Muddy Waters

4-Star SG # 7 - Jordan Sibert (Rivals Profile - # 39 in Rivals 150 / HS Class of 2010)


4-Star PG # 24 - Kyle Davis (Rivals Profile - # 112 in Rivals 150 / HS Class of 2013)


3-Star PG # 28 - Dayshon Smith (Rivals Profile - # 124 in Rivals 150 / HS Class of 2013)


3-Star SF - Kendall Pollard (Rivals Profile - HS Class of 2013)

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Chicago Tribune High School Sports homepage (Chicago Tribune)

HS Sports homepage (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . . . Boys Basketball Rankings (Chicago Sun-Times)


Morgan Park HS homepage (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Simeon HS homepage (Chicago Sun-Times)

Putnam Science Academy Mustangs Athletics (Putnam Science Academy)


Norwich Bulletin High School Sports homepage (Norwich Bulletin)


Norwich Bulletin Dayshon Smith Putnam February 2013 (Google search)

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HS Basketball Roundup (Norwich Bulletin - February 22, 2013)

Putnam Science Academy 75, Hyde-Woodstock 42

PUTNAM — Dayshon Smith recorded 20 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, and four steals to help the hosts advance to the Championship game of the Northeast Prep Tournament.

Paul Brooks added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Mustangs (21-8), who will face Our Savior New American at 5 p.m. today.

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Knobby

The next group of budding Dayton players to never see a win at Cintas....

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Well, we were smaller, but at least we were slower!

Muddy Waters

Congratulations to Scoochie on an excellent HS basketball career.


HS Basketball Roundup (Norwich Bulletin - February 23, 2013)

Putnam Science Academy 78, O.S.N.A. 74

PUTNAM — Dayshon Smith posted 19 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and the Mustangs defeated Our Savior New American to win the Third Annual Northeast Prep Tournament championship at Putnam Science Academy.

Putnam Science (22-8) won 11 games in a row to close out the season.

Dayshon Smith's Senior-year highlights:

We're looking forward to seeing you in a Dayton Flyers' uniform next season.

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Swampy Meadows

According to a Tweet from Putnam Science Academy, UD recruit Dayshon "Scoochie" Smith has been selected to play in the Jordan Brand Regional All-Star Game on April 13th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

(Just to be clear, this is not the same game that Chris Wright played in--it's the regional pre-lim but still quite an honor for the young man.)

"Scoochie" also went over 1,000 points for his career in his last game at PSA.

Muddy Waters

The Sectional Final games in the Illinois Boys HS Basketball Tournament were played last night, and to the surprise of no one, both Simeon and Morgan Park won.

Throughout the season and the Sectionals, Coach Robert Smith has assigned SF Kendall Pollard (who is quite possibly the best defensive player in the state of Illinois) to guard the best player on Simeon’s opponents, regardless of position. In the past month, Pollard has been assigned to guard PGs, SGs, SFs, PFs, and even the center on Simeon’s opponent team.


Parker-led Simeon Blows Past DuSable (Chicago Sun-Times - March 6, 2013)

Simeon star forward Jabari Parker showcased his dazzling all-around game by scoring a game-high 17 points and adding seven rebounds, four steals and three assists as Simeon smashed DuSable’s glass slipper with the convincing 73-38 victory in a Class Argo 4A Sectional Semifinal Wednesday night in Summit.

The No. 2 Wolverines (26-3) advance to Friday’s Sectional Final against the winner of the Young/Curie showdown Thursday.

Simeon’s defensive stopper, Kendall Pollard, again drew the toughest assignment, DuSable’s 6-6 wing forward Chris Galbreath. The Panthers’ star scored 49 points in being named the Chicago Sun-Times Athlete of the Week in leading DuSable to the St. Rita Regional crown.

Pollard shadowed Galbreath and held him without a field goal attempt as Simeon ran out to the 21-9 first quarter advantage.

"I feel like I can guard any position on the floor," Pollard said. "I’d never seen him play until tonight, and the scouting report said he could play. I knew I had to stick him and not let him get open."

Dominant Parker Leads Simeon to Sectional Final Win (Chicago Sun-Times - March 8, 2013)

Jabari Parker saved his best performance of the season for Friday against top-ranked Young. The Duke-bound senior scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead No. 2 Simeon to a 69-51 victory in the Class 4A Argo Sectional Final.

