Smith calmed by talk with Illinois coach
The relationship between Simeon and Illinois is strong. It has endured and grown through two Wolverines coaches and several Illini coaches.
But Simeon coach Robert Smith clearly felt disrespected by new Illinois coach Brad Underwood on Friday afternoon. Smith said the two hadn’t spoken since Underwood was hired in late March.
‘‘ I have not had a conversation with him,’’ Smith said. ‘‘ He called me when [ Simeon grad D. J. Williams transferred], but I was busy. And he never called back.
‘‘ I guess he’s busy, I don’t really know. If you want to talk to somebody, you are going to call them. He doesn’t have to call me; it’s not a big thing to me. When he wants to recruit these kids, he will come and talk to me.’’
Williams’ departure means there isn’t a Simeon player on the Illini’s roster.
‘‘ It’s hard to know why you come into a state and not come talk to the school that has sent the most kids to the program,’’ Smith said. ‘‘ I’ve been here for 13 years and sent four kids there. Coach [ Bob] Hambric sent a bunch of kids. You would think they know we are committed to Illinois. But it hasn’t happened. Maybe they don’t need us.’’ Underwood recently hired assistant Ronald ‘‘ Chin’’ Coleman, who has a good relationship with Smith. ‘‘ I’ve talked with ‘ Chin,’ ’’ Smith said. ‘‘ All the people they have hired from Chicago were great people: Tracy Webster and Paris Parham. I just think it is a lot to expect those people to get everyone from Chicago. It’s just a hard sell.’’ Underwood and Smith spoke Friday evening, a few hours after Smith’s comments were published on the Sun- Times’ website. ‘‘ It went well,’’ Smith said. ‘‘ He said it was no disrespect, that he just had a lot of things going on with players decommitting and transferring.’’ Smith said Underwood told him he would be visiting Simeon soon. ‘‘[ Underwood] said he’s been spending a lot of time figuring out why Illinois hasn’t been successful the past 10 years,’’ Smith said. ‘‘ He mentioned that they don’t have a swagger anymore, and he wants to bring that back. That’s something I think everyone in the state can get behind.’’
Horton- Tucker rising
Illinois is recruiting Simeon’s Talen Horton- Tucker, whose breakthrough occurred in March in Peoria. The 6- 5 junior did a lot of everything for the Wolverines in a commanding performance against Bolingbrook in the Class 4A semifinals.
Horton- Tucker has kept up that level of play through the spring evaluation period, playing in the Nike EYBL with the Mac Irvin Fire. The scholarship offers are streaming in, and he’s challenging Morgan Park point guard Ayo Dosunmu as the top player in the state in the Class of 2018.
Horton- Tucker scored 33 points in a game last weekend at the EYBL session in Atlanta.
Horton- Tucker against Dosunmu will be a storyline for next season. Simeon against Morgan Park is the top rivalry in the state, and now it features Illinois’ two best players.
Dosunmu also has had an excellent spring. He plays with HortonTucker on the Mac Irvin Fire and recently picked up a scholarship offer from Wake Forest.
Coaching carousel
Tom Les retired after 10 seasons at Notre Dame. His replacement hasn’t been named.
Bill Curry stepped down at Westinghouse. Rafie Fields, a member of the Warriors’ 1996 city- championship team, is the new coach. His son Jocke is a junior at Westinghouse and will be one of the team’s top players next season.
Chris Pickett left Vocational and has taken over at Kankakee.
Fred Cleveland stepped down at Urban Prep- Englewood, and his son Fred II transferred to Leo.
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