Photo by Ben Vogel
BY JEREMY WOO
CHICAGO—The biggest game of the year lived up to its billing.
In a four-overtime slugfest, Curie prevailed over Whitney Young 69-66 Friday night on a corner three by senior Kamar Marshall in the game’s final seconds. The Condors hoisted their first-ever Chicago Public League championship after an extremely close contest that will go down in history as one of the most exciting games to ever take place in the state of Illinois.
“We just kept our composure,” said Curie head coach Mike Oliver. “I told our guys to keep grinding it out. In a heavyweight fight, when you’ve got the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the state, No. 1 and No. 2 players in the country, nothing’s going to be easy. We just had to keep playing.”
The battle between talented big men Jahlil Okafor and Cliff Alexander was widely hyped entering the game, and for good reason. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel looked on as Whitney Young’s Okafor and his Curie counterpart Alexander traded blows and buckets the entire way. Both made sure to leave it on the court, Alexander posting 20 points and 12 rebounds and Okafor with 16 points of his own.
It looked like the game was all over at the end of regulation. Okafor fouled out with 2:17 in the fourth quarter, attempting to block a shot by Alexander that temporarily dashed Young’s title hopes. Curie took a six-point lead in the ensuing minute behind a monster dunk from Alexander, but the Dolphins clawed back with a three from sophomore Rodney Herenton and regained possession after a pair of missed free throws.
Photo by Ben Vogel
Out of a timeout, senior Miles Reynolds, a Saint Louis commit, drained a three from the left corner as time expired to send the game on a wild overtime ride—all without Okafor, who could only look on from the bench.
“It was pretty hard to watch knowing I couldn’t be out there to help those guys,” said Okafor. “I don’t know how they did it. I’m proud of my team, each and every one of them.”
Senior guard Joseph Stamps led the way for Curie with 24 points before fouling out in the fourth overtime. Fifteen of them came in the first quarter, giving Curie an early lead. Stamps and Alexander shouldered the load all the way through the extra periods, during which Oliver opted to hold for a final shot and stall the game on several key instances. It paid off with the unsung senior Marshall’s final dagger—on his first shot of the game—which gave the Condors the victory and foiled Whitney Young’s bid at a repeat city title.
On the other side, Georgetown commit Paul White, battling a groin injury, put up 18 points of his own before also fouling out in the final overtime. When Okafor picked up his fourth foul midway through the third quarter, the 6-foot-9 White asserted himself with an array of buckets to keep Whitney Young in the game, also defensively limiting Alexander’s contributions in the paint down the stretch.
“Paul is a senior,” said Whitney Young head coach Tyrone Slaughter. “He played the way a senior is supposed to play. He sucked it up and got after it. In the first couple overtimes, I think Cliff had two points.”
Despite the theatrics, the spotlight remained on the Okafor-Alexander matchup—even after the final buzzer sounded.
“I don’t wanna put rankings on these guys, but Cliff is a hell of a player,” said Oliver. “He deserves the No. 1 ranking, but if he doesn’t get it, it doesn’t put any blemish on what he did tonight.”
Ben Vogel
Though Okafor and Alexander are close friends and former AAU teammates, Okafor said the matchup was “strictly business.”
“Because of the hype, I was pretty surprised they came out in a [2-3] zone,” he said. “I told my coach I wanted to play man to man the whole game, and he trusted me to do that. Cliff played hard like he always does. I wish I could be in his shoes and be a city champion.”
The result fueled some speculation that there could be a change in the next set of 2014 player rankings. Okafor currently holds the No. 1 spot on most prospect lists, with Alexander listed in everyone’s top five. Loss aside, Okafor wasn’t worried about any shift in perception.
“It would have taken some pressure off my shoulders,” he said of a potential drop in the rankings, “but this is what I work for, to be in this position.
“Everyone has a target on my back and it’s something I’ve gotten used to. I wouldn’t trade it for anything else.”
“I want that matchup again,” Alexander said, a statement he also made earlier in the week. After their third ever head-to-head matchup, Alexander and Curie lead the series 2-1.
Alexander might get his wish. Believe it or not, we might get this matchup again in a few weeks. Whitney Young and Curie were both seeded into the 4A Marist sectional, along with Chicago powerhouses Simeon and St. Rita. If you love this storyline, cross those fingers now.
“It’s tough when you have four teams of this caliber in the same sectional,” said Oliver. “lt’s gonna be another dogfight to get downstate. We’re gonna take this win right now, enjoy it and then look ahead.”
