Farragut is one of the truly famous schools in Chicago basketball. Kevin Garnett and Ronnie Fields are legends throughout the city. Their high school coach, William “Wolf” Nelson is still leading the program, but things have changed drastically in the last few years.
The plastic bleachers at Farragut are falling apart. Dozens of the rows have chunks of the seats torn out. Two lights in the gym constantly flicker, messing with one side of the court. Nelson only has 15 players in his entire program. That’s on the freshman, sophomore and varsity team combined. They have just three seniors (only two are eligible) and no juniors at all.
“That’s never happened in my 34 years,” Nelson said. “No seniors next year will be tough. If we can maintain this year the future is bright though. We need every Red-West game we can get.”
The Admirals have been fortunate to remain in the Red the past few seasons. Orr’s eligibility scandal and Marshall’s downswing have helped.
Despite all the issues, Farragut still has talent. The Admirals knocked off Westinghouse 74-69 in double-overtime on Wednesday.
Senior Darnell Jones scored nine of his 15 points in the second overtime.
“I started rough but coach told me to keep shooting and just take my time with them,” Jones said. “I had confidence in those last two shots.”
Farragut started a freshman, two sophomores and two seniors. Reggie Strong, the freshman point guard, assisted both of Jones’ three-pointers in the second overtime. He finished with seven points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
“My goodness, he is one of the best freshmen in the state,” Nelson said. “I didn’t realize he might be good enough to start at first. But as practice went along it became really clear. It’s a beautiful thing the way he doesn’t get frustrated and handles the pressure.”
Strong was one of four players for Farragut (1-0, 1-0) that made their varsity debuts in the game. Sophomore Aaron Strong, no relation, showed promise last season. He finished with 20 points, five rebounds and three steals. He scored eight in the first overtime.
“I like being the underdog,” Farragut senior Kawanise Wilkins said. “I’m the only player that people know. No one knows we have one of the best freshman in the city and two of the best sophomores. We have a lot of talent and we are ready to show everybody.”
Senior Coreyoun Rushin led Westinghouse (3-3, 0-1) with 24 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks. Had three big dunks. Dexter Reed added seven points and a game-high 19 rebounds for the Warriors.
Farragut lacks the experience to challenge in the Red-West this season, the conference is just too loaded with elite teams. But the Admirals will be very difficult to beat at home. Nelson said that doctors expect Reggie Strong to grow to 6-7. He’s 6-1 now.
“He’s playing point right now so he will get all the experience in the world,” Nelson said. “When he gets that tall he’s not going to lose his ball-handling skills and then look out.”