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Morgan Park Claims First Sectional Title (Chicago Sun-Times - March 8, 2013)

Kyle Davis led Morgan Park with 22 points as the Mustangs ran away from Perspectives-Calumet for a 67-31 win at the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional final Friday night.

Morgan Park's Kyle Davis takes the ball to the hoop against Perspectives Friday in the title game of the St. Laurence Sectional.

Sitting in the locker room before Friday night’s sectional title game, Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin offered his team a simple thought.

"Let’s make history tonight."

Winning the program’s first ever sectional title, Morgan Park defeated Perspectives-Calumet 67-31 Friday in the Class 3A St. Laurence Sectional title game in Burbank.

"We needed to get over this hump to get our ultimate goal (winning state)," Irvin said. "It feels real good right now."

Kyle Davis scored 22 points and had four steals to lead Morgan Park (30-3).

Josh Cunningham (13 points) and Billy Garrett Jr. (12 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds) got it done offensively as well. The Mustangs will face Hillcrest, winners over Rich East, Tuesday at the Joliet Central Supersectional at 7:30 p.m.

Morgan Park has qualified for the state tournament three times, including winning the 1975-1976 Class 2A state title, but the Mustangs always advanced as the Public League’s state representative.

Kyle Davis scored six and Cunningham four of his own as Morgan Park went up 13-3 late in the first quarter. Keeping the pressure up into the second, the Mustangs reeled off a 14-0 run in just over three minutes to go up 29-6. After a Garrett Jr. fast break floater and one-handed slam dunk, Davis punctuated the offensive spurt with his own fast-break bucket, his fifth basket in the first half.

"Not many people think that Public League teams play defense, but with this team right here, it’s what we feed off of," Davis said. "Defense turns into offense. We know we can score on the other end. We just have to lock it down."

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Muddy Waters

Class 4A Supersectional Previews (Chicago Sun-Times - March 10, 2013)

Break down of Tuesday’s four Class 4A supersectional matchups.

New Trier might not have the raw talent and star power to match up with Simeon, the three-time defending Class 4A state champions, but the Trevians have a talented D-I player in 6-4 Princeton recruit Steven Cook and a heady point guard in senior Reid Berman.

They also have plenty of confidence heading into Tuesday’s supersectional game against Simeon at Chicago State.

Cook and Berman were at their best Friday against Niles North. Cook, who averages 17 points, scored 30 and Berman finished with a career-high 14 assists.

It will probably take that and more for the Trevians (28-5) to shock top-ranked Simeon (27-3).

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2013 Jordan Brand Classic Regional Game Rosters Announced (SlamOnLine - March 5, 2013)

Jordan Brand, a division of NIKE, Inc., announced today the rosters for the Jordan Brand Classic's Regional Game, which will feature the top prep players from the greater New York area.

The regional game will be played at Barclays Center on Saturday, April 13th along with the JBC International and All-American games.

The Regional Game, features rosters that showcase some of the region's best talent.

The Home Team includes Kentan Facey (Lutheran/Long Island, NY/UConn), Jaquan Lynch (Thomas Jefferson/Brooklyn, NY/Florida International), Hassan Martin (Curtis/Staten Island, NY/Rhode Island), Chinonso Obokoh (Bishop Kerney/Rochester, NY/Syracuse), Shane Rector (South Kent/South Kent, CT/Rutgers), Terrence Samuel (South Shore/Brooklyn, NY/UConn), Jonathan Severe (Christ the King/Flushing, NY/Undecided), Shamiek Sheppard (South Shore/Brooklyn, NY/Towson), Kyle Washington (Brewster Academy/Wolfeboro, NH/NC State) and Rich Williams (Vermont Academy/Saxton River, VT/Hofstra).

