CHAMPAIGN — Antonio Flenoid Jr. spent the last 1½ years “walking around Mounds [Ill.],” according to Meridian basketball coach David Davis.
“We’d see him and wonder why he wasn’t in school and why he wasn’t playing basketball,” Davis said. “He came to the games.”
Flenoid’s home situation has been unstable for several years. He started high school at Cape Central High School in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Flenoid said he was kicked off the basketball team his freshman year.
He decided to give high school another shot this year. The 18-year-old freshman became eligible to play basketball in January.
Just two months later, he closed out the Bobcats’ 68-60 victory against Hope Academy on Thursday in the IHSA Class 1A state semifinals with a rim-rocking slam dunk.
“You see a kid in the streets, and you wonder how his life path is going to go,” Davis said. “He came to us and said he wanted to go to school. He didn’t have anyone in his corner. He said he didn’t want to go down the wrong path. That is phenomenal. It takes heart from that kid to want to change his life.”
Flenoid has eye-opening talent. The 6-3 guard finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. He was 10-for-15 shooting with two assists, three steals and two blocks.
According to IHSA rules, a player is ineligible to play a sport if he turns 20 during the season, so Flenoid will only be allowed to play one more season of high school basketball.
Hope Academy coach Ronnie Fields, one of the state’s most athletic stars back in his playing days at Farragut, wasn’t aware that Flenoid was 18 until after the game.
“That makes more sense,” Fields said. “Certain things, the way he went about secondary rebounds and the effort. That was like a [Dennis] Rodman. He was impressive. To see some of the things he did makes more sense now. I’ve been around the country a lot, and I had never seen that from a freshman.”
Sophomore guard Tyjuan Hunter led the Eagles (29-8) with 18 points, four assists and five steals, made several deep three-pointers and was a force defensively.
Hope Academy led 44-40 midway through the third quarter. Meridian dominated in the post on a 14-3 run to close the quarter with a 54-47 lead. The Eagles battled back, tying the game on a three-pointer from Hunter with 1:43 to play. Javionne Ranson responded with a three-point play in the post and a fast-break layup to give Meridian the lead for good.
The Bobcats (26-8) outrebounded Hope Academy 48-38.
“I just have a feeling where the ball is going to go [on a rebound], so I’m already there when it comes off the rim,” Flenoid said.
Jai’Deon Reed scored 15 points off the bench for Meridian, and Will Thurston added 11. Meridian will face West Central, a winner against Aurora Christian in the second semifinal, in the Class 1A state-title game Saturday morning.
Meridian is in the southern tip of the state, in the city of Mounds (population 661).
“I’m still in a dream right now,” Davis said. “I can’t wait to wake up and see if it is real. It’s unbelievable. You don’t really get that too often. It’s crazy to coach in the state championship game.”
