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Demons Alum Brandon Smith Receives All Conference Honors
Smith was a First-Team All-Conference selection averaging 14.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 44.2 percent (133-301) from the field and 38.2 percent (50-131) from three-point range.
Providence ST- Mel 2017 PG Eddie Burnett nets 15 points in 2A State playoff win!!
JAMAL DANTZLER DEMONS ALUM AT D1 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PA
Dantzler, a Chicago-native, started playing basketball when he was in the eighth grade. No one from his family introduced him to the game, he picked up as he saw it everyday walking to the park.
"I actually introduced my self to game myself," Dantlzler said. "I used to walk to the park down my street and one day I tried it out. Now, here I am today."
At first, it was just a game to Dantzler, just like any game for a kid but he realized that he found something in basketball and didn't want to let it slip through his fingers.
"I really didn't take it seriously at first," Dantzler said. "I started to notice some good results. I was actually pretty good. I started to take it more seriously and it turned out good for me."
Intrigued by his success on the court, Dantzler joined his eighth grade basketball team where, with the help of his coach Marvin Williams, he learned to see the game in a different way.
"It was my first time playing organized basketball," Dantzler said. "He taught me how to be disciplined, how to see certain things on the court and how to act off the court. He had a big impact on my basketball life."
Dantzler continued playing basketball as he entered Von Steuben High School. His time in AAU basketball is something that he cherishes.
"I think the AAU summer circuit with the Chicago Demons was one of the best times of my life," Dantzler said. "I got to spend time with my friends as we traveled all around the world. We had fun just playing basketball. It was one of the best times for me."
Danztler continued to see the results on the court throughout high school but he remained humble even when those around him started to see his hard work and his potential.
"I was the fan favorite," Dantzler said. "Everyone loved me because I gave it my all every night. I remained humble though. I would have a big game but the next day at school I was even keeled. Being humble in certain situations helped me out so much."
At this point in Dantzler's basketball career, he realized that basketball was important to him and that he couldn't take it for granted.
"It's very important now," Dantzler said. "When I first started I really didn't care but as I saw the results and got advice from all the coaches I learned how to cherish it and now I really value it. It is going well today."
Dantzler went on to play basketball at Kennedy King Community College in Chicago. There he saw some of his best days on the court. Not only was he playing well but he also got to play basketball with his best friend Anthony Kirkland.
"Kennedy King College was the best," Dantzler said. "As far as basketball, I was playing at a high level and I was playing with my best friend. We brought some hardware to the school after finishing runner up at the regional championship."
Kirkland is currently the head boy's basketball coach at Dyett High School. Kirkland acted like a coach long before he had the title as he helped Dantzler take another step step forward in his basketball career.
"We both are big on basketball," Dantzler said. "We balance each other out and keep each other motivated. He was always in my ear telling me the things I should and shouldn't be doing. He was like another set of eyes and ears for me. Almost like a coach."
From Kennedy King Community College, Dantzler had options to play at the Division I level but as fate would have it he ended up choosing UTPA.
"I was getting interest from Central Michigan, Wisconsin-Green Bay and UIC," Dantzler said. "I was on the verge of setting up a visit with Central Michigan before all their staff got fired and that's when UTPA stepped in. After the visit, I knew this was the place for me."
In his first season with the Broncs, Dantzler played in 32 games while averaging 12 minutes per game. He helped the Broncs to a 16-16 record last season but he felt like he could have done more.
"Individually, I felt like I could have brought more to the team," Dantzler said. "Overall, we ended with a .500 record so overall I felt it was a good season."
Going into his second season, Dantzler got a whole new coaching staff, which meant that he was going to have to adjust not only to new coaches but also a new team system but it was something he had been doing ever since he started playing basketball.
"I am getting the hang of it," Dantzler said. "So far I have been doing alright. I have been transferring from school to school during high school and junior college so I am kind of used to it. It is not that hard to make the adjustment going from coach to coach."
This season, Dantzler has seen action in 22 games while getting the starting nod in two of those games. With his final season winding down, he can look back to some good memories. One in particular that stays on his mind is the win over Portland on December 29, 2012.
