In the last decade for the reason that Simeon boys basketball staff gained its fourth straight Class 4A state championship, coach Robert Smith and the 15 gamers on the state roster have branched off on totally different paths in basketball and life.
Here’s a fast have a look at their school {and professional} careers and their ambitions after basketball.
Jabari Parker
College: Duke
Career highlights: Two-time Mr. Basketball of Illinois. Won 4 state championships with Simeon. Averaged 19.1 factors and eight.7 rebounds per recreation in a single All-American season at Duke. The Milwaukee Bucks drafted him No. 2 general in 2014, and he averaged 15.3 factors and 5.5 rebounds per recreation in 183 video games over 4 seasons regardless of struggling two ACL tears. Also performed for the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings and Boston Celtics, who waived him in January 2022.
You ought to know: Parker’s potential was hyped from a younger age, however he stated he wouldn’t change something about these expectations.
“I loved every bit of it,” he stated. “I love pressure and I love performing under pressure. And honestly I like where I am right now because it makes me the best version of myself, and the sense of urgency is unlike any other because when you have your back against the wall, you have no other choice but to go up. It gives you an opportunity to excel and to be the best.”
Parker is coaching himself in Chicago six days every week so that he’s able to play each time the following alternative comes. He stated he’s being choosy about going to the proper state of affairs.
“I do get anxious a lot,” he stated of ready. “But I try to remind myself that the only thing that matters is the time I have now. Because I know this time I’ve got to stay sharp, stay in the gym and perfecting my game for that moment.”
He is also attempting to make a mark locally, advising present Simeon gamers and others, understanding with youngsters and operating free camps.
He stated it: On returning to stay in Chicago after residing all around the nation: “I think about it all the time. It’s like, if I started a life, why would I start it over? It takes years to develop friendships. It takes years to develop a sense of direction in the city. I don’t have the patience to do that somewhere else. I’ve developed that here in the city, and I don’t think I’ll ever leave. I think it’s a place I’ll always call home, and I think it’s an opportunity for me now to uplift those underneath me, playing in high school, playing in grade school. Because I want them to get the best out of their careers and their talents.”
Kendrick Nunn
College: Illinois, Oakland.
Career highlights: Four-time state champion with Simeon. Averaged 10.6 factors, 3.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists over three seasons at Illinois. Was dismissed from the staff after he pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor battery cost associated to a home violence arrest. Played his senior yr at Oakland, the place he averaged 25.9 factors, 4.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals per recreation. Averaged 15 factors and three assists over his first two NBA seasons with the Miami Heat and performed within the NBA Finals his rookie yr. Also has performed for the Los Angeles Lakers and Washington Wizards.
You ought to know: Nunn is restarting with a brand new staff after the Lakers traded him to the Wizards in January. He sat out final season with a bone bruise in his knee however tried to make use of that as a studying expertise watching gamers resembling LeBron James and Russell Westbrook.
“I got to sit back and observe a lot not playing,” he stated. “I had a great time, just being in the locker room with a handful of Hall of Famers. My time there was great. … To see how they worked day in and day out and took care of their bodies and things like that. So I definitely was a sponge there from a younger player in this league perspective. It was an honor.”
He stated it: “Coming from Chicago and playing in the (Chicago Public League) Red South (Conference), that competitiveness that the players have in Chicago played to my advantage now being a pro. … Just all players from Chicago have a different type of grit, I think, playing the game.”
Jaylon Tate
College: Illinois.
Career highlights: Won two state championships with Simeon after transferring from De La Salle. Started 35 video games and performed in 121 over 4 seasons at Illinois, averaging 2.4 factors and a couple of.5 assists. Has performed professionally in Canada, Finland, Latvia and Austria, the place he gained a championship. Was the NBL Canada Rookie of the Year in 2017-18. Played for the Lakers and Golden State Warriors G League groups.
You ought to know: Tate lately determined to start out a brand new profession path with a advertising and marketing agency and envisions himself thriving in gross sales sooner or later.
But he nonetheless trains and performs basketball together with his former Simeon teammates each time they’re on the town, together with Parker, Nunn and Talen Horton-Tucker, an NBA participant from Simeon who was 5 years behind the 2012-13 staff.
“I get in there with everybody, all my guys that I grew up playing with,” he stated.
He stated it: “The main goal was to try to get to the NBA. Everybody thought that. Honestly, the older I got, I just always appreciated everybody has their own story, their own journey. And as I got older, I just appreciated and accepted my journey and where I’m at today. No matter what, I wouldn’t switch my life and what I went through with anybody. And I think me being a kid and going through what I went through at a young age prepared me for being where I’m at now. Being able to travel like that, playing big-time games, playing on TV all the time, that prepared me for college and prepared me for my professional career for sure.”
