Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 8, 2017

I’ve been making a point of soaking up all the Public League atmosphere I can get since the rumors of the superconference started floating around. Tonight was great. There were just enough Farragut fans in Uplift’s tiny gym to make things fun.

Former Farragut star Chris Singletary was there. He was one of my favorite players to cover. His combination of size and skill and raw confidence is the kind of thing you rarely see in a high school player. Singletary was always intense, and that hasn’t changed. He was kicked out of the game at or near halftime. His presence was felt by everyone on the court.

Definitely saw tonight’s upset coming. Farragut is a good team. I ranked them as long as their record would allow me to. Uplift probably pulls out the victory if Demarius Jacobs doesn’t foul out, but all credit to the Admirals. Senior Kawanise Wilkins played the entire second half with four fouls, he willed his team to victory. The gurus and club basketball types seem to be sleeping on Farragut sophomore Aaron Strong. He’s clearly one of the area’s top sophomore prospects. That’s him in the photo above.

Read all about it.

I’m finally going to check out undefeated Hubbard tomorrow. The Greyhounds host Solorio.

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Wednesday’s top games

Young 85, Prosser 59: The Dolphins roll. Craig Beaudion scored 20, Xavier Castaneda 15 and Lucas Williamson 14. Young had been playing at a very high level even without Castaneda very much involved. Looks like he’s been playing well lately. That’s a scary thought for the rest of the city.

Kenwood 64, Bogan 63: I thought the Bengals could pull off this sorta upset. They fell short. Broncos could be heading back into the Super 25. RJ McGee and Octavius Parker each scored 16.

Simeon 86, Westinghouse 59: I’ve been mentioning this to people, but I don’t think I’ve written it anywhere. Kezo Brown is living up to all those expectations people had for him as a freshman. He scored 23 points tonight. Brown has now gone from maybe a bit over-hyped as a freshman to very underrated as a college prospect.

Morgan Park 79, Marshall 50: Ayo Dosunmu led the way as usual. The junior scored 21.

North Lawndale 68, Lincoln Park 65: The Phoenix survive. I wouldn’t want any part of Lincoln Park in the Class 4A state playoffs, the Lions have found their stride. Carlos Hines led North Lawndale with 19 points and five assists and Martrell Barnes added 14 points and 11 boards. Steven Ross scored 15. This sets up a Morgan Park-North Lawndale rematch. That game was incredible last season.

Hope Academy 55, Ellison 21: Took an awful lot of heat for ranking the Class 1A power this week. They deserve the spot.

Wells 63, Phoenix 53: Antwone Lampkin keeps it up, he scored 23.