hyde Park vs. Von Steuben quarterfinals, beginning at 1 p.m. Curie, the No. 3 seed but unranked by MaxPreps, has advanced through two rounds despite the transfer of sophomore sensation Wayne Blackshear to Morgan Park.
Hyde Park (21-3) has risen to No. 14 in the state rankings with an impressive run that has featured just one loss in city league play. Hyde Park knocked off Chicago Marshall 63-60 in the city playoffs Wednesday.
More Boys Basketball: City-Suburban Showdown
One day before North Lawndale faces Brooks in the city playoffs, the Phoenix (21-4) will battle De La Salle (15-4), ranked 11th in the state by MaxPreps, in the City-Suburban Showdown at Northwestern University’s Welsh-Ryan Arena.
North Lawndale’s lineup includes 6-foot-5 senior Jonathan Mills, one of the city‘s top rejoinders.
Saturday’s other game will match up Glenbrook North (14-4) and Warren (17-4). Alex Dragicevich averages 20 points and 8 rebounds per game for Glenbrook North; Brandon Paul averages 22 points and 7.5 rebounds for Warren.
“There will definitely be times when we guard each other,” Paul told the Chicago Tribune. “Alex is a very good player, and I‘m going to come at him real hard.”
4A-3A seedings announced
Whitney Young, Thornton, Hyde Park, Glenbrook North and Neuqua Valley are among the Chicago-area teams designated as No. 1 seeds in the upcoming Class 4A state tournament. Thornton (20-1) is ranked No. 1 in the state by MaxPreps. Neuqua Valley is No. 4 and Young is No. 5.
No. 2-ranked North Lawndale, Leo, Uplift, Ridgewood, Richards (defending state champ), Aurora Central Catholic and North Chicago are among the No. 1 seeds in Class 3A. North Lawndale has won seven straight since consecutive losses to Young and St. Joseph.
The Class 4A and 3A finals will be played March 21 at the Peoria Civic Center.
Notable…
North Lawndale’s Jermaine Winfield, out of action since being shot in the leg following a game Jan. 20, returned for the Phoenix on Wednesday, scoring 14 points in a 92-57 win over Harper. The shooting, which occurred in a school parking lot, prompted a Chicago Public Schools policy of allowing only screened fans (usually, parents or students) into games. … Zion-Benton point guard Ronald Steward scored 32 points in a 95-86 win over Waukegan. He hit seven 3-point shots. … Phil Jackson scored 21 points, and had 13 rebounds and 10 blocks in a 71-27 win by Providence St. Mel over Cristo Rey.
Girls Basketball: Young vs. Wheeling?
The girls basketball teams at Whitney Young and Wheeling certainly seem headed for a rematch in the Class 4A championship game.
The teams have won 53 games combined, and Wheeling’s only loss was by a whopping 30 points to Young in January. The Dolphins (26-1), defending 4A champs, are ranked No. 1 in Illinois and No. 11 nationally by MaxPreps. They have won 20 straight games since a two-point loss to Heritage of Christian of Indianapolis in December.
Young’s offensive power is intimidating. In addition to its rout of Wheeling, it halted 15th-ranked Thornton Fractional North’s win streak at 18 with a 30-point win. All of its last 11 wins have been by 20 points or more, and three times the Dolphins have won by 50 points or more.
Third-ranked Wheeling (27-1) has plowed along, stopping Hoffman Estates’ 19-game winning streak with a 49-30 victory in Thursday’s Mid-Suburban League championship game.
“We got one of our goals, so now we have to take care of the other one, which is to win state,” Wheeling’s Janelle Cannon told the Chicago Tribune.
The Wildcats, a No. 1 seed in the Wheeling Regional which begins play Monday, was placed in the upper half of the state tournament bracket. Young, No. 1 seed in the LaGrange Regional, is in the lower bracket.
But don’t forget about second-ranked Bolingbrook (17-4), a top seed in the Bolingbrook Regional. If Bolingbrook and Wheeling kept winning, they would meet in the state semifinals March 6 at Illinois State’s Redbird Arena in Normal. Bolingbrook did not play Wheeling or Young during the regular season.
Notable…
Katlyn Payne and Serafina Nuzzo each scored 15 points for Fenwick in a 64-36 win over Benet. The victory finished off an unbeaten conference season for Fenwick (25-5, 10-0 East Suburban Catholic), ranked No. 5 in Illinois by MaxPreps. … Alexis Martinez scored 21 points and pulled down 17 rebounds for Gordon Tech in a 54-51 win over Maine East. … T.F. North’s Karisma Chapman will miss the state tournament due to a torn ACL. T.F. North won its first 18 games and is now 22-2.
Paul Bowker covers the Chicago area for MaxPreps. He may be reached at bowkerpaul1@aol.com.
