During his junior season at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School, Sterling Williams was the sixth man on a team that only advanced to the sectional final of the state tournament.

It wasn’t until Williams’ senior year that he was given an opportunity to showcase himself, too late to garner a college scholarship in most prep leagues.

But Williams was a player in the Chicago Public League, arguably the nation’s top high school basketball proving ground. Williams signed a National Letter of Intent with Northwestern on April 5, 2004, and became the first Public League player to sign with the Wildcats since Mike Jenkins in 1979.

In a league where it’s common for multiple players on a team to receive a college scholarship, the Public League is exemplified by its depth and caliber of play.

“I think the Public League is definitely characterized by its toughness and its competitiveness,” Williams said. “There’s a lot of pride that goes along with the Public League teams. There’s a lot of talent, so when you combine that with the competitiveness, it makes for a lot of good games.”

Because of the toughness and athletic ability of the Public League’s players, college coaches descend on the Chicago area every year to scout the season’s prospects.

Some coaches, especially in the Big Ten, use the Public League as a benchmark for the success of their recruiting efforts. There are currently five Public League players in the Big Ten, with Illinois leading the conference with three members.

NU coach Bill Carmody said he would like to sign more players from the renowned prep league.

“I think it would be good if we could get a kid from the Public League every year,” Carmody said. “The more local recruiting you can do, the better.”

Players and Coaches

The 72-team Public League is divided into two divisions — Red and Blue — and each division is divided into six different conferences: Central, East, North, Northwest, South and West. Six teams are in each conference.

Whitney Young is a member of the Public Red Northwest conference, which includes 2005 Public League champion Westinghouse.

“Everyone said during my freshman year that our conference was the best in the whole country, and I believed that,” Williams said. “I base that on the production of the players that come out of the league in college and possibly the NBA.”

Other perennial powerhouses in the Public League include Julian, Simeon and Farragut.

Top talents to come from the Public League recently include Georgia Tech’s Will Bynum, Illinois’ Luther Head, Duke’s Sean Dockery and Seton Hall’s Kelly Whitney.

Illinois guard Calvin Brock, a Simeon graduate, is one of the latest standouts from the Public League to enter the Big Ten. He was named the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year last season and is redshirting for the Fighting Illini this year.

Although baseball was Brock’s first love, basketball quickly entered the picture as it does for many children growing up in Chicago.

“I just realized that this was something I wanted,” Brock said. “Basketball is so popular in Chicago that, if you do well, you’ll get noticed. And a lot of players get noticed.”

But more than just talented players, dedicated coaches also make the Public League a premier learning ground. Brock was coached at Simeon by Public League legend Bob Hambric, who retired following the 2003-04 season after more than 25 years coaching in the league. While some Public League coaches stay at one school for a long duration, Williams said most coaches find different jobs in three to five years.

The average coach earns a $600 yearly stipend for his services in addition to his annual teaching salary from the school, said Williams, the Whitney Young graduate.

“It’s more about the passion they have for working with young people, teaching and coaching,” Williams said.

But some coaches do not work for the school. They instead have other jobs and fit basketball around their busy work schedules.

Whitney Young coach Ron Branch is not employed at the school but was brought in three years ago to coach the team.

Branch said budget concerns and a lack of gym maintenance drive coaches out of the Public League. But he also said the Public League remains as one of the prime coaching jobs in the area and can be used as a stepping stone for positions in the college game.

“It’s an excellent ground to learn how to coach, especially with the different types of skills that the players have,” Branch said. “I’m sure some Public League coaches have a dream of coaching on bigger levels.”

Feeder League

As the first man off the bench for Whitney Young during the 2002-03 season, Williams helped guide the Dolphins to a 25-4 record and a conference title.

Although Williams was not in the starting lineup, it’s easy to see why after one look at the number of players who went on to play college basketball from his team.

Five players from the class ahead of Williams are playing Division I basketball at Miami, Mississippi, Loyola-Chicago, Fordham and Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne.

After Williams’ freshman and sophomore years, five of his teammates signed with Division I programs: Connecticut, Marquette, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Illinois-Chicago.

Whitney Young also has produced Quentin Richardson, who played for DePaul and now plays for the Phoenix Suns.

Branch said he attributes the Public League’s success in developing players to the overall environment of the league.

“The kids here are more urban-centered,” Branch said. “They play more basketball here than in other leagues around the area or in the state.

“Kids in the Public League are tougher and quicker, and they exhibit no fear on the court.”

After three years of being a supporting cast member, Williams was the featured player for Whitney Young as a senior.

He was named Third Team All-State by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association at the end of the 2003-04 season and was the only member of his team to go on to play in college.

For most prep basketball players, three years of waiting to become the star player would be unbearable.

But Williams credits those years of development as the primary reason for receiving his senior year accolades and being able to play college basketball.

“When you have talented players, it raises the level for the players below them,” Williams said. “In my class, we weren’t necessarily the most talented group of players, but playing with those other guys who were really talented made us better.”

Collegiate Environment

Following a pressure-filled career in the Public League where every game matters, the big game atmosphere of college should seem like child’s play.

At the Public League championship game Feb. 26, 5,022 people watched Westinghouse and Simeon battle at the United Center.

But even when his team was not in a playoff game, Williams said his games at Whitney Young were similar to a collegiate atmosphere.

“The crowds were always into the games because the games were competitive,” Williams said. “The environment would be pretty loud. It would be raucous.”

Brock, the Illinois freshman, said he had a similar experience competing for Simeon in the Public League.

“It was crazy,” Brock said. “You had your fans who were at every single game being loud and chanting your name. Then you’d go on the road … and people there would say little stuff to try and get you out of your game.”

This consistent level of intensity leads to an added toughness in Public League players and allows them to keep developing after high school, Carmody said.

“You see a lot of Chicago kids all around the country on teams, and they continue to play,” Carmody said. “In some places, guys when they get out of high school don’t continue to play.

“It seems like Chicago kids get better once they leave high school … and pop u
p all over the country.”

Reach Zach Silka at [email protected].