The Away Team includes DeAndre Bembry (The Patrick School/Elizabeth, NJ/St. Joseph’s), Reggie Cameron (Hudson Catholic/Jersey City, NJ/Georgetown), Austin Colbert (Gil St. Bernard/Gladstone, NJ/Illinois), Josh James (Archbishop Stepinac/White Plains, NY/Monmouth), Davon Reed (Princeton Day/Princeton, NJ/Miami-FL), Tyler Roberson (Roselle Catholic/Roselle, NJ/Syracuse), Jaren Sina (Gill St. Bernard/Gladstone, NJ/Northwestern), Dayshon Smith (Putnam Science Academy/Putnam, CT/Dayton), Manny Suarez (Marist/Bayonne, NJ/Fordham) and Michael Young (St.Benedict’s/Newark, NJ/Pittsburgh).

The tripleheader will begin with the International Game at 3:30 PM, followed by the Regional Game at 5:30 PM

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Muddy's Observation:

This thread has now been viewed over 300,000 times.

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Muddy Waters

Kyle Davis, Morgan Park Dismantle Hillcrest (Chicago Sun-Times - March 12, 2013)

Kyle Davis led the way with 19 points and eight rebounds as Morgan Park crushed Hillcrest 77-44 Tuesday in the Class 3A Joliet Central Supersectional. The Mustangs advance to face Limestone in Friday’s semifinals.


Morgan Park outran, out-quicked, out-jumped and outrebounded Hillcrest in Tuesday night’s Class 3A Joliet Central Supersectional.

It showed on the scoreboard.

The Mustangs lit up the Hawks in a 77-44 rout that sends them on their first trip to the state finals since 2001.

"The game plan was to come out and attack," Morgan Park senior Kyle Davis said. "Man, I wanted to make history today, and I guess we did."

Davis led the way for the Mustangs (31-3) with 19 points and eight rebounds, all of the points coming in the first half. Lamont Walker (14 points), Josh Cunningham (11 points, nine rebounds) and Xzavier Taylor (10 points) were among the leaders for the Mustangs.

The game was essentially decided in the second quarter.

It was 39-21 at the half, with Davis providing nearly half of the Mustangs’ points.

The Mustangs finished the game with 10 extra-chance baskets, and led by as many as 35 points. They outrebounded the Hawks 38-21.

3A Supersectional: Morgan Park Too Much for Hillcrest (Chicago Tribune - March 12, 2013)

Morgan Park's Xzavier Taylor (44) receives a hug from teammate Kyle Davis after the
Mustangs' Supersectional victory Tuesday against Hillcrest.


Player of the Game: Kyle Davis, Morgan Park, 19 points, 8 rebounds.

Key Performers: Morgan Park — Josh Cunningham, 11 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals; Lamont Walker, 14 points, 3 rebounds; Billy Garrett, 8 points, 4 assists, 4 steals.

Key Performers: Hillcrest — Devin Harrison, 12 points, 4 3-pointers.

Next: 3A State Semifinal — Morgan Park vs. Bartonville Limestone, 12:15 Friday, Carver Arena, Peoria.

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4A Supersectional: Simeon Survives Scare from New Trier (Chicago Tribune - March 12, 2013)

The three-time defending State Champion Wolverines (28-3) pulled away from a four-point fourth-quarter lead to top New Trier 63-54 in a Class 4A Supersectional.


Player of the Game: Jabari Parker, 23 points, 10 rebounds.

Key Performers: Simeon — Kendrick Nunn, 17 points.

Key Performers: New Trier — Steven Cook, 14 points, 6 rebounds; Reid Berman, 10 points, 9 assists.

Next: 4A State Semifinal — Simeon vs. Proviso East, 6:30 p.m. Friday, Carver Arena, Peoria.

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Muddy Waters

Mike Helfgot Makes His 3A, 4A Picks (Mike Helfgot, Chicago Tribune - March 14, 2013)




Morgan Park and Simeon won't get a chance to square off downstate, but each could bring home a state title.


I'll say Simeon 70, Proviso East 64 in the semifinals, then I've got Simeon 58, Edwardsville 46 for a record-tying fourth consecutive State Title in what figures to be Robert Smith's final game as the Wolverine's coach.


The Class 3A Tournament, with all due respect to Orr, is Morgan Park's to lose.

The Mustangs are not taking Bartonsville Limestone lightly.

Legendary mind-speaker Nick Irvin is saying and doing all the right things this week. He's been in contact with several coaches who have played and/or are familiar with

Limestone (24-8), whose five postseason victories have come by 4, 5, 17, 2 and 5 points.