"We went on the road to play Portland University," Dantzler said. "That was a huge win for us. I remember down the stretch Aaron Urbanus drove the base line and then kicked it out to me with two seconds left on the shot clock. I knocked down the three to kind of seal the game. That was a good memory for me."
After it is all said and done, Dantzler would like to be a coach. With what he has experienced and has learned along the way he feels like he could give back to the game.
"I want to be a coach," Dantzler said. "I feel like I have seen enough on and off the court to help kids grow up to be better basketball players. I should be able to give back now. Since I didn't have anything like that when I was growing up as a kid I have to pick up the ball myself. I want to give back to the community."
Looking back, if Dantzler could do it all over again, he wouldn't change a thing.
"I think everything has happened for a reason," Dantzler said. "I am good at adjusting with everything around me. I wouldn't change a thing. I had a good time here at UTPA."
Demons Alum Chris Eversley Makes ESPN Top Plays
Demons Alumn and Cal Poly 6'5 senior Chris Eversley with the emphatic finish over 7'6" Mamadou Ndiaye for the ESPN #3 SportsCenter Top 10 moment!
Click on link below......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC6WmteWQLU
Jelani McClain Hits Big Three Point Play in Win!
ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles East boys basketball team didn’t work hard enough on the boards in Tuesday’s game, so Saints coach Pat Woods promised East will make amends in practice.
Naperville North dominated East in the rebounding department as the Huskies survived a turnover-riddled night by both teams to win the nonconference game, 61-58.
Woods made his remedy for East’s rebounding ills clear.
“It’s called practice,” Woods said. “We’re going to fix that problem really quick or we’re going to be the best-conditioned team in the Kane County area.”
Naperville North (14-8) won its fifth straight game, while slumping East (12-11) dropped its third in a row.
East senior forward AJ Washington had 11 rebounds to go with 13 points and seven blocked shots but none of his teammates gathered more than three rebounds as the Huskies won the rebounding battle by 20, by the Saints’ count.
“We have one guy rebounding right now, and that’s AJ,” Woods said. “We’ve got to get five guys rebounding, and until that happens, we’re going to continue to struggle.”
The Saints’ full-court defensive pressure rattled the Huskies consistently, presenting a multitude of extra opportunities. But East had its own uncharacteristic ball-handling woes, committing a season-high 23 turnovers, only three fewer than Naperville North.
“If we’re turning them over, great, but when we turn over the turnover that we get, it doesn’t matter,” Woods said.
On those sporadic occasions when Naperville North beat East’s press, the Huskies hit paydirt.
“When we didn’t turn it over, we scored, because they were pressing so much, so I think that was the key to the thing,” Naperville North coach Jeff Powers said. “I know coach Woods is such a great coach and he just put that pressure on us to see how we’d handle it, and we didn’t handle it very well at times, but then when we did, we got baskets.”
In addition to their turnover binge, the Huskies nearly gave the game away late at the free-throw line. Naperville North missed four straight free throws in the final 30 seconds, and East drew within 59-58 on a Cole Gentry 3-pointer before calling timeout with 4.9 seconds to play.
Washington then committed his fifth foul on Naperville North’s Michael Laurenzo with 2.8 seconds, and Laurenzo made both for the game’s final points. East called a timeout and forward Mick Vyzral’s long inbound pass found Dom Adduci, whose twisting, 25-footer to tie it rimmed off.
Adduci scored 20 points to lead East while Washington and Gentry (12) also were in double figures. The last of Washington’s points came on an off-balanced basket while being fouled with 43 seconds to play to make it 56-55 Naperville North.
Washington’s attempt to tie it at the foul line was no good, and the rebound was batted out of bounds to the Huskies. Naperville North’s Anthony Rehayem then fired a baseball-style, deep inbound pass to Jelani McClain, Jr., who snared the pass in stride and scored while drawing a foul from Zach Manibog. McClain (team-high 17 points) completed the crucial three-point play for a 59-55 lead with 37 seconds to play.
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