Actor Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs is best known for his Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington character from Welcome Back, Kotter. Fewer people know him from the popular black cinema classic Cooley High.
Hilton-Jacobs’ character in the movie, Richard “Cochise” Morris, was a tragic figure from the Cabrini-Green housing projects. He was a high school basketball star in 1964 Chicago. His best friend was nicknamed “Preach.”
I’ll leave it at that. I don’t want to spoil it for those who haven’t seen it.
Heartrending figures have been seen in Illinois High School Association basketball in real life too.
Ben Wilson tops the list. If you haven’t heard of Ben Wilson, he was one of the best ballers to ever charm Chi-town. He was the first Chicagoan to be named America’s number one recruit.
Tragically, he was murdered by two trigger-happy high school thugs with a .22 in 1984.
Wilson was average, but after growing to Magic Johnson’s height, while retaining point guard ball skills, he became unstoppable.&nb ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Lake Cruise
Is Derrick Rose the Best Point Guard Ever From Chicago? All of Illinois?
November 10th, 2010 by Lake Cruise Leave a reply »
Advertisement