Morgan Park, meanwhile, has won its five IHSA playoff games by an average of 46.4. If that's the spread, Limestone has a good chance of covering, but that's about it.

Irvin will feel free to declare his team the best in the state after Morgan Park defeats Orr 77-70 in the Class 3A Final.

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Muddy Waters

4A State Semifinal: Simeon's 1 Step Away From 4 in a Row (Chicago Tribune - March 15, 2013)

PEORIA — Kendall Pollard emphatically blocked a Paris Lee layup attempt and bellowed in celebration as Simeon's 68-56 Class 4A semifinal victory over Proviso East wound down Friday night at Carver Arena.

The contributions of the Dayton-bound forward are sometimes lost in the hype that surrounds teammates Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn, but like that punctuation, he was hard to miss as Simeon took the next-to-last step in trying to secure its fourth consecutive State title.

Noticing a size advantage against 6-foot-2 Proviso East sophomore Kalin Fisher, the 6-5 Pollard scored nine of his 15 points to help Simeon set the tone in a tight first quarter.

Simeon (29-3) will play the winner of the semifinal between Stevenson and Edwardsville in the 4A Championship game at 8:15 p.m. Saturday. The Wolverines are trying to tie Peoria Manual's record of four titles in a row.

"I'm always under the radar," Pollard said. "That's why I'm always able to get second-chance points, offensive rebounds and just play my game. … It was one of the best games I've played in my whole high school career."

Pollard, who also had six rebounds and four assists, started on defense trying to disrupt Lee. The Wolverines moved to a tightly packed zone, and Proviso East (29-4) went 6-for-28 from 3-point range, more 3s than the Pirates were used to shooting this season, according to coach Donnie Boyce.


Player of the Game: Jabari Parker, Simeon, 20 points, 15 rebounds.

Key Performers: Simeon — Kendall Pollard, 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists; Kendrick Nunn, 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists.

Key Performers: Proviso East — Parish McCullum, 19 points, 4 rebounds; Sterling Brown, 12 points, 11 rebounds.

Next: 4A Championship game — Simeon vs. Stevenson/Edwardsville, 8:15 p.m. Saturday, Carver Arena, Peoria.

TV: Online at ihsa.org

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3A State Semifinal: Morgan Park Dressed for Success (Chicago Tribune - March 15, 2013)

PEORIA — With no phone booth in sight, Morgan Park players were forced to change uniforms in Carver Arena hallway Friday after a near-wardrobe malfunction before their Class 3A state seminal.

The result for the Mustangs — a 70-49 victory against Bartonville Limestone — was super.

The Mustangs accidentally wore the wrong uniforms to the arena, which turned out to be the team's biggest challenge of the afternoon.

"We changed in about two minutes, exactly right here (pointing to the hallway outside of the media room)," Morgan Park senior guard Kyle Davis said. "(A coach) dumped out all of our green uniforms, and just started throwing them at us and telling us to grab any size shorts.

"It was kind of a fun experience. Running in the tunnel, we're taking everything off. We're grabbing shorts and throwing everybody their numbers to get ready for the game."

The Mustangs' fun extended to the floor, with Davis scoring nine of his 15 points in the second quarter to lead Morgan Park (32-3) to its first state title game since 1976. Morgan Park will play Cahokia at 2 p.m. Saturday for the title.

"If nothing doesn't go wrong, it isn't a good day for us," Morgan Park coach Nick Irvin joked. "Everything was going smooth, and finally something went bad. I said, "We might win.' "

The 6-foot Davis shredded the Rockets' 1-2-2 and 2-3 zones by finding the soft spot in the middle for short jumpers, or penetrating through the heart of the defense.

"The coaches did a good scouting report (that) said the middle would be wide open for us," Davis said. "Everybody keyed in on the middle."

The Rockets' defense was spread thin trying to slow Morgan Park's dual Division I point-guard tandem of Davis and DePaul recruit Billy Garrett Jr. (15 points) and the Mustangs' inside players.

Davis and Josh Cunningham (8 points, 8 rebounds) teamed up in the third quarter to increase Morgan Park's lead to 40-18. Davis scored six points and assisted on back-to-back dunks by Cunningham. Davis scored 15 of Morgan Park's next 29 points after the Rockets (24-10) cut the gap to 11-9 at the start of the second quarter.


