It seems like adversity has been the sixth man for these Marshall Commandos, beginning with the controversial firing of their coach, Lamont Bryant, just before the season began.
Led by Ryan Hare, Darius Smith and Davaris Davis, the players organized a protest rally and student walkout. They even threatened to sit out the season if Bryant were not reinstated.
That’s when harsh reality made them realize the only thing they were in command of was what happens on a basketball court.
So they dedicated the season to Bryant — and to themselves. And when Hare heaved the ball skyward after Marshall’s 69-61 victory over Simeon on Saturday for the Class 3A title, it was the catharsis following a season-long drama that included player suspensions during the playoffs.
And that it came in the first all-Public League title game and 50 years after the Commandos won the school’s — and Chicago’s — first state championship trophy made it all the more special.
“Oh, man, this championship just means so much after all we went through,” said Hare, who had 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. “I want to thank coach Bryant for bringing me and all my teammates to Marshall. I want to thank coach (Courtney) Hargrays for making me into a better player.
“Most of all, I want to thank my teammates for sticking together when things got rough.”
That unity was evident against Simeon (29-4), which had beaten Marshall in the Class AA state semifinals the last two years and at the Public League holiday tournament this season. Hare, Smith (17 points) and Ardarius Simmons and Eriq Harris (10 points each) kept attacking the Wolverines from different angles.
Marshall (32-4) forged a 33-25 halftime lead and never let Simeon within three points in the second half despite a monster game from 6-foot-9-inch Illinois signee Stanley Simpson, who finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and six blocks.
Kenyon Smith’s basket with 35.4 seconds left brought the Wolverines within 63-60. But two Hare free throws and four by Simmons assured Marshall’s ascension to the first 3A title.
Coupled with the girls program’s Class 3A title on March 1, Marshall becomes just the second school in IHSA history to win boys and girls championships in the same season, joining Teutopolis in 1986.
Hare was in tears for most of the postgame celebration.
“Every tear he sheds says it all,” Smith said. “Because it was Simeon, every shot, every rebound, every pass, every steal, every foul had so much emotion.
“I talked to coach Bryant yesterday. We wanted to win this championship for him.
“We showed our loyalty to him in the best way possible.”
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bsakamoto@tribune.com
