Professional athletes who got their start at south suburban high schools will face off against this year’s top high school basketball players at the McLegends XIII game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, at Rich Central High School in Olympia Fields.
The one-of-a-kind McLegends game, first started by Star Newspapers in 2002, is a showcase for former south suburban high school basketball stars and current prep standouts. The annual event is a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House and programs at Rich Central High School.
Homewood-Flossmoor High School will be represented at the McLegends game by stellar graduates Zach Fulton and Suppo Sanni on the men’s team, and Kendric Pryor on the High School Senior Boys All-Stars.
The roster of the McLegends men’s team is a who’s who of area high school greats who went on to professional stardom. Members include:
- Kendall Gill, who led Rich Central to second place in the 1986 Class AA state basketball finals, then helped the University of Illinois reach the Final Four before carving out a formidable 15-year career in the NBA. He is currently an NBA analyst for Comcast during Chicago Bulls games.
- Antwaan Randle El, an incredible three-sport star at Thornton who helped the Wildcats reach two second place state basketball finishes. He then earned Heisman Trophy votes as an All-American quarterback at Indiana and threw a game-clinching touchdown pass for the champion Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2006 Super Bowl.
- Desmond Clark, a tight end for seven years with the Chicago Bears, helping them reach the Super Bowl in 2007.
- Kawann Shor, a key member of the East Chicago Central (Ind.) state basketball title team in high school, who went on to star in football at Purdue and now with the Super Bowl runner-up Carolina Panthers, earning All-Pro status in the defensive line.
- Fulton, a 2010 H-F graduate and now the starting offensive center for the Kansas City Chiefs after having a great college career at Tennessee.
- Head Coach Tai Streets, one of the state’s greatest three-sport athletes during his three years at Rich South and one at Thornton. He went on to play wide receiver for a national championship team at Michigan and had a career-high 72 receptions during one of his seasons with the 49ers.
But there’s much more to this McLegends roster.
Former NFL defensive back Marquice Cole is now the head coach at his alma mater, Hillcrest. Kenyea Beach, a 1996 alum of Crete-Monee, is the all-time leading scorer in McLegends history, averaging more than 30 points in 10 appearances.
McLegends host school Rich Central will also be represented by Kendall Gill’s brother, Keith (1987), in addition to Quinton James (1994), Sean Mason (1994) who starred at Wisconsin, Jermond Remmer (1994) who played at Creighton and WGCI disc jockey Tone Kapone (1994). Other men’s team members include Wilbon Perry (1986 Bloom Trail), Tedaryl Fason (1994 Rich South), Jamere Dismukes (2009 Rich East), Delmarco Crawford (1996 Thornwood), and Albert Evans (2008 Portage, Ind.).
The roster also includes Sanni (2008, H-F / Illinois), Albert Evans (2008, Portage, Ind. / Purdue) and Delmarco Crawford (1996, Thornwood / College of DuPage).
The High School Senior Boys All-Stars will be led by Pryor, an H-F football/basketball standout. He’ll be joined by Rich Central’s Joey Hudson and Jeremiah James, Thornton’s Sam Taylor III, Thornwood’s Drew Evans, Mt. Carmel’s Jake Rhode, Bloom’s Jamal Parks, LincolnWay West’s Jon Marotta, Crete-Monee’s Jeremiah Matthews, Rich South’s Malik Osborne, Marian Catholic’s Myles Howard and De LaSalle’s George Willborn. The team will be coached by 1987 Marian graduate John Rhode.
The McLegends weekend also includes Friday’s game between this year’s girls basketball stars and some of the best female players in south suburban history. It will take place at 2 p.m. April 22 at Rich Central.
McLegends Xlll is sponsored by Olympia Fields McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Bowman Displays.
Tickets are $10 and on sale at Rich Central High School and Olympia Fields McDonald’s.
