The Chaminade Red Devils have high hopes this season after advancing to the Class 6 state championship game last season.
With its nucleus returning from last year’s state runner-up team, head coach Frank Bennett challenged his team with one of the most rugged schedules that an area team has played in recent memory.
Chaminade began the week at 14-7 against a slate of talented teams from all over the country. They played three games in Washington D.C. against national power Gonzaga Prep along with Philadelphia Roman Catholic. They also played three games in a big event in Highland, Arizona. The Red Devils also played two of the top teams in Chicago in Kenwood and Simeon, plus they went up against Quincy (IL).
The Red Devils also dueled in the Quincy Shootout against Kansas power Shawnee Mission Northwest and Brewster Academy from New Hampshire. Locally, Chaminade has an upcoming Metro Catholic Conference showdown at rival DeSmet on Friday night (Feb. 14), before closing the regular season with a non-conference battle against powerhouse Vashon on Feb. 25.
Leading Chaminade is the junior forward tandem of brothers Jamison and Jahidi White Jr. They are the sons of former Cardinal Ritter star and NBA standout Jahidi White. Jamison is a 6’8” forward who is averaging 15 points and nine rebounds a game while shooting 36 percent from 3-point range. Jahidi is averaging 14 points and seven rebounds a game. Providing depth inside is 6’10” senior Ben Winker, who has signed with Cal-State Fullerton.
Leading the backcourt is 6’2” junior Jonny Jordan, who is averaging 12 points a game while shooting 45 percent from 3-point range. He is joined in the backcourt by seniors Collin Perry, Colin Keller, Jacob Robinson and talented freshman Elijah Poniewaz.
Earl’s World
The men’s basketball teams at SIU-Edwardsville and Southeast Missouri State currently sat atop the standings in the Ohio Valley Conference at the beginning of this week. Both teams were tied for first place with 10-4 records in OVC play…SIUE has been led by 6’1” senior guard Ray’Sean Taylor. The former Collinsville High star is one of the top guards in the history of the Cougars program. He is the program’s career leading scorer in Division I play and he’s tracking towards 2,000 points. Taylor is currently averaging 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals a game while shooting 86% from the free throw line…Taylor is joined in the Cougars backcourt by 6’4” junior Brian Taylor, a former DeSmet standout. He is one of the top 3-point sharpshooters in the OVC as he shoots it at a 50 percent clip from long distance. He is currently averaging 12.3 points, four rebounds and 2.5 assists a game…SEMO has three players from St. Louis who are making it happen down in Cape Girardeau. Junior guard Rod Martin is a former CBC standout who is currently averaging 13.2 points and 4.2 assists a game while shooting 38% from 3-point range. Former Chaminade College Prep standout BJ Ward is a 6’0 guard who averages 9.2 points while shooting 36% from 3-point range. Braxton Stacker (Cardinal Ritter) is a 6’5” junior forward who is averaging 9.3 points and three rebounds while shooting 40% from 3-point range….The two teams will meet on Thursday, Feb. 27 in Edwardsville. SEMO won the first meeting 80-64 on December 21 in Cape Girardeau…It was good to see former Saint Louis U. Billiken Jordan Goodwin get another shot in the National Basketball Association. The former Belleville Althoff star received a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. In his first game with L.A., J-Good had 10 points and four rebounds and made four of his seven shots from the field in a victory over the Indiana Pacers. Goodwin scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter and played 25 minutes.