Sophomore Avyion Morris sparks Simeon past Lindblom in varsity debut

Jeremiah Williams is a battle-tested senior. He played high-level games the last two seasons with St. Laurence before transferring to Simeon and was an All-Area selection last season. But Tuesday was his first taste of Public League conference basketball.

“It’s way different,” Williams said. “It’s everything I’ve been hearing about the Public League. I love games like that. It’s what I play basketball for.”

Williams and the No. 4 Wolverines knocked off Lindblom 61-45. The Eagles, newly promoted to the Red-South/Central, won all four of their games last week but committed 27 turnovers against the Wolverines.

“I like the way we competed,’’ Lindblom coach Zack Linderman said. “We played from tip to buzzer. Too many turnovers and too many free throws left on the table, but we are gonna get better from here.”

Williams scored 10 points for the Wolverines (1-0, 1-0 Red-South/Central). Sophomore Jaylen Drane had 11, and DePaul recruit Ahamad Bynum added 10 points with his future coach, Dave Leitao, watching.

“We were OK for [the first] game,” Simeon coach Robert Smith said. “That’s a scrappy team, so they pushed us a little bit. We got some guys out there to do some stuff. We were in control of the game.”

The standout for Simeon was Avyion Morris. The 5-8 sophomore checked in midway through the first quarter and gave the Wolverines an immediate lift, scoring eight points in a minute.

“He’s a really good player,” Smith said. “He can get up and down and make the three, he can find people and he can finish at the basket. He’s just a tough kid, and that always helps.”

It was the first varsity appearance for Morris, but he didn’t show any nerves.

“I knew I had to just come in and play the game right,” Morris said. “Play relaxed and don’t get dazzled by the crowd or the intensity. Just play how I play, don’t speed up.”

Simeon’s Ahamad Bynum goes in for a layup against Lindblom. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Simeon’s Frederick Poole (10), Avyion Morris (0), Jaylen Drane (1) and Ahamad Bynum (12) react during the game against Lindblom. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Simeon’s Jaylen Drane goes up for a shot against Lindblom. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Simeon’s Avyion Morris had an impressive varsity debut against Lindblom. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Lindblom’s Marshun Williams puts up a shot against Simeon. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Na’shawn Howze (3) led Lindblom with 15 points. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Simeon’s Jeremiah Williams (3) had 10 points against Lindblom. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Lindblom’s Myles Twyman (12) and Simeon’s Amari Fears (35) battle for possession. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Simeon’s Sincere Callwood goes up for a dunk against Lindblom. | Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times

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Smith used 14 players in the first quarter. The Wolverines have a handful of big men expected to be in the regular rotation.

“Amari Fears was huge for us; he was really, really good,” Smith said. “Phillip Holmes played well in the first half. It’s just the first game, so they have to get the jitters out.”

Lindblom (4-1, 0-1) won 25 games last season and earned the promotion from the White Division. Several key seniors from that team are back. But the Eagles had a rough time in the first half, shooting only 2-for-17.

Despite being undersized, the Eagles hung with Simeon on the boards. Both teams had 32 rebounds.

Senior Na’shawn Howze, who led Lindblom with 15 points, picked up an injury early in the fourth quarter and didn’t return. Senior Marshun Williams had 14 points and five rebounds and junior BJ Denton scored nine for the Eagles.

Simeon’s next game is Saturday against Baltimore St. Frances in the Chicago Elite Classic at Wintrust Arena. Things don’t get any easier for Lindblom, which hosts No. 11 Curie on Thursday.

“We are not talking about just staying in the Red; we are going to win some games in the Red,” Linderman said.