PERSPECTIVESATHLETICS

a seasonal review of the Perspectives Charter Schools Sports Program

CHICAGO | VOLUME 5, ISSUE 2, APRIL 2015 | @pcs_athletics

Varsity Boys & Girls

Basketball

AND

Athletics Leadership
Council
Middle School
Basketball

Basketball Showcase.
Cubs Donate to
Perspectives.
Cheer Program
Shines in 2015.

P2

Perspectives
Athletics
CHICAGO

he Perspectives
Leadership
Academy/
High School
of Technology boys basketball team
finished
with a solid
14-12 overall
record and a
particularly
impressive
8-2, secondplace mark

in the Chicago Public League

White South
conference.
Senior captains
Darian Whiteside,
Treyson Johnson
and Charles Griffin led the way for
head coach Curtis
Strong.
The progress these
young men made
over the course of
the season, not only
as basketball play-

ers but as young

men, is amazing,
Strong said of his
team.
The PLA/Tech
sophomore team
was 15-9 behind
sophomores Bartee
Taylor, Derrion
Lockett, Lashon
Gist and Kavonte
Cole and freshman
Jackie Crawford.
Through the ups
and downs the
team continued to
play hard, sophomore coach Curtis
Williams said.
The Warriors
freshman team
built a strong 19-10
record, including a
seven-game winning streak, with
leadership from
Tyvon Jones and
Michael Daily.

Varsity Girls Hoops continue to play at a high level of

competition.

This team was a

bunch of kids who
never played on a
team and came together to push one
another to have an
outstanding year,
freshman coach
Antonio Reese said.
The Perspectives/
IIT Math & Science
Academy/Joslin
boys team was 1313, which included
a runner-up finish
in the Lisle Thanksgiving Tournament
and third place in
the ICCP/Westmont
Holiday Tournament.
Head coach Waybon McConnells
top contributors included sophomore
DeAndre Lightfoot,
freshman Marquan

Williams, senior
Kameron Williams and junior
James Jordan. He
particularly praised
Jordans improvement and the effort
of senior Kentrail
McKinney, who, he
said, demonstrated
a strong work ethic
while only getting
limited minutes on
the court.
The MSA/Joslin
sophomore team
was 12-9 overall,
5-5 in the White
West, and sported
an impressive
victory over traditional city power
Simeon.
Sophomores Jaquan Lawrence
Cont. on P3

P3

@pcs_athletics

Danielle Slaton has been a

scholar, a leader
and a winner,
which made her
a perfect choice
to speak to a
March meeting
of Perspectives
A Disciplined
Life Leadership
Council.
Slaton, who
conducts workshops for the
Positive Coaching Alliance,
was an AllAmerican and
the 2001 NCAA
Scholar Ath-

Varisty Hoops Continued from P2

and Montrell Kennedy and freshmen

Rakwon Roberts
and Montreal Willis led the way for
coaches Marcellus
Phelps and Marlon
Jackson.
The Perspectives
Leadership Academy/High school
of Technology girls

lete of the Year

while starring
for the Santa
Clara University
womens soccer
team. In 2000,
she played
on the United
States Olympic
silver medalwinning team
and went on to
play professionally and coach
before becoming
a television soccer analyst.
The leadership
council consists
of 60 nominated
student-athletes

basketball team
finished 15-11 overall, 10-3 in the CPS
Metro conference
under head coach
Stefan Fisher.
With leadership
from senior Crystal
Lackey and junior
Tatyana Albritten,
the Warriors also
reached the state
tournament regional finals while

representing all
the high school
teams at the
three PCS campuses.
Danielle did
a great job of
reinforcing the
principles of
A Disciplined
Life, Director of Athletics
and Programs
Vinay Mullick
said. She talked
to our studentathletes about
elevating your
game and being a good person, athlete and

giving three freshmen significant

playing time.

teammate at the
same time.
She encouraged
them to take her
message back
to their teammates to initiate
positive change
within the
culture of their
teams. It was
good to see.

Mr. Temkin retired in

2008 from the Chicago
Tribune and volunteers in
the Perspectives Charter
Schools athletic department. He spent his last
20 years at the Tribune
writing a high school
sports column that covered hundreds of schools,
including
Perspectives.

By Barry Temkin

outstanding 8-0
mark. Top contributors included sophomore Latanya
Pitts and freshman
Diamond Jones.

They have excellent potential to be

really good, Fisher
said of his young
players.

The MSA/Joslin
girls team was
4-18 overall in Bill
Yadrons first year
as its head coach
but demonstrated a
champions attitude.

In her first year as

head coach, Chasity
Wilsons PLA/Tech
sophomore team
finished with an

These young ladies

played with a lot of
heart, Yadron said.
Our motto was,
We dont get tired.

