Jan. 17--Parents of players on the Morgan Park boys basketball team said they were pleased with progress made during a 90-minute meeting Saturday with Morgan Park principal Carolyn Epps.
But there remains no timetable for when Morgan Park and Simeon will renew the Battle of Vincennes.
Tiffany Burrell, the spokesperson for the parents' group, said the game must be played before the start of the Public League playoffs in February. The No. 1-ranked Mustangs were scheduled to play No. 3 Simeon on a neutral court at Brooks at 1 p.m. Saturday.
The parents' meeting with Epps came hours after Morgan Park kicked off the South Side high school's centennial celebration. Most of the parents emerged from the meeting donning green Morgan Park T-shirts. Their main goal is to have a new, larger gym built on campus.
Before a group of reporters and TV cameras, 15 parents and family members of Morgan Park basketball players expressed satisfaction with their meeting with Epps.
"We have not officially rescheduled the game, but we do have a date that we have to play the game, by Jan. 28," said Burrell, the mother of the Morgan Park junior Romelo Burrell. "We had a wonderful meeting with Dr. Epps. All the parents are in agreement on a resolution. ... We're all on the same page, and everybody had their concerns heard. We all agreed that we are going to work for something for the betterment of the children and Morgan Park High School.
"It wasn't just about a gymnasium, but what Morgan Park needs. We're coming together as a unified front for what's best for the boys and the community."
The Public League Red South contest was postponed Friday after the Morgan Park parents' group announced Epps had agreed to a meeting. The parents had announced Wednesday that they would have their sons boycott the game, leading to its cancellation and Morgan Park's forfeiture, unless the game was moved to Morgan Park's small gymnasium.
For several years, Morgan Park's home games against Simeon have been played at neutral sites to accommodate a larger crowd. Brooks' gym can hold about 600 more fans than Morgan Park's gym, which can hold about 250 fans, and was CPS' preferred location for Saturday's game. Morgan Park defeated Simeon in the first meeting, 70-65, at Simeon.
"This is a marquee game, and people want to see it, but this is our community and we would like to have the game at Morgan Park," said Darlene Randall, the mother of senior guard Jarrin Randall. "We understand this is a big game."
Jarrin Randall, a Western Michigan recruit, met with reporters outside the main gate at Morgan Park High School before a 1:30 p.m. practice.
"My parents and our team feel like we want to play (Simeon) at Morgan Park," Randall said. "Our parents are trying to do what it takes to play the game here. We want to support them. It's easier for us to play our home game where we practice, and that allows our students to come to the game. It's easier for them to see it here than to travel to Brooks. There should be no safety issues because the police station is right across the street. Security should not be an issue. They can always have more security."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for Chicago Tribune.
