Here are a few words of friendly advice for anyone considering dunking over 6-foot-7-inch Proviso East center Sherell Ford during the Pirates`
upcoming trip Downstate:
Don`t even think about it.
Thornwood center Cliff Floyd tried at the start of the second half of Tuesday`s Hinsdale Central Class AA supersectional, jamming one over the master jammer himself to put the Thunderbirds up by one.
”That got me riled up,” said Ford.
Not a good thing to do. The riled-up Ford, who was hobbled early by a slight ankle injury, eventually showed his displeasure by hitting three straight three-pointers during a minute-and-a-half stretch of the fourth quarter as the top-ranked Pirates downed Thornwood 75-66 to earn an Elite Eight berth in Champaign.
Proviso East (29-1), which won its 21st straight, will take on Carbondale Friday in the 1:45 p.m. quarterfinal game. It will be the Pirates` first trip Downstate since a runner-up finish to Quincy in 1981, as they vie for the school`s third state championship.
They were driven, as usual, by a Ford.
”Sherell is a legitimate three-point shooter,” said Proviso East coach Bill Hitt. ”When Jamal Robinson comes into the game for rebounding and defense, it helps us to comfortably move Sherell out to the perimeter.”
In other words, instead of slamming the opposition into waving the white flag, Ford simply showed off another phase of his game.
Thornwood (22-8) stayed with the Pirates for 3 1/2 quarters, thanks in large part to the aggressive work of Marlon Burton (14 rebounds) and Floyd (12 points, nine rebounds). The T-Birds would have taken a three-point lead into the final quarter if not for a game-tying halfcourt shot by sophomore reserve Kenny Davis (17 points) at the buzzer.
”When he hit that shot, it gave them an emotional lift,” said Thornwood coach Al Holverson. ”It drained us.”
”How do you like having Jamal and Kenny Davis as subs?” asked Hitt.
”When we go to the bench, we don`t worry much.”
Proviso still held on to a one-point lead with 5 minutes 20 seconds left when Ford banked a three-pointer off the glass to give the Pirates a 59-55 lead. Ford (22 points) canned another three :30 later, and yet another with 3:50 left to put an end to Thornwood`s hopes.
The frustration of the Thornwood players began to show, and they began to launch a volley of unsuccessful three-point attempts instead of going inside to their big men, as they had done earlier.
”We shot a little too quickly,” said Holverson. ”Ford`s `threes`
certainly cut down on things. We were going uphill and running out of gas at the same time.”
Proviso outscored Thornwood 13-2 immediately after the T-Birds pulled to within two points with four minutes left, running away at the end in the same fashion as it used to down Nazareth last Friday night.
Thornwood was trying to become the sixth team in the seven-team SICA East conference to make an appearance Downstate since 1983. But the Thunderbirds fell short despite a 37-26 rebounding edge.
”They`re as strong a rebounding team as we`ve seen,” said Hitt of the T-Birds.
Ford and Proviso will now try to do what the 1969 and 1974 Pirates did, namely to bring the state championship trophy back to Maywood.
