A preview of the Chicago Public League playoffs which tips off Tuesday.
Team to beat
There is a clear-cut team to beat. And it’s the same team that won last year’s city championship.
Curie is ranked No. 1, hasn’t lost to a single in-state team and is fresh off a big road win over talented St. Louis Vashon.
The Condors, led by seniors Ramean Hinton and Elijah Pickens, have passed every test all season long, beating Simeon and Bogan in the city and suburban powers Bloom, Hillcrest and Joliet West. Defense, chemistry and understanding and accepting individual roles have led coach Mike Oliver’s team to a 20-1 record.
Top challengers
Young has a star in McDonald’s All-American D.J. Steward, a re-charged Tyler Beard, who just committed to Georgetown, and a schedule that has prepared them well for the all-important stretch run.
Bogan has lost just two games all season –– to No. 1 Curie and No. 4 Notre Dame by a combined five points. The Bengals head into the playoffs with a dynamic talent in Antoine Bloxton.
Sleepers
When have Simeon and Morgan Park both been given the “sleeper” label? But that’s what 16 losses between these two perennial powers will do. But don’t be surprised if one of these teams make a title run.
Morgan Park, which hasn’t won a city championship since 2010 after falling in the title game three times since then, has the firepower to beat anyone. That starts with high-scoring Illinois commitment Adam Miller and continues with Wake Forest recruit Marcus Watson and 6-5 wing Brandon Weston.
With wins over Morgan Park and Notre Dame in the past two weeks Simeon looks as if it’s turning the corner and playing its best basketball. There is depth, the versatile Jeremiah Williams and a player in Ahamad Bynum with take-over-the-game ability.
Biggest story
Unfortunately, the biggest storyline is off the court. The recent drama surrounding Lincoln Park, a team with a 19-3 record and previously ranked among the top 10 teams, has led to a suspended basketball season until further notice. CPS is currently investigating misconduct violations stemming from the team’s trip to Detroit in December.
Cinderella candidate
With Lincoln Park’s season being suspended, the door has been opened for the winner of the Kenwood-Clark first-round game to make a quarterfinal run.
However, Kenwood is 0-5 against the city’s big boys, losing by an average margin of 16 points a game.
Clark (17-5) is an intriguing White Division team. Coach Terry Head has energized the program in his fourth season. Head’s teams regularly play hard and with energy, and this group is led by the trio of Coby Weekly (16 ppg), Pierre Calhoun (19 ppg) and sophomore Darrius Perryman (16 ppg). The Eagles recently knocked off Niles North and played highly-ranked Thornton tough in a loss.
Game we want to see
You never know what you’re going to get in a high-profile season opener. That’s when Morgan Park and Young met –– way back in November when Morgan Park edged Young 61-59.
Another matchup between Steward and Miller, the top two seniors in the state, in the semifinals would bring a whole lot of heat to the city playoffs.
Semifinal picks: Young over Morgan Park; Curie over Simeon
Title game pick: Young over Curie
2020 Public League playoffs
First round
Tuesday, Feb. 4
All games at 6 p.m. (subject to change)
Taft at Young
Schurz at Brooks
Uplift at Westinghouse
Ag. Science at Morgan Park
UP-Englewood at Bogan
Phillips at Lane
Lindblom at Hyde Park
Crane at North Lawndale
Harlan at Curie
Longwood at Marshall
Vocational at Corliss
Mather at Orr
Perspectives-IIT at Lincoln Park
Clark at Kenwood
Payton at Farragut
King at Simeon
Second round, Thursday, Feb. 6
Quarterfinals, Tuesday, Feb. 11
Semifinals, Friday, Feb. 14
Title, Sunday, Feb. 16
