Top 100 Freshmen Look Back: Part 2

Part 1

#	Name	School	Min	Pts	Rbs	Ast	ORTG	Notes
50	Anton Gill	Louisville	5.8	1.4	0.7	0.2	92.1 (14.3)
51	Troy Williams	Indiana	21.3	7.2	4.4	0.9	99.1 (19.6)
52	Matt Thomas	Iowa State	23.4	6.3	2.4	1.2	104.6 (12.8)
53	Terry Rozier	Louisville	19.7	7.5	3.2	1.9	118.1 (18.7)	1st Team Frosh - AAC
54	Deonte Burton	Marquette	12.2	6.4	2.1	0.5	100.8 (28.6)
55	Devin Williams	West Virginia	23.3	8.8	7.3	0.7	95.0 (24.4)
56	Kennedy Meeks	North Carolina	16.2	7.4	6	0.8	110.5 (23.4)	1st Team Frosh - ACC
57	Kendrick Nunn	Illinois	18.4	6.2	1.5	1.1	106.8 (18.3)	1st Team Frosh - B10
58	Ishmail Wainright	Baylor	10.6	2.1	1.7	1.3	91.5 (17.0)
59	Duane Wilson	Marquette						Red-shirt
60	John Egbunu	South Florida	24.9	7.4	6.2	0.4	110.5 (17.9)	1st Team Frosh - AAC
61	Stanford Robinson	Indiana	16.8	6.4	2.5	1.0	94.1 (22.8)
62	Allerik Freeman	Baylor						Red-shirt
63	Kendall Stephens	Purdue	20.2	7.9	1.8	0.7	110.0 (17.9)	1st Team Frosh - B10
64	BeeJay Anya	NC State	12.1	2.3	2.1	0.1	96.5 (12.4)
65	Karviar Shepherd	TCU	30.5	8.8	6.8	0.8	95.2 (18.4)
66	Marc Loving	Ohio State	11.6	4.7	2	0.2	99.2 (23.8)
67	Jimmie Taylor	Alabama	16.5	2.8	3.2	0.2	107.5 (10.6)
68	Detrick Mostella	Pittsburgh						2014 commitment
69	Nick Emery	BYU						Went on mission
70	Malcolm Hill	Illinois	13.4	4	2.3	0.6	95.3 (20.2)
71	Luke Fischer	Indiana	10	2.8	2.1	0.3	116 (14.6)	Transferred to Marqette
72	Stevie Clark	Oklahoma State	16	5.3	1.4	2.7	105.6 (21.2)	Dismissed from team
73	Jordan Bell	Oregon						Red-shirt after NCAA issue
74	Tim Quarterman	LSU	12	2.2	1.9	1.6	72.6 (19.7)
75	Reggie Cameron	Georgetown	13.4	3.9	1.4	0.4	97.8 (16.2)
76	Kameron Williams	Ohio State						Red-shirt, mono
77	V.J. Beachem	Notre Dame	8.7	2.5	0.7	0.2	90.9 (17.9)
78	Kris Jenkins	Villanova	11.5	3.8	1.8	0.5	110.8 (17.2)
79	Bronson Koenig	Wisconsin	14.6	2.9	1.2	1	109.4 (12.9)
80	Mamadou Ndiaye	UC Irvine	20.7	8.2	6	0.2	99.4 (20.4)	Big West DPOY
81	Markel Crawford	Memphis						Red-Shirt
82	Damian Jones	Vanderbilt	25.9	11.1	5.7	0.2	97 (24.3)	1st Team Frosh - B10
83	Dominic Woodson	Memphis	7.1	2.6	2	0.4	N/A
84	Bryson Scott	Purdue	15.9	6.3	2.6	1.4	92.3 (25.8)
85	Mike Young	Pittsburgh	22.1	6	4.4	1	110.4 (16.9)
86	Aquille Carr	Europe
87	Wesley Clark	Missouri	20.1	4.2	2.2	2.2	92.4 (16.2)
88	Akoy Agau	Louisville	4.9	0.8	1.1	0.1	N/A
89	Frank Mason	Kansas	16.8	5.9	1.3	2.1	107.2 (20.1)
90	Kentan Facey	Connecticut	5.5	1.5	1.8	0.2	N/A
91	Zena Edosomwan	Harvard	5.7	2.9	1.7	0.1	N/A
92	Dakarai Allen	San Diego State	10.9	2.6	1.2	0.3	87.2 (15.7)
93	Nate Britt	North Carolina	20.8	5.2	1.5	2.3	89.9
94	Josh Hart	Villanova	20.8	7.6	4.3	1	127.4 (17.0)
95	Anthony January	Juco
96	Marcus Allen	Stanford	8.6	2	1.1	0.5	102.3 (15.0)
97	RaShawn Powell	Memphis						Red-shirt
98	Brandon Randolph	Xavier	14.5	2.9	1.4	1.4	88.5 (15.6)
99	Kyle Washington	NC State	20.9	4.9	4	0.5	86.5 (16.1)
100	Tre'Shaun Fletcher	Colorado	10.2	3.5	1.8	0.3	102.3 (19)