Kendall Pollard
College: Dayton
Career highlights: Won three state championships with Simeon. Made 4 NCAA Tournament appearances with Dayton, reaching the Elite Eight in 2014. His Dayton recruiting class set a faculty report for many wins (102) over a four-year stretch. Was third staff All-Atlantic 10 his senior yr, when he completed within the Top 10 for area purpose share (.525) and prime 15 for steals per recreation (1.5). After graduating from Dayton, he performed for the NBA’s G League, in addition to groups in Iceland and Austria.
You ought to know: Worried that he can be misplaced among the many sea of expertise at Simeon, Pollard initially thought-about taking part in for much less prestigious excessive colleges the place he can be virtually assured of being among the many stars. Coach Robert Smith and his workers, nonetheless, satisfied him that he might be a giant fish in Simeon’s massive pond, altering the trajectory of Pollard’s basketball profession.
In 2013, ESPN.com ranked him the ninth finest participant out of the state of Illinois and the Forty second-best small ahead within the nation.
He stated it: “When I was in grade school, I wanted to be like (Simeon graduate) Derrick Rose. So I went. I got a chance to play for Simeon, it felt like a dream coming true.”
Donte Ingram
College: Loyola
Career highlights: Special point out All-State his senior yr at Simeon. Averaged 11 factors and 6.4 rebounds per recreation throughout senior yr at Loyola. Named to the second staff All-Missouri Valley Conference in 2018. During the Ramblers’ unbelievable run within the 2018 NCAA Tournament, he hit a 3-pointer to defeat Miami. Currently taking part in skilled basketball in Romania and likewise performed within the Dutch league.
You ought to know: Ingram and his Loyola teammates turned native celebrities when the Ramblers reached the Final Four, a lot in order that some followers even adopted them again to their residences after class simply to get an autograph or a selfie.
“That was a little a weird,” Ingram stated, “but otherwise it was amazing. We knew what our team meant to the city. We never took that for granted.”
A shoutout from Chance the Rapper on Twitter through the 2018 NCAA Tournament even prompted Ingram to hitch the social media community. His Twitter bio has simply 5 phrases: Failure will not be an possibility.
He stated it: “I think Saieed (Ivey) would be proud to know that he has left such a big mark on the world.”
Rickey Norris
College: Central Wyoming, Adams State
Career highlights: All-conference honorable point out Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2020. Average 13 factors per recreation his senior yr at Adams State and was one of many prime three rebounders in a convention, averaging 7.2 boards per contest, in keeping with RMAC data. Also took residence RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.
You ought to know: During his senior yr, Norris moved from capturing guard to level guard in what he known as the “hardest transition ever” on the time. He didn’t understand it then, however his hardest transition would come years later when he went from taking part in basketball to teaching it.
“I don’t think anyone would have picked me to become a coach when I was at Simeon,” he stated. “We were all too focused on playing to think about something like that. But I listened to my coaches and never gave them any trouble, so maybe that was a sign of what was to come.”
Norris is now an assistant basketball coach at Adams State after teaching in the highschool ranks.
He stated it: “It was a blast traveling all over the country with the team. We were signing autographs and posing for selfies with people in the airport. The stands would be packed everywhere we went. I realize now that it’s not your typical high school experience.”
D.J. Williams
Colleges: Illinois, George Washington, DePaul.
Career highlights: Was a key substitute as a sophomore on Simeon’s 2013 championship staff. Saw restricted motion in two seasons at Illinois, averaging 2.2 factors per recreation. Averaged 13.7 factors and 4.7 rebounds in his lone season at George Washington. Transferred to DePaul to be near residence in winter of his 2020 season and performed in 11 video games.
You ought to know: Williams was prepared to maneuver on from basketball when his taking part in profession ended with the COVID-19 pandemic whereas at DePaul.
He was curious about style way back to center faculty and now designs garments and gives styling companies.
“I still have the love for (basketball),” he stated. “I nonetheless watch it. I nonetheless help my guys who’re nonetheless taking part in. I feel my love will at all times be there. I got here up in a sports-driven household, primarily basketball, so it’s in my blood. I’m not taking part in, however my model has been on gamers within the NBA, so I assume my identify remains to be within the enviornment. That’s an excellent factor. Hopefully this upcoming yr we are able to get extra gamers and extra individuals in our stuff. “
He stated it: On his clothes model, “Dollar $ign Junkie:” “Just having that hustler mentality and always striving to move forward. I did finish playing ball, but I’m still striving to move forward and do big and great things. I’m all about entrepreneurship and ownership, and that’s very important to me, leading my way and controlling my destiny more so than letting a coach do it.”
Quron Davis
College: Chicago State.
