Providence St. Mel Knights won the Illinois High School Association Class 1A Boys Basketball State Championship and finished the season with a record of 30 wins and 6 loses. This year’s team was led by 8 seniors. In the Chicago Catholic League Conference/White Division the Knights finished in 2nd place with a 12 win 3 loss record. The team won the Quincy Thanksgiving Tournament and finished 3rd in the State Farm Holiday Classic. Although a small school, during the season Providence St. Mel competes both in conference and non-conference against larger schools and in most cases they came out victorious. Trademarks of the team is discipline and defensive pressure. Offensively, the team played at a fast-pace by getting out in transition and creating scoring opportunities off their aggressive defensive play. In the State Championship game, Providence St. Mel held its opponent, Cissna Park, to only 29 points for the game. The team was led by a balanced attack all season with five players averaging between 9-15 points per game. This team had all the key components of a state championship winning team: unselfishness, athleticism, size and a never quite mentality. This fall Taeyon Neal, the team’s starting center will be attending to University of Illinois @ Chicago on a basketball scholarship.
The team’s captains are Tim Ervin II, Deion Jackson, and Tyriel Nelson.
