Landon Cox had a 50-50 chance of having to face the second-ranked team in the country.
The King basketball coach got lucky and drew Chicago Vocational instead of Young as King’s opponent in Saturday’s Public League semifinals at the Pavilion.
“It was like, hocus-pocus–magic!” Cox laughed while demonstrating the lottery-pulling technique he used Thursday morning at the pairings breakfast.
That leaves Young (25-1), the Tribune’s top-ranked team and defending city champion, to face No. 19 DuSable (23-7) in the 2 p.m. game that will be followed by No. 3 King (27-4) vs. No. 12 CVS (26-4).
The winners advance to Sunday’s 2 p.m. title game, to be televised live by Fox Sports Chicago.
Cox, who has led King to 13 city final fours in his 18-year career, realizes CVS is fully capable of denying his team another crack at Young. King lost to Young 72-61 in the title game of the Public League Christmas tournament.
Vocational plays with the same steady unselfishness that has become Young’s trademark, while augmenting that quality with an abundance of talent.
CVS’ 6-foot-6-inch forward, Cliff Murkey, one of the most underrated players in the city, showed enough to warrant a scholarship to New Mexico State.
His inside scoring prowess and impact on the backboards along with 6-6 Raymond Hubbard, 6-4 Lawrence Burnett and 6-5 Antoine Aaron could be enough to match King’s trio of 6-6 Anthony Johnson (28 points, 10 rebounds a game), 6-10 Leon Smith (15 points, 10 rebounds) and 6-8 Michael Stewart.
Expect a dazzling duel in the backcourt between King sophomore Imari Sawyer (22 points, 10 assists) and CVS point guard David Williams.
“It was kind of a shock to me that CVS beat (No. 15) Simeon three times this season,” Cox said. “That tells me this is a quality basketball team. If our kids look past CVS to a possible showdown with Young, I’ll be surprised.”
The eventual Public League champion will have survived a pair of exhausting games in a 24-hour span. Cox says he knows his team is ready after the Jaguars played in two tournaments simultaneously over Christmas–eight games in five days.
“That was our preparation for this weekend,” Cox said. “Who cares if we lost a couple games back then? You can’t win the state title in December.”
That’s the same rationale coach George Stanton used in grooming Young for a Class AA title run. The Dolphins have faced No. 2 Fenwick, Peoria Manual, nationally ranked Lexington (Ky.) Catholic, Simeon, Julian and Farragut in looking to succeed Manual as state champion.
Young will step onto Illinois-Chicago’s home court with an inherent advantage. Four of its five starters have been through the city finals experience.
DuSable will rely on guard Theo Williams, 6-8 Desmond Collins and 6-5 Steve Phillips against the experienced Dolphin quartet of 6-6 Quentin Richardson, 6-9 Corey Harris, Cordell Henry and Dennis Gates.