Player of the Game: Kyle Davis, Morgan Park, 15 points, 3 assists, 3 steals.

Key Performers: Morgan Park — Billy Garrett Jr., 15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists; Xzavier Taylor, 10 points, 8 rebounds.

Key Performers: Bartonville Limestone — Hank Mathews, 9 points; Terence Shelby, 8 points, 5 rebounds.

Next: 3A Championship game — Morgan Park vs. Cahokia, 2 p.m. Saturday, Carver Arena, Peoria.

TV: Online at ihsa.org

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2012-13 Sun-Times All-State Teams (Chicago Sun-Times - March 14, 2013)

CLASS 3A FIRST TEAM:

F Keita Bates-Diop — Normal U-High — 6-8 Jr.

G Kyle Davis — Morgan Park — 6-1 Sr.

G Billy Garrett Jr. — Morgan Park — 6-4 Sr.

F DeShawn Munson — East St. Louis — 6-3 Sr.

F Alec Peters — Washington, Ill. — 6-7 Sr.

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Kyle Davis Motivates Morgan Park (Chicago Sun-Times - March 15, 2013)

Morgan Park senior Kyle Davis’ few words of encouragement at halftime for teammate Josh Cunningham was the spark needed to fuel the Mustangs' 19-1 start to the second half in Friday's 70-49 Class 3A state semifinal victory over Limestone.



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4A State Final: Four Certain: Simeon Wins 4th Straight State Title (Chicago Tribune - March 16, 2013)

Simeon 58, Stevenson 40

Player of the Game: Jabari Parker, Simeon, 20 points, 8 rebounds.

Key Performers: Simeon — Russell Woods, 14 points, 10 rebounds; Kendall Pollard, 10 points, 9 rebounds.

Key Performers: Stevenson — Jalen Brunson, 14 points; Andrew Stempel, 13 points, 4 rebounds.

3A State Final: Morgan Park Wins First Title Since 1976 (Chicago Tribune - March 16, 2013)

Morgan Park 63, Cahokia 48

Player of the Game: Xzavier Taylor, Morgan Park, 11 points, 12 rebounds.

Key Performers: Morgan Park — Kyle Davis, 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals; Billy Garrett, 14 points, 5 assists; Markee Williams, 13 points, 5 rebounds;

Key Performers: Cahokia — Carleton Rivers, 9 points.

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TA111

I know Davis gets more of the accolades, but Pollard is the real deal and will be an immediate contributor. Not only can he score, but he is their best defensive player. That will get him minutes in Archie's system.

A10fan2

Minutes from whom? Oliver?Pierre? They all seem like 3's. Putting one at the 4 is going to cause the same interior defense issues that plagued UD all year.

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Muddy's from 2009

He has since made the same "prediction" this year. CLASSIC

paulxu

Dayton seems to have a lot of success recruiting in the Chicago market. I wonder if that might not work against them in BE expansion consideration as perceived by DePaul and Marquette.

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...he went up late, and I was already up there.

FlyingElvis

I like what I have seen from Pollard. He is physical. We will be loaded with 3-type playeers next year. We could certainly use a more physical 4 or 5 too, IMO.

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"US Bank Arena can't be that bad"

Flyer75

The only thing that gives me a glimmer of hope at this point is that Archie is bringing in high level players right off the bat and soon he'll have his own full team. He lacked physicality this year in his upper classmen, none of whom he recruited. UD's most physical players were the freshmen this year in Scott, Robinson (who def needs weight room work,) Pierre and Price. Pollard is very physical and Davis is already a bigger PG in strength then what Dillard ever could be. We'll see moving forward how Archie coaches a team full of his own players. Only Oliver (and maybe Kavs) next year will be BG recruits.

Honestly, I never it coming this year how (un)physical Josh Benson would be in the paint. Just awful.

Flyer75

Pollard will get spot minutes next year, not much more. I can actually see Pierre starting over Oliver next year at the 3. Depending if Kavs comes back, Oliver may start at the 4. Who knows....Scott is def more of a 4 then a 5. If Kavs comes back it gives Archie a few options with Robinson, Scott, Kavs, and Gavs.