Simeon: Still the Big Brother

Was it not being named Chicago Player of the Year? Was it the quest to win four state championships in a row? Whatever it was, senior forward Jabari Parker showed why he is considered one of the top players in the country and led Simeon to a 69-51 win over rival Whitney Young in the Argo sectional finals. Back in January when Whitney Young was looking like the most impressive team in the city of Chicago and getting national recognition, Parker said that “they (Whitney Young) are the younger brother and we will always be the top dog in Chicago.” With a spot in the Illinois state finals on the line, Parker backed up his words with 29 points and 13 rebounds in his most impressive outing of his final high school season. 

Parker dominates on his way downstate

Parker started off the game firing threes and mixing it up down low to score nine first quarter points. To go along with Parker’s aggressive offensive mind frame, Simeon employed their standard 2-3 zone in an attempt to slow big man and current Chicago player of the year, Jahlil Okafor. While Okafor dominated throughout the season, Simeon is the one team that knows how to slow him down. With their zone defense, Simeon previously kept Okafor in single digits the past two match-ups. Despite the zone, Okafor managed five first quarter points while junior guard L.J. Peak continued his hot streak from the night before with six. For Simeon, Parker hit a three from the left wing to go with three baskets down low to give Simeon an 18-16 first quarter lead.  

In the second quarter, the rest of Simeon’s talented seniors stepped up especially point guard Jaylon Tate and shooting guard Kendrick Nunn. Nunn started the quarter off with a basket, while Tate hit a short jump shot to key a 5-0 run. Whitney Young’s junior guards were sloppy with their passes against the zone which led to turnover and easy baskets for Simeon as a close game was quickly stretched out to a 31-24 lead. 

Just like the second quarter, Simeon’s seniors outplayed Whitney Young’s junior class during the second half as well. Despite getting Okafor more touches down low, Whitney Young struggled to get the deficit down to a two possession game. With the third quarter clock winding down, Jahlil Okafor made a monster block but despite the block Simeon regained possession and Nunn nailed a dagger three from NBA range at the buzzer to give Simeon a 46-34 lead. 

With Whitney Young unraveling, the game turned into a highlight show for Parker. During the second half, Parker went 5-5 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line. Some of Parker’s baskets included a one-hand tip dunk to go with a fast break wind mill. Parker did not want his season to end before taking a trip downstate and his performance throughout the game showed that determination. 

Both Simeon and Whitney Young have been regarded as the top two teams in Illinois all year long and with the win Simeon will enter the final stretch as a heavy favorite to claim their fourth consecutive state championship. While it has been a turbulent season for Simeon, the senior laden squad stepped up when it counted while showing the poise of a three time state champion. 

Okafor finished with 13 points and 5 rebounds while L.J. Peak went for 20 points and 7 rebounds in a losing effort for Whitney Young, but it was Parker who reminded everyone that it wasn’t too long ago that he was the one appearing on a Sports Illustrated cover. While he might not be the best player since Lebron, he is still the top dog of Chicago and the state of Illinois.

Battle of Chicago: Simeon Still the King

As Omar Little from The Wire proclaimed “You come at the King, you best not miss.” Whitney Young came at Simeon, the King of Chicago on Saturday night, but Whitney Young didn’t take their best shot and now Chicago and the state of Illinois still belong to Simeon until proven otherwise. Despite coming in to Saturday night’s showdown with Whitney Young as the lower ranked team, Simeon won their 44^th consecutive game in Illinois with a 44-41 victory. In a game where Simeon’s top player, Jabari Parker struggled, it was the two future fighting Illini guards in Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate that stepped up.

Parker and Okafor struggled throughout

 Coming into the match-up, junior center Jahlil Okafor was dominating the high school scene on both the national and local level. While no one player or team had slowed him down this season, Simeon and their zone defense did the trick. Last year, Simeon kept Okafor from touching the ball and held him nine points in a playoff showdown. This year, Simeon once again eliminated Okafor’s touches and held him to eight points, with six of those coming in the first quarter. 

Simeon controlled the first half jumping out to a 23-14 halftime lead as Whitney Young failed to find quality shots against the zone defense. On the offensive side of the ball, Tate was breaking down his defenders and getting to the basket for lay-ups while Nunn was busy catching alley-oops.

Despite the early halftime deficit, junior guard L.J. Peak led a furious third quarter comeback from Whitney Young which resulted in a short lived lead at 34-32. Peak started his scoring spree with a two-hand dunk at the 5:15 mark and then mixed in some deep three’s and jump shots to score 14 points in the quarter. 

