After winning the Illinois High School Association title for the third straight year, nearly the entire Simeon Career Academy basketball team celebrated in a strange way. All but one player from the team took their shoes off and left them in the middle of the court. Why did they do that? The players answered the question for CSN Chicago.
“At the beginning of the game, we said we’re going to take our shoes off put them in the middle of the floor,” junior guard Kendrick Nunn explained. “It just means it’s our court, it’s our house, this is ours. Three times in a row.”
“We own the court. That’s what we all came up with … put our shoes on the court to say ‘This is Simeon court, we at home, so we can chill, we at home,” said Simeon senior forward Steve Taylor.
Coach Robert Smith was upset with his team’s celebratory stunt and suspended nine underclassmen for the move. Junior Jabari Parker, who is a top recruit, avoided suspension because he was being interviewed while his teammates took off their shoes.
Below is a video report of the incident from CSN Chicago:
H/T Off the Bench, Prep Rally
