Can’t spell talent without Talen
Talen Horton- Tucker was a long, wide and strong bundle of potential for most of his high school years. In some games he would provide glimpses of being a possible dominant player.
That future has arrived, that potential has been fulfilled, at least at the high school level.
The Simeon senior was a dominant force at the 87th Pontiac Holiday Tournament. TheWolverines weren’t even challenged as they won the best holiday tournament in the state.
Horton- Tucker scored 25 points to lead the top- ranked Wolverines past No. 2 Curie 67- 48 in the title game Saturday night.
“I’mjust playing with a different level of confidence,” Horton- Tucker said. “Every year at Simeon, there is a senior that is going to be there that waited their turn. This year it is our turn.”
Horton- Tucker is a ball- handler, a shot- blocker, a rebounder, a three- point shooter, a post- scoring threat. The list is practically endless.
“He can do everything on the floor,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “He’s a versatile player. I don’t know if there is another player in the state that can do all the things he can on the floor.”
Bakari Simmons, the son of former NBA player and Simeon star Bobby Simmons, is beginning to come into his own for the Wolverines. He spent all four games of the tournament guarding the opposition’s best player. His defensive style is relentless and annoying.
“It’s fun,” Simmons said. “It gets me going the more I get into their head. They shy away from the ball. [ In the semifinal against Danville] I stopped someone from touching the ball for eight minutes straight. He didn’t even want it. Hewas just going up and down the court, it was so easy. That shows your mental toughness, where you are mentally as a player.”
Smith has now won nine Pontiac titles, breaking the record held by former Peoria Manual and Washington coach Dick Van Scyoc.
The Wolverines won their four games at the tournament by an average of 24 points. That’s by far the largest margin of victory in any of Smith’s title runs.
“It’s never been this easy before,” Smith said. “The kids came out and gave a good effort. Coming back from Florida I wanted to see how dominant we could be at home. We were pretty dominant.”
Horton- Tucker won the prestigious AC Williamson award. He’s the seventh Simeon player to win the award, following in the footsteps of Evan Gilyard, Jabari Parker, Derrick Rose, Calvin Brock, Cameron Echols and Bobby Simmons.
“Being the guy to win that award is great,” Horton- Tucker said. “Most of the players that have won the award went to the NBA or did something good in college.”
Other champions
Proviso West: Orr is starting to live up to the preseason No. 1 hype. The Spartans are firing on all cylinders now and demolished Young 71- 55 in the title game.
Big Dipper: Morgan Park beat Leo 82- 71 to win the championship. The Mustangs played the final three games without Illini recruit Ayo Dosunmu, who has a sprained ankle.
Hinsdale Central: St. Rita, which lost six consecutive games earlier this month, shocked everyone by advancing to the final and beating Bolingbrook 55- 49.
Wheeling: Niles North remains undefeated after surviving Libertyville 72- 65 in overtime. The Vikings have Jamal Stephenson back.
York: Big man Ryan Davis’ player of the year campaign is picking up major steam after he led Conant to the title with a 5453 win against Brother Rice in double- overtime.