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  • Writer's pictureBig Tim

Time to put Curie's Ramean Hinton as a serious Mr Basketball candidate!!!!

I watched the Pontiac Holiday Tournament title game on highschoolzoom.com. I saw Curie(Chicago) 6'5"senior wing Ramean Hinton at the free throw line. He has hitting the back of his right leg, and you could see the pain on his face. He had a cramp at the worst possible time. Curie was down 1 with over a minute left in the title game vs Bloom(Chicago Heights). He had a one and the bonus after being fouled. He was in such agony you thought he should come out of the game. He did not at that point, Hinton stepped up and made two free throws to put Curie up by 1. He went out briefly, came back and led Curie to their second straight Pontiac Holiday Tournament title. He won the prestigious AC Williamson award for MVP of the tournament. It is a special award as it rewards sportsmanship throughout the tournament as well. This reminded me of a casual conversation I had with Hinton at the Whitney Young Fall League. It's a league that prepares teams and players for the upcoming season. He may not remember this, but he told me that day he's the best player in the State of Illinois. I was thinking to myself, this kid has a lot of confidence, which is a good thing. You have to consider there are Top 25 national players over the senior and junior class. You have Adam Miller, DJ Steward, and Max Christie who is a junior in the running. Hinton's play not only at Pontiac, but the whole season so far has put him squarely in the discussion for Mr Basketball in Illinois. It has also put him in the discussion for Area Player Of The Year.


Ramean Hinton had a good junior year for a surprising Curie team that won Pontiac, the Chicago Public League Title, a Sectional Title, a Supersectional Title which culminated in a third place finish in Illinois Class 4A. Curie lost only one game to an Illinois opponent. He was a role player behind Area Player Of The Year DaJuan Gordon who's at Kansas State now. Folks in local basketball circles knew he would be the man for Curie this year, most didn't know how good Curie would be losing four starters. Curie is undefeated and a top team in the area, mostly because of the leadership and consistent play from Hinton. He's averaging a double/double this season in points and rebounds, about 5 assists a game, a couple of steals, and a couple of blocks. He's a do it all talent who can run the offense, shoot threes, slash to the basket, and hit the offensive and defensive boards hard. He also stays out of foul trouble by playing very smart on the basketball court. If Curie keeps up their outstanding play, it will be because of Hinton's leadership and spirited play on the court. He has secured his scholarhip signing with Southeast Missouri State. Most will say can we give Mr Basketball and/or Area Player Of The Year to a kid going to a Mid Major? We have players headed to Duke, Illinois, and junior that will be headed to a High Major. If the voters look at production, leadership, and team success, it is time to make Ramen Hinton a serious candidate for both awards. It's looking more and more like Ramean Hinton is trying to live up to what he told me in the Fall. Happy hunting young man.

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