Career highlights: Was a 6-foot-9 reserve on two state championship groups who took delight in difficult Parker and Russell Woods in observe. Played three seasons at Chicago State, the place he averaged 3.7 factors and three.4 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per recreation in his junior season. Was planning to play at Adams State for his senior yr however suffered a season-ending knee damage.
You ought to know: Davis didn’t play a ton at Simeon, however he stated he was completely satisfied he went there for the experiences — taking part in NBA-caliber athletes and touring out of state, which he stated ready him for a troublesome Chicago State schedule that concerned a number of West Coast journeys.
He stated he felt a insecurity hindered him early in his profession however he started to seek out it in his final two collegiate seasons earlier than a knee damage ended his profession.
He now works in enterprise and has taken up boxing as a option to work out.
He stated it: “Once I was truly able to get past that mental part – and say, ‘You know what if I miss I miss, I don’t even care if I score, I’m just going to just go kill people’ — I was a completely different person on the court. I would say I didn’t find that until I was in my 20s.”
Zach Norvell
College: Gonzaga.
Career highlights: Norvell and the opposite Simeon freshmen on the Simeon 2013 championship staff completed third in Class 4A of their senior seasons. Was the West Coast Conference newcomer of the yr as a Gonzaga freshman. Over two seasons there, averaged 13.8 factors, 4.1 rebounds and a couple of.7 assists per recreation. Helped the Zags to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons. Played with the G League groups for the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers and appeared in 5 NBA video games in 2019-20.
You ought to know: Norvell hopes to play once more after getting his diploma in sports activities administration from Gonzaga and recovering from knee surgical procedure. But he’s additionally having fun with working as a scholar assistant with the Gonzaga males’s basketball staff and sees a profession as a coach or an agent down the road.
“I’ve got a great coaching staff around me, so there isn’t much I can say that they haven’t heard,” Norvell stated. “But it’s just typically motivating and telling these guys I’ve been in their situation, their shoes. Uplifting talk more than anything and trying to just help them when I see little things, little tricks I use from time to time.”
He stated it: “I remember seeing how much work I needed to put in as a freshman (at Simeon) if I wanted to be good at that level. After leaving Beasley, where we had a good elementary career, I thought I was pretty good. But then coming into Simeon and seeing you’ve got Kendrick Nunn and Jabari, Russell Woods, Kendall Pollard, Rickey Norris, I could go on and on, those guys were just super talented and good. … I remember the practices being very high level all the time, a lot of dunks and flying around.”
Ben Coupet
College: UNLV, Arkansas-Little Rock, Southern Illinois.
Career highlights: Part of the Simeon freshman class that additionally gained third place as seniors. Saw restricted motion at UNLV however averaged 10.8 factors, 4.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists over two seasons at Little Rock. Used sixth yr of eligibility granted due to the COVID-19 pandemic to play at Southern Illinois and common 11 factors and 4.6 rebounds. Currently performs for the Windy City Bulls, Chicago’s G League staff.
You ought to know: Coupet attracts inspiration from different Simeon gamers who began within the G League and noticed NBA motion —Nunn, Norvell and Talen Horton-Tucker.
“I hope this goes where one day I get that chance to go to the NBA,” he stated. “Seeing guys like that, that’s all the motivation I really need. Talking to them and bouncing off what they went through in the G League, comparing it to what I’m going through now. I feel like they went through it, got through it and got to where they wanted to go. I feel like I can too.”
He stated it: On why he thinks Tim Flowers will reach changing coach Robert Smith at Simeon subsequent yr: “I used to watch Tim play when I was young. I watched him and Derrick (Rose) play all the time. He’s one of the reasons I went to Simeon. I just know his blood has Simeon in there. He loves Simeon so much. That type of passion and him being as young as he is and being able to understand the culture of Simeon as a whole, I feel like he’ll be the best coach ever after Rob is done.”
Josh Thomas
College: Wabash Valley, Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Career highlights: Finished third in state as a highschool senior. Played two years at Wabash Valley College, incomes first-team all-region and first-team all-conference accolades in 2018-19. Played three season for UW-Milwaukee. Finalist for Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year award in 2022. Holds two of the highest six single-game field-goal percentages in class historical past.
You ought to know: Thomas has an agent and is understanding on daily basis within the hopes of catching on with an expert staff in Mexico or abroad. He traces his need to see the world again to his freshman yr, when the Simeon staff traveled the United States — Nevada, Texas, West Virginia, Massachusetts and Tennessee — to play in opposition to the highest highschool groups within the nation.
He stated it: “I got to leave the South Side and see a lot of different parts of the country playing for Simeon. I knew there something else outside the 10-block radius in which I lived. It was a valuable lesson.”
Bobby Harris
Career highlights: Member of the 2013 state championship staff. Now works for his dad’s firm and has a sneaker enterprise on the aspect.
