The Quest for the third Battle
The Battle of Vincennes is happening for a third time. Things are different this time, though: no controversy, just basketball. Simeon and Morgan Park will face each other Friday at Quest Multisport on the West Side.
No one knows why Chicago Public Schools chose this venue for the Public League semifinals. It holds about 1,000 fans, so tickets will be hard to come by, especially with Curie- Kenwood being the other semifinal.
The Mustangs and Wolverines split the first two games. Morgan Park guard Charlie Moore dominated the first matchup, and Simeon guard Evan Gilyard led the Wolverines in the second.
“We’re going to win this time,” Moore said.
Moore’s father has been recovering from a stroke for the last few months. He’ll be able to watch both games live on Ch. 26.2.
“We had a heart- to- heart talk a couple days ago,” Irvin said. “His dad is down right now, and he wants it for him.”
New to the Super 25
Stevenson: The Patriots have been in and out of the rankings a few times. They have the talent to make plenty of noise in March. Justin Smith has superstar potential. Beating Lake Zurich and ZionBenton last week showed things are trending in the right direction.
Lincoln- Way Central: Longtime fans remember Bob Curran from his years coaching at Thornwood. The Knights are a fun team to watch. They broke Thornton’s 19- game winning streak Friday to earn a spot.
Minooka: Joe Butler can score. The senior has the Indians leading the Southwest Prairie. They don’t have a ton of signature wins, but at this point, they deserve the last spot as much as anyone.
Thisweek’s top games
Public League title game,
Sunday at Chicago State: A great matchup is guaranteed, no matter which teams win in the semis Friday. Morgan Park- Curie would be the most interesting because the teams haven’t played each other this year and they could win the Class 3A and Class 4A state titles, respectively.
Morgan Park vs. Riverside-- Brookfield, Saturday at Lyons: Here’s another chance for the Bulldogs to grab that elusive signature win. It’s possible the Mustangs will be distracted by this meaningless game sandwiched between two huge city playoff games. Skyler Nash and Mark Smith will have their work cut out for them on the boards against the Mustangs.
Simeon vs. Evanston, Saturday at Lyons: The Wildkits ( and their fans) think they are better than their No. 5 ranking. Here’s their chance to prove it. Nojel Eastern has stepped up and dominated for stretches in big games the last two seasons. This will be the biggest stage he has played on locally. A win over Simeon would be a massive statement for Eastern and Wildkits coach Mike Ellis.
Catholic League title game, Sunday at DePaul: St. Joseph and Fenwick are the favorites to meet here, but the tournament’s short history has been wacky, so anything could happen. The semifinals are Wednesday at St. Joseph.