Boys Basketball: Curie, Orr are logical contenders

Updated: February 6, 2012 11:43PM

Simeon star Jabari Parker has two state championships but no city titles. The phenom is hungry to add that line to his basketball resume, and the Wolverines’ odds of doing so look good. They are the top seed in the city tournament, which tips off with 16 first-round games Wednesday.

Curie and Orr are most likely to stand in the way. The Wolverines could meet Orr, the Red-West champs, in the semifinals, with Curie waiting in the title game.

Orr has a stable of Divison I talent, but perhaps no player is more important than Marquise Pryor. The 6-7 junior is the city’s top rebounder and has put up double-double’s all season.

“Rebounding comes down to who wants it more than the next man,” Pryor said. “And I always want it more. I’m thirsty for them. I get recognition sometimes, but I don’t really try to think about all the ­politics when it comes to my ­rebounding.”

Earlier in the season, Pryor grabbed 17 rebounds against Farragut 6-9 center Rashaun Stimage.

“[Pryor] is an animal on the boards,” Orr coach Lou Adams said. “Pryor is the best rebounder I’ve seen since Jon Mills at North Lawndale a few seasons ago.”

Pryor has scholarship offers from Colorado State, Oakland, ­Illinois State, Illinois, DePaul, Loyola and Kansas State.

If Pryor and the Spartans can’t upend Simeon, the task might fall to Curie. The Condors are favored in the much-weaker lower section of the bracket. Simeon trounced Curie in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament title game, but the Condors were exhausted after a double-overtime victory against Warren hours before.

Curie is lead by Devin Foster, a Player of the Year candidate. Cliff Alexander, a promising 6-9 sophomore, is one of the area’s best prospects. But much of the Condors’ success can be credited to the emergence of senior Malcolm Hill-Bey, who ­transferred from Mount Carmel over the summer.

Hill-Bey was a highly touted ­elementary school player, but had an erratic career up until now. His game can be a bit wild, but he has that rare ability to get to the basket seemingly at will. That’s a skill that can come in handy in the waning moments of a city-tournament game.

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