King College Prep
| King College Prep | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Address | |
 | |
4445 South Drexel Boulevard , 60653 | |
| Coordinates | 41°48′50″N 87°36′10″W / 41.8138°N 87.6029°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public Secondary Magnet |
| Motto | Dare to dream, Strive to achieve. |
| Opened | 1971 |
| School district | Chicago Public Schools |
| CEEB code | 140825[1] |
| Principal | David Narain |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | Coed |
| Enrollment | 718 (2014–15)[4] |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Black Gold[2] |
| Athletics conference | Chicago Public League[2] |
| Team name | Jaguars[2] |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[3] |
| Website | newkcp |
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. College Preparatory High School (commonly known as King College Prep, King) is a public 4–year selective enrollment magnet high school located in the Kenwood neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. King is one of the Chicago Public School System's ten selective enrollment schools, which means that its approximately 900 students must apply for acceptance, based on academic achievement and test scores. In 2010, King College Prep was named a "Silver Medal" school by "U.S. News and World Report" in its annual rankings of America's best high schools.
Curriculum and activities
Honors classes and Advanced Placement courses are offered in every subject area. College coursework is accessible through King’s college and university partners. Advanced coursework is possible in Visual and Performing Arts (Band, Dance, Drama, Graphic Arts, Vocal Music). King College Prep's bands and choir have represented Chicago at the Presidential Inaugural Heritage Music Festival in Washington D.C.[5] In 2008, the marching band opened for Stone Temple Pilots at their Chicago concert.[6] In 2012, the King College Prep Marching Band again traveled to Washington D.C for the Presidential Inaugural Heritage Music Festival. The Band and Choir Placed First in their Divisions. King College Prep Band is also 4 time winners of the HS Battle of the bands at the Chicago Football Classic.
Athletics
King competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA).[7] King's teams are known as the Jaguars. The men's basketball team was dominant in the 1990s, produced numerous Illinois Mr. Basketball's, and were nationally ranked on a regular basis. 1982 graduate, Efrem Winters, was named MVP of that year's McDonald's All-American game. After a college career at Illinois, Winters was drafted by the NBA's Atlanta Hawks.
Former NBA player Marcus Liberty, who was a member of the 1989 Illinois Flyin' Illini attended King and was widely regarded as the #1 player in the nation. In 1990, King won the Illinois state title, going 32–0, and was ranked #1 nationally behind star guard/forward Jamie Brandon. After initially committing to Illinois, Brandon went on to play alongside Shaquille O'Neal at LSU after the Illni went on NCAA probation. He later played in France, Croatia, Finland and Honduras. In 1993, King had 7'2" Thomas Hamilton and 7'0" Rashard Griffith, who led the Jaguars to a state championship. Imari Sawyer played for King from 1996–2000 before starring at DePaul. All of these players were coached by outspoken Chicago legend Landon “Sonny” Cox.M[8]
Most recently, 6'7 forward Malik Hollins enters his junior season, 6'6 Forward Ian Kennedy enters his sophomore season, and 6'2 forward Jesse Young enters his senior season striving for a championship. In 2009–10, the Girls Swim team won the section championship for the second consecutive year and the Boys Basketball team, Girls Basketball team, and Wrestling team won regional championships.
Notable alumni
- Jeff Allen (2008) - NFL Offensive Lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Michael Clarke Duncan (1976) – Academy Award–nominated actor (The Green Mile, Armageddon).[9]
- Rashard Griffith (1993) – former professional basketball player (1995–2004) who predominantly played in European basketball leagues.[10]
- Thomas Hamilton (1993) – a former NBA center.[11]
- Marcus Liberty (1987) – former NBA forward (1990–94), who spent most of his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets.[12][13]
- Hadiya Pendleton – a 15-year-old African–American girl who was a majorette in King's marching band that was fatally shot in the back in Chicago on January 29, 2013, about a week after performing at President Barack Obama's second inauguration. Outgoing White House Press Secretary and Treasury Secretary nominee Jacob Lew released a statement of condolence.[14][15]
Notable staff
- Landon "Sonny" Cox – a jazz saxophone player who served as the school's head boys basketball coach.[16][17]
References
- ^ "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ a b c "Chicago (King)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 8 January 2010. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ "Institution Summary for King College Prep High School". AdvacedED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ CPS:King College Prep
- ^ History Comes to Life on National Stage
- ^ Pilots find course
- ^ IHSA: Chicago (King)
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. College Preparatory High School". Chicago Public Schools. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ Travis, Clyde (1 April 1994), "Griffith: I'm Leaving: Ex-King Star Disillusioned At Wisconsin, Will Quit", Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved 19 January 2010,
Rashard Griffith ... from King High School, said he still is weighing his options for the future. He likely will transfer to another school, but hasn't dismissed the possibility of entering the NBA draft.
- ^ "Thomas Hamilton". statistics & biographic info. Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ Cotton, Anthony (22 December 1988), "Bell Is Starting to Ring Again for Marcus Liberty", Los Angeles Times, retrieved 19 January 2010,
... Marcus Liberty already was regarded as one of the city's all-time great basketball players, right up there with Isiah Thomas, Glenn Rivers, Mark Aguirre and Terry Cummings. During his career at Martin Luther King High School, the comparisons went national, his name mentioned with the likes of Magic Johnson.
- ^ "Marcus Liberty". statistics & biographic info. Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- ^ http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/30/16771949-walking-angel-girl-who-performed-at-obamas-inauguration-shot-dead-in-chicago?lite
- ^ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/01/30/press-briefing-press-secretary-jay-carney-13013
- ^ "Sonny Cox - From The Wailer to The Coach", Cousins Vinyl, 25 March 2007, retrieved 19 January 2010,
Sonny Cox was once a wailing saxophone player in Chicago in the 60s, recording this album on the Cadet label. He then apparently got into coaching high school basketball after his career was over, leading Chicago's Martin Luther King high school to three state championships. He was recently honored was one of Illinois's 100 Legends of the IHSA basketball tournament.
- ^ "100 Legends of Boys Basketball Tournament". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
Landon "Sonny" Cox - Chicago (King) - Fashioned three state champions at King High School in Chicago, with victories in 1986, 1990, and 1993…also picked up second place in 1987, third in 1989 and 1999 to share Class AA record with Bennie Lewis with six total trophies won…grew up in Cincinnati…played baseball in college at Kentucky State University…is an accomplished jazz saxophonist.