They love the game

and each other.
We were a very
young team and
expect to improve
dramatically over
the next year.
Leading the way
this past season
were juniors
Tashana Tyler and
Kayla Buchanan
and sophomores
Damia Williams,
Akina Watson and
Armone Bingham.
By Barry Temkin

P4

@pcs_athletics

record.

he Chicago
Unity
Basketball League
championship game
has become a
regular stop
for Perspectives middle
school boys
teams.
MSA recently
made its fourth
trip there in the
last five years and
won its third title

in that span. Its

opponent, Joslin,
was making its
third championship game appearance in the
last four years.
MSA, under head
coach Marlon
Jackson, won its
last six games to
finish with a 14-4
record. Top performers included
8th-graders
Dajuan Gordon,
Yree Sheppard,
Akil Coleman and
Xavier Riley.
Co-head coaches

Marcellus Phelps
and Emmanuel
Tillmans runnerup Joslin team
posted a 14-4
mark behind 8thgraders Marlon
Young, Antwon
Thomas and Ottro
Guibero.
Jamari Massie
and Dajon White,
both 8th-graders,
were among the
top performers
for head coach Eldridge A. Browns
Perspectives
Middle Academy
team, which finished with a 7-8

The MSA Middle

School girls team
finished at 7-3
under head coach
Gabe Hernandez.
Top contributors
included 8thgraders Dasa
Gordon and Ladonna Ivery.
Joslin finished
2-9, but co-head
coaches Meg
Goethals and
Mary Hilker
praised their
players for their
perseverance and

sportsmanship
throughout the
season. Seventhgrader Ranyiah
Roberts was their
top performer.
Lakenya Starks,
an 8th-grader,
and 7th-grader
Carrissa Lofton
led the way for
PMA, which was
1-7. Head coach
Chasity Wilson praised her
athletes growth
and ability to
play together as a
team.

GET INVOLVED

at PERSPECTIVES
CONTACT

VINAY MULLICK

e: VMULLICK@PCSEDU.ORG
p: 312-604-2116
www.pcsedu.org
twitter: @PCS_ATHLETICS

It was a very
successful event,
Director of Athletics and Programs
Vinay Mullick
said. Were
grateful for the
coaches, staff and
student-athletes
who made it happen and the support of the community, parents
and fans.

P5

Were just very

happy that the
event continues to
grow and move
forward.

The Perspectives Basketball

Showcase continues to get bigger
and better. In its
seventh annual
edition, the oneday extravaganza
expanded to
include a shooting

skills competition
modeled after
an NBA All-Star
Game event.

The Chicago
Cubs have hit a
home run with
the baseball and
softball players
at Perspectives
Charter Schools.

Chicagos periodic harsh

spring weather
and practice effectively indoors
using state of
the art equipment.

Thanks to the
Cubs generous
$20,000 grant,
those athletes
now are able to
dodge

Thatalong with
more event sponsorsenhanced
the 11 boys and
girls games Feb.7

Perspectives
used the funds
to purchase a
pitching machine, two in-

in a packed gymnasium at the

Auburn Gresham
campus. The
Showcase included every high
school and middle school team
across the PCS
network.

door batting
cages, two indoor pitching
mounds and
other equipment, including
protective padding. This has
benefited both
the Auburn
Gresham and
MSA high school
programs.

This has been a

huge resource to
our programs to
be able to train
when the

weather is not
cooperating,
PCS Director of
Cont. on P6

P6
BY

Nicholas
Ullamper

Athletics and
Programs Vinay Mullick
said. We are
very grateful for
the Cubs sup-

erspectives
cheer
teams had
another successful and
fun year of
performing,
especially at
the annual
Perspectives
Basketball
Showcase.
Perspectives
Joslins team was

port and their

commitment to
youth baseball
and softball, and
we cant thank
them enough.
In addition, the
Cubs recognized
several Perspectives players
and coaches at a
game last season.

led by juniors
Alana Green and
Maushea House
and freshman
Katrina Dorsey.
I loved the team
unity and the
positivity from
my juniors, head
coach Sheena
Baskerville said.
They stepped up
like it was their
last year.
Senior Darnesha
Ferguson and
junior Kenesha
Williams were

the top contributors for the MSA

cheer team under
co-head coaches
Denise Moore and
Jennifer Coyle
PLA/Tech head
coach Damiya
Perkins key performers included
seniors Shalafonte Walls and
Yasmine Stanford
and sophomores
Adia Temple and
Jael Coleman.
Perspectives
Middle Acad-

emy head cheer

coach Kanisha
Boyd praised the
work ethic of her
team, whose top
athletes included
8th-grader
Wylencia Boyd
and 7th-graders
Khaylah Dotson
and Mikayla
Peden.
I have a group
of dedicated
young ladies
who work hard
and dont mind
being pushed to
work harder,

the coach said. It

was a pleasure to
work with each
and every one of
them.
Eighth-grader
Khaiya Martin
and 7th-grader
Wanita Watson
led the way for
head coach Amber Morgans
MSA middle
school squad.

By Barry Temkin