After giving up their halftime lead, Simeon quickly answered back with a Parker jump shot to take a 36-34 lead which was then pushed out to a 42-36 lead soon thereafter. Whitney Young once again cut into that lead and got to within one point at 42-41 after an Ausar Madison three-pointer; however Tate quickly answered back by slicing to the basket for a lay-up giving Simeon a 44-41 lead. Simeon then forced Whitney Young until several contested three point attempts before the final buzzer sounded.

Tate led the way for Simeon with 12 points, while Nunn added 10 and Parker chipped in with 7. LJ Peak led the way for Whitney Young with 20 points while both Okafor and junior Paul White scored 8 apiece.

Overall:

No one could have predicted that both the number two ranked senior and number two ranked junior in the country would score in single digits. As both Parker and Okafor struggled throughout the game, it was Simeon’s other starters that stepped up to get the win while only Peak brought his A game for Whitney Young. Coming into this game Whitney Young had the confidence and swagger needed to knock off the three time defending state champs; however they were not able to get over the hump and will now be at a severe mental disadvantage when facing off with Simeon later in the season. Despite having its coach suspended, Simeon’s zone flustered Whitney Young and Simeon’s guards made just enough key plays to extend their city win streak and “top dog” persona.

The Battle of Chicago: Whitney Young vs. Simeon

On Saturday night, ESPN will showcase the Battle of Chicago featuring the most anticipated regular season match-up in recent memory. Simeon and Whitney Young will face off at Chicago State University for city and state bragging rights (at least until playoffs). Fresh off a pair of impressive wins in the Hoop Hall Classic, Whitney Young enters the contest ranked #1 in the state of Illinois and #4 in the country while Simeon is #2 in the state of Illinois and #11 in the country. Both teams are led by their superstars. Duke bound Jabari Parker is aiming for his 4^th consecutive Illinois state title for Simeon (#2 – 2013), while Whitney Young’s junior big man Jahlil Okafor (#2-2013) looks to add some hardware to his collection. Both teams are surrounded by a plethora of high major D-1 talent that should light up the frigid Chicago night.

Past Match-Ups:

Last year Simeon went 2-0 against Whitney Young. The first victory came in December 2011 when Simeon won 62-55 before an estimated crowd of 6,000 at UIC Pavilion. Kendrick Nunn led the way with 19 points while Parker contributed 15 points and 9 rebounds. Okafor led the way in a losing effort with 20 points and nine rebounds as Whitney Young cut the lead to three points in the final minute. 

The re-match came during March 2012 in a class 4A semi-final. Simeon dispatched Young with a 12-0 third quarter run which turned into a 52-42 win under the watchful eye of Mike Kryzewski and Tom Izzo. Parker led the way for Simeon with 18 points and six rebounds while Okafor was held to nine points and seven rebounds while not scoring in the second half.

Current Season Comparison:

WHITNEY YOUNG:

Jahlil Okafor looks to end Simeon's reign

Whitney Young finished 16-10 last year, but so far the team has made remarkable strides despite facing an extremely tough national schedule. Three months into the season, Young is 8-0 against Chicago teams with an average winning margin of 40 points per game. They are also 9-1 against teams outside the state of Illinois with their lone loss coming to one of the top teams in the country, Montverde in overtime. Here is a look at the who’s who of Young opponents:

12/1 – Dematha (W 72-58)

12/20 – Montverde (L 63-68 OT)

12/21 – Omaha Central (W 60-57)

12/22 – Chester (W 67-56)

12/31 – Bishop O’Connell (W 58-37)

1/19 – Long Beach Poly (W 85-52)

Junior Jahlil Okafor has been a monster this year routinely putting up 30 point performances and monster double doubles while staking his claim as the top prospect in the class of 2014. Alongside Okafor, is junior Paul White (#55 – 2014). Similar to Okafor, White started as a freshman and is now currently a 6’8” small-forward drawing strong looks from the majority of Big 10 schools. Last year White was forced to act as a primary ball-handler due to Young’s lack of guards, but this year has been freed up to play more naturally on the wing or in the post when guarded by a smaller defender. While Young returned their top two players from last year, they also gained another top junior over the summer with the transfer of 6’5” junior guard L.J. Peak (#53 – 2014) from South Carolina. Peak brought with him a package of shooting, ball-handling, and athleticism that Young desperately needed and has made an immediate impact. While the big three of Okafor, Young, and Peak receive the majority of attention from scouts and coaches, it is the arrival of senior point guard Ausar Madison and the emergence of junior guard Miles Reynolds that’s propelled Young into title contention. Madison arrived via Worcester Academy and while he is the most over looked starter on the team, he is also one of the most important. Throughout the year, Madison has broken through pressure without turning the ball over and provided the ball to his teammates in positions for them to score. When defenders back off him, as they often do, Madison can hit the open jump shot as he showed during the City of Palm Classic and recently against Long Beach Poly when he sparked a 12-0 first quarter run. Also key, has been the improved play of Reynolds. While he averaged almost 10 points per game last year, Reynolds came into his own during the City of Palms classic and increased the attention being paid to him by college coaches. During this tournament Reynolds averaged almost 17 points while shooting 79% from the field and 72% from deep. With the emergence of Reynolds and the additions of Peak and Madison, Whitney Young now has one of the strongest starting line-ups in the country.