You ought to know: Harris was on the ground when the buzzer sounded and Simeon gained its fourth consecutive state title.
He stated it: “We were more than just a team, we were friends. And Coach Rob made sure we all knew our roles. If your job was to sit on the bench and clap, that’s what you were going to do. There was no arguing about it.”
Saieed Ivey
College: Governors State, East Los Angeles College
Career highlights: Member of Governors State’s first recruiting class, together with older brother Sondale Conner. Scored the primary basket within the historical past of Governors State, the place he was on the athletic administrators honor roll each semesters.
You ought to know: Ivey transferred to East Los Angeles College to play basketball after one yr at Governors State. But on June 9, 2016 — his twentieth birthday — he was shot and killed in L.A. after an evening of celebrating with pals.
He left behind a big group of people that beloved him.
“Saieed was very charismatic and very supportive and definitely concerned about the people around him,” his mom, Chareda Carter, stated. “If they were dealing with (something), whatever he could do — add value or lend a hand or a conversation to help someone through something — it was like, he was all over it. … He was a joy to be around. He was a jokester. He played a lot, and he could really tickle you to irritation at times. But to know him is to love him.”
He stated it: “Failure is not an option.”
Russell Woods
College: John A. Logan, Missouri.
Career highlights: Was a starter on the 2013 Simeon state championship staff. Helped John A. Logan go 27-7 and earn an NJCAA Tournament berth in his second season. Started 38 video games in two seasons at Missouri, together with 32 as a senior when he averaged 6.7 factors and 4.3 rebounds in 22.2 minutes per recreation. International staff data present he performed professionally within the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.
You ought to know: When he was a senior, Woods advised the Tribune that seeing a number of of his teammates decide to Division I colleges made him wish to work to play D-I after junior school.
He stated it: Woods, in 2013, on his college-bound teammates: “(Seeing) all of them strive to do good and signed to Division I scholarships, it made me hungry. It hit me I should be able to sign too. It motivates me, like, man I have to play hard. But at the same time my books are my main focus.”
Ed Morrow
College: Nebraska, Marquette.
Career highlights: Was a key sophomore reserve on the 2013 Simeon state championship staff. Was a Tribune first-team All-State participant as a senior. Played two seasons at Nebraska, the place he averaged 6.4 factors and 5.2 rebounds per recreation in 54 appearances. Dealt with a foot damage his sophomore yr. In 1 ½ seasons at Marquette, averaged 4.9 factors and 4.2 rebounds with 31 complete blocks in 49 video games.
You ought to know: Morrow comes from an athletic household. His mom, Nafeesah, performed basketball at Nebraska, and his father, Edward Sr., performed soccer there. His sisters, Aneesah and Nazlah Morrow, play basketball for DePaul.
Coach Robert Smith
Career highlights: In 19 seasons as Simeon head coach, has gained six state titles and eight metropolis titles. Has completed runner-up in state twice together with a 3rd place and a fourth place. Earned his five hundredth profession win in January. Began his profession as an assistant below coach Bob Hambric.
You ought to know: Smith will retire from teaching after this season and can hand the reins over to assistant coach Tim Flowers. Smith already has Flowers do a number of the speaking within the huddle and the scouting experiences to organize.
“He reminds me of myself, so I thought it would be good for him, and to leave it still with somebody in the family,” Smith stated. “He played here with Derrick (Rose). He understands the school. He’s been through all the trenches. He knows what it needs to look like. I just thought it was the best fit, sort of like Coach Hambric did for me.”
Smith stated he has been attempting to maintain the deal with the gamers this season, although he has had some emotional moments, together with on the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, the place Smith beloved taking part in yr after yr. He stated he loves this staff, which gained the town title in February, due to the way in which every participant has distinctive traits on the courtroom and for the way in which the gamers and fogeys are bonded off it.
“They’re connected as a team,” Smith stated. “Because you can have distractions. When you’ve got high level basketball players like we have, somebody thinking they should be doing more, they should be getting the ball more, whatever. But these kids just want to win. There are no egos, and that’s great. And a lot of people say, ‘Well, that’s because of you. You don’t have any ego. You’re calm, so they understand that.’ But it always comes from them and their parents.”
He stated it: On having his former gamers and coaches return for his five hundredth win: “Even when I came here as a student, they always told us, ‘This is always going to be your home. And you can always come back here no matter what the situation is. You can always come back here for anything.’ It’s a family atmosphere. I don’t know if a lot of people notice, but when you walk in the building there are probably 20 of us who graduated from here who work here. And that’s rare at most schools. … To have all of those guys come back last night, the former players, was really huge because that lets you know they embrace what we gave them while they were here. They could have called or texted, but they came back to be here for the moment.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com