Finally, the blog is back in full force. A combination of a slow AAU summer and just straight up laziness on my part has left all of you waiting (I’m sure) for a post. But finally, some actual basketball to talk about; not just team previews and player previews, but actual basketball. What a way to kick off a new season of high school basketball in the city of Derrick Rose’s shoulders with two Chicago Public League titans in Simeon High School and Whitney Young High School squaring off. This matchup is like Ali vs. Frazier, Rocky vs. Ivan Drago, USA vs. Russia- complete powerhouses. Together, both teams have enough division one players to field a final four team in 3 years with a slew of 5 star and 4 star ballers. In case you’ve turned a blind eye to high school basketball, and what non-creepy grown man would, you may have missed Simeon, yes, your Simeon Wolverines are the number one team in the nation. Yep, the nation, that’s right. So obviously you’d see yours truly parked in the friendly confines of the UIC Pavilion to watch this epic match up. So what will be one of hopefully many matchups between these two powers between the regular season, the CPL playoffs, and the state title, this is what I will be watching for:
Whitney Young Dolphins:
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SO, PF, Paul White (6-8, 200 lbs, Offered by Baylor, Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio State) Paul teamed up with fellow teammate Okafor on the U16 USA Basketball team over the summer and that increased his publicity in the high school ranks. Some will call him the Robin to Okafors Batman, but I think these are just two unique skillsets on the same team. Last year, White did not garnish a lot of minutes playing on an upper-class laden team. White will get to show more of his game this year. I would like to see if White is developing into a true power forward or an explosive small forward, a la Chicago native and current Baylor freshman Quincy Miller. His shot is still developing but I think in order for White to gain 5 star status, he will have to establish a true position instead of just an athletic wing.
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JR, C, Tommy Hamilton, Jr (6-9, 240 lbs, Offered by Michigan State, Illinois, Northwestern) Hamilton will take on a mini-leadership role as upperclassman are few and far between on this team. Hamilton has had his desire and effort questioned and over the last year, Hamilton has dropped in the player rankings. I will be watching not only his developing post game inside but his ability to step out and hit a 15 footer. Hamilton will never have a distinguished game face that some weirdoes like to represent effort, but I want to see him show some sort of emotion during the game. He has the skills to be great, but does he have the desire? It is almost like having a supermodel that doesn’t know how to walk down the runway- it would be a waste of talent.
Simeon Wolverines:
JR, SG/SF, Kendall Pollard (6-4, 185 lbs, no official offers) I’ve been reading this whole summer that beyond the Mt. Rushmore of Simeon players on this year’s team, there’s this player that no one is talking about who is about to start receiving some division one offers. That player is often referred to as Kendal Pollard. I’m not quite sure what his position is and what exactly his role is, but when some of the major starters like Nunn, Parker, and Taylor are out, will Pollard keep the momentum going?
SR, PF, Steve Taylor (6-7, 230 lbs, Committed to Marquette) The senior leadership will be coming from both Taylor and G Jalanie Neely (no offers). But Taylor has the most experience out of the two and his days seem brighter for now since he will be attending the Big East next year. One thing I will be watching for is how college ready his body may be. Last year, Taylor showed his skill both inside and outside, but was very lean. I have heard he has bulked up a bit and he needs to if he wants to contribute right away for Marquette. I think if he has built off his skills from last year and added a couple extra pounds of muscle, Taylor could become a great player.
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NEXT WEEK: The results of Simeon vs Whitney: Part 1
GURU if you had to predict who is a bigger player for jabari depaul or Illinois
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