SIMEON

Parker tries to stay "top dog" in Chicago

Despite coming off three consecutive state championships and fielding a starting line-up that includes five future D-1 players, Simeon’s aura of invincibility took a hit in the early part of the season. Simeon currently stands 16-2, but it was their two losses on national TV that became a cause for concern. Simeon’s star player Jabari Parker missed action from July – November with a hurt foot and rushed back to play in the season opener against Milton (GA). In this game Parker showed up rusty and out-of-shape. At the same time Simeon welcomed Parker back they were also trying to smoothly incorporate big man transfer Russell Woods as their replacement for Marquette freshman Steve Taylor. While Parker tried to get healthy and shed his excess weight, Simeon struggled in a televised 10 point loss to DeSoto (TX) and then a 29 point loss to Montverde three weeks later. Despite these early season losses, Simeon regained some of their swagger by defeating Oak Hill Academy 81-68 in the Hoop Hall Classic. Analysts and writers noted that this win, to go along with their recent 19 point win over a Chicago public league rival displayed the fact that Simeon is back to where they belong. This might be true; however Simeon is still only one week removed from a two point sluggish victory over Morgan Park, a game in which Parker’s only baskets in the last 24 minutes came on two break-away dunks. 

Parker, the #2 ranked prospect in the country is without a question the star of Simeon and has started to recover from a sluggish start to the season. He scored 28 points against Oak Hill and 21 against Bogan this past week. To go along with Parker is senior shooting guard Kendrick Nunn (#59 – 2013) and point guard Jaylon Tate, both Illinois commits. Nunn hit the most important shot of the game against Morgan Park last week, while Tate can knock down deep three’s and run the team efficiently. Alongside these three is unsung 6’7” senior small forward Kendall Pollard, a Dayton commit and 6’8” big man Russell Woods. Woods transferred to Simeon from Leo, another city public school over the summer. To go along with this starting five, Simeon also features super sophomore DJ Williams who will be next Simeon superstar. Despite early season struggles, Simeon still owns the state having won 43 straight games against Illinois schools. Their last loss you might wonder….Whitney Young on February 16, 2011. 

Keys to the Game:

1)      Can Simeon slow down Jahlil Okafor?

Okafor is one of the most dominant players in high school this year, regardless of class. The season started with a 34 point, nine rebound performance and most recently he put up a 26 point and seven rebound performance. Guarding Okafor straight up does not work, and for the most part either does double teams. He is extremely quick once he catches the ball preferring to dribble left and spin right. He will also catch anything in his vicinity (a la Sean May). Simeon will not be able to stop Okafor by letting Woods go one-one one; however they are the last high school team to have success against him. In their last match-up it was noted above that Okafor did not score in the second half. Last year Simeon’s coach said: “We just kept the ball out of his hands. You can’t stop him, you just have to try and keep him from getting it.” Will Simeon slow down Okafor or will he have his way and record another monstrous double-double?

2)      Mental make-up

Whitney Young has been looking forward to this game all year and they believe it is time for a new champion. On the other side, Parker noted that “they (Whitney Young) are the little brother and we will always be the top dog in Chicago.” Simeon tries to regain their lost swagger while Whitney Young believes it’s time to change roles. Will Whitney Young be able to handle the hype of this game or will Simeon keep their stranglehold on the state of Illinois.

3)      Coaching

Simeon’s coach, Robert Smith was suspended for four games recently and will not coach against Whitney Young. If this game is close at the end look for the edge to go to Tyrone Slaughter and Whitney Young.

4)      The Other Stars

Whose starters will step-up when it counts? Last year it was Kendrick Nunn who stepped up to defeat Whitney Young in their first match-up. Will Nunn do the same this year, or will it be one of the new members of Whitney Young who hit the big shots?

Prediction:

Whitney Young by 5. 

Young’s only loss came against Montverde in overtime. This overtime loss also happened after a hellacious day of travel (Chicago to Tampa flight and then an hour and a half drive to Fort Myers) and an 11pm tip-time. Besides for this game, Young has been a well-oiled machine firing on all cylinders. The four junior starters for Young will look to jump out on Simeon and claim Chicago city bragging rights….at least until these teams match-up again in the Playoffs. Then, it might be a different story.