Championship Saturday Comes to Chi-League Pro-Am
More stars and more excitement filled semifinal weekend of Dreamville x Wilson Basketball-sponsored event
There was no lack of smoke provided from the second weekend of the Dreamville X Wilson Basketball Chi-League Pro-Am, which once again saw a healthy mix of pro-level hoopers mix in with players of all levels on the campus of UIC last Saturday.
Once that smoke cleared, the Chi-League’s championship Saturday was set and that will take place tomorrow at Credit Union 1 Arena with a women’s championship featuring Team Chaos and That Harper Kid starting the day at 1:00 pm. The men’s championship will feature Team E’Twaun Moore playing against Team C.A.S.H with an expected start time of 3:30 pm.
The semifinal rounds was highlighted with more sparks from Chicago’s finest. From nasty crossovers to slam dunks equivalent to a signed picture poster hanging on a kid’s wall, the bold-print names of this year’s Chi-League lived up to the hype.
Participants like former DePaul Blue Demon, and current Chicago Bull, Javon Freeman-Liberty and NCAA national champion (UCONN) and East Aurora native Ryan Boatright balled out in their respective debuts. Overseas great Jerome Randle also killed in his 2022 Chi-League debut with 31 points to lead Team C.A.S.H’s to victory against a team featuring San Antonio Spur Keita Bates-Diop while fellow NBA’ers Jabari Parker and Javonte Green returned to the court for their respective teams.
Two stars, in particular, made particular noise throughout the last set of games: Chicago Bulls player Malcolm Hill and Whitney Young product/Duke star DJ Steward.
Hill showed out in playing alongside Green, his Bulls teammate, for Bobby Simmons’ team, which he said made the Chi-League experience feel “normal.” Hill also hooped with former University of Illinois teammate Jalen Tate. Though his team lost 66-62 to Team E’Twaun Moore, the Illini alum was excited to participate in Chicago's league.
“It’s special because I know what it means to the city,” Hill said to WARR Media. It was great to experience what Chicago basketball is all about. It is great to compete and get some runs in with other pros and players. It was fun.”
With Team Bobby Simmons getting eliminated from championship competition, the Bulls teammates will return to preparation for the next Bulls season. Green has previously expressed to WARR Media his intention this off-season to work on his overall game to help relieve pressure on his teammates Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucivic offensively. Hill has taken similar steps, he says, adding that he’s lost weight so he can move faster/quicker while also focusing on improving his ball handling, shooting and defense.
“I’m not [going into the season] with expectations,” Hill said. “I’m in a better situation than last year as far as being able to go into training camp with the team. I’ve been working really hard and when training camp comes, be ready to compete.”
Steward, a former standout at Fenwick and Whitney Young, has most recently played for the Sacramento Kings G-League team this past season. Saturday he scored 27 points for E’Twaun Moore’s team in leading them to the championship game.
“It’s a blessing man,” Steward said. “Coming back and playing in front of all the Chicago fans makes me feel good. I show love to them and they show love to me so coming out here and having fun is what I want to do.”
The Kings have made significant moves in recent months, pairing former Lakers guard Malik Monk with his former Kentucky teammate DeAaron Fox, that coming on the heels of trading for Domantas Sabonis during the last regular season. Steward has a training camp deal with the Kings and will be fighting for a roster spot during training camp. He likes the idea of playing with top talents like Fox and Monk and understands their presence makes his getting on the team far from a guarantee. Still, even with the uncertainty involved, Steward is not phased by his current place in the big picture. More than anything, Steward is relishing the opportunity to compete and display his skill-set as a professional.
“I’m just going to go up there and battle, have fun, show my game and fight for that roster spot so I can stick in this league,” Steward said.
Before training camp takes place, Steward will have one more chance to represent Chicago in front of the city itself as his team plays against Jabari Parker’s squad in the final game of this year’s Chi-League. He expressed his excitement for the opportunity.
“We were able to get a win, next week we’re going to come back and have some more fun,” Steward said.
Joshua M. Hicks is a senior writer for WARR Media and host of the “In The Scope” Podcast