Mitchell’s clutch FTs lift Bulldogs
Schurz and Collins won their White conferences last season. For decades, that meant a promotion to the Red Division, the premier division in the Public League.
Things changed this year. The Public League created two super conferences, the Red North- West and the Red South- Central. The longstanding tradition of promotion/ relegation ( most coaches call it up/ down) didn’t happen, leaving Schurz and Collins out in the cold, stuck back in the White.
“It was heartbreaking,” Schurz junior forward Elijah Clay said.
“You should have seen the kids’ faces when I had to tell them we weren’t moving up,” Schurz coach James Shelton said. “It’s hard to tell a kid after they achieved their goal that they aren’t moving up. It was very disappointing.’’
Shelton said that the Public League Sports Administration changed its mind a few times. Originally, he was told Schurz was in the White. Shelton fought that decision and said he was told his team would be in the Red after all during the summer. Then in September, he got the final decision that Schurz would be in the White.
“Now they say if we win the White, we will be in the Red, but it’s hard to believe them,” Shelton said. “We don’t care about moving up anymore. If it happens, it happens. We just want to get the best out of our kids and win games.”
The Bulldogs picked up a big nonconference win Wednesday against the visiting Warriors. Schurz senior Jaland Mitchell made two free throws with two seconds left in overtime to give the Bulldogs a 52- 51 victory.
“I had been working in prac- tice on them all day, so I felt kind of comfortable, but at the same time, I wasn’t comfortable because the game was on the line,” Mitchell said. “So I just had to take my time and finish it as if nobody was there.”
Mitchell had 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Daniel Osorio led Schurz ( 4- 0) with 22 points and was the hero in regulation, driving coast- to- coast to make a buzzer- beating, game- tying bucket.
“We put the ball in his hands, told him to give it to Mitchell for the jump shot if they doubleteamed him,” Shelton said. “He did a great job, unbelievable shot.”
Collins’ zone defense was effective in the first half, thanks to bigs Fre’Quon Loury ( six points, 11 rebounds), Jimon Hall ( six points, nine rebounds) and Wanya Parks ( six points, seven rebounds, five blocks). Jaquan Embrey led Collins ( 1- 1) with 21 points.
“They did us a favor coming out of that a little bit,” Shelton said. “We knew we could beat them with quickness.”
Clay battled in the paint for the Bulldogs and finished with 14 points and eight rebounds.
“That is probably his best game in his three years here,” Shelton said. “Sometimes he plays a little soft, but today he stood up and fought.”
Schurz doesn’t just have to deal with the stigma of playing in the White, it also fights against the perception of North Side basketball.
“That’s three years in a row beating Collins,” Shelton said. “It’s a huge win for us. Everyone always thinks that the North is soft. We want to show them we can play West Side ball, we can play South Side ball. We can play with anyone; we have a great team.”
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