By Joey Gelman
Simeon arrived at State Farm Center in Champaign, IL with the goal of winning their 8th State Championship in school history. And while the Wolverines came up just short, their 2021-2022 season is still one to be remembered.
“ I’m really proud of these guys, these guys rose to the occasion to get here,” Simeon head coach Robert Smith said.
The Wolverines entered the 3A State-Semi-Finals on Friday with a matchup against Metamora, who was looking for their first basketball state title in school history. The Redbirds started the game strong with sharp-shooting from three (they finished 7-14) and led to an 18-12 lead.
However, Simeon’s defense stepped up to close the first half, and saw the Wolverines take a 26-25 lead into halftime.
As the second half unfolded, while the game was close throughout , Metamora went on a 9-0 run late in the 4th quarter that ultimately punched their ticket to the State Championship with a 50-47 win.
Senior Guard Jaylen Drane finished with 12 points for the Wolverines and Junior Guard Jalen Griffith finished with 12 points of his own.
Simeon would be slated to come right back to State Farm Center later that evening to play for third place where they would take on St. Ignatius. While it was another close matchup, St. Ignatius captured the third place trophy, winning 61-59.
Despite not achieving their ultimate goal downstate, Drane reflected positively on his experience at Simeon as he looks to continue his career at the college level next year.
“I look back at the good experience that I had here. My 4 years were good. It didn’t end the way I wanted it to end, but I’ll never forget it,” Drane said.
“It was a treat coaching him for 4 years,” Smith said. “ He pretty much accomplished some of the things he wanted to accomplish. He won two city championships. Getting downstate is huge… I tried to explain to him. Not a lot of people ever had this opportunity.”
All season long, Simeon has been led by the two twin brothers down low, Miles and Wes Rubin. Even though the Wolverines didn’t accomplish their goal, the Rubins will be able to learn from this experience as they enter their senior seasons next year.
“This was definitely a learning experience,” Wes said. “We’ve had our ups and downs, but this is definitely a learning experience going into next season.”
[We learned that] everybody plays as hard and we need to play hard every game,” Miles said. “Don’t take any games off. When you come downstate, everybody plays hard, everyone wants to win. You gotta play hard every game.”
As Coach Smith reflected on the season and his team’s accomplishments, he also understood just how important it was to have represented CPS at the state level to enhance the district’s and program’s exposure throughout the state.
“We represented CPS to the fullest,” Smith said. “ Even this weekend being down here with two teams in 3A and 4A. Credit to our student athletes…everything they did on and off the court has been great for CPS. We came down to represent CPS and Chicago basketball, [and] the guys did a great job.”
Simeon finished the 2021-2022 season with an incredible 28-7 record and is excited to build on the momentum this trip has given them in what should be an unforgettable season next year.
