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Riley Klein
SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.
The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”
Raphael Chillious, head coach at South Kent since 2020, and before that from ‘03 to ‘08, commented on the success of his former players and what it means to be a Cardinal.
“I am beyond proud to see so many recent South Kent Basketball alumni participating in this year’s NCAA Tournament. It is a tribute to the effort, perseverance and commitment to excellence that they had here in the Hillside as well as with their current college programs. I’m sure they will represent us with dignity, class, character and competitiveness on the biggest stage of college basketball.”
The first alum to punch his ticket to the 2024 tournament was Andre Johnson Jr., South Kent (SK) class of ‘22, a sophomore guard at University of Connecticut. The defending champion Huskies are poised to go back-to-back after earning the top seed in the East region this year with a record of 31-3. UConn’s first game will be against (16) Stetson University March 22. Johnson wears jersey No. 40.
Jordan Gainey, SK class of ‘21, helped lead University of Tennessee to a 24-8 regular season record. The Volunteers were seeded 2nd in the Midwest region and will play (15) Saint Peter’s University in the first round March 21. Gainey wears jersey No. 2.
Elmarko Jackson, SK class of ‘23, freshman guard at University of Kansas, will also be dancing this March. A regular season record of 22-10 earned the Jayhawks the 4th seed in the Midwest. Kansas will play (13) Samford University first. Jackson, jersey No. 13, was named a McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent.
Isaiah Watts, SK class of ‘23, is a freshman guard at Washington State, which qualified with a team record of 24-9. The Cougars were seeded seventh in the East and will play (10) Drake University in the first round. Watts wears No. 12.
Jalen Cox, SK class of ‘23, is a freshman guard at Colgate University, which received an automatic bid to the tournament after winning its conference championship. Colgate won the Patriot League for the fourth year in a row and was seeded 14th in the West. Colgate will play (3) Baylor University in the first round. Cox wears No. 3.
Osei Price, SK class of ‘21,a junior guard at Oakland University, helped The Grizz win the Horizon League title. Oakland was seeded 14th in the South and will play (3) University of Kentucky in round one. Price wears No. 13.
Chika Nduka, SK class of ‘21, a junior forward at Montana State, will round out the Cardinals’ reunion attendees. The Bobcats won their third consecutive Big Sky conference tournament and were put in the “First Four” play-in game for the No. 16 seed in the Midwest. Montana State played Grambling State on March 20, the winner of which will play (1) Purdue University. Nduka wears No. 23.
In the past 20 years, more than 80 South Kent players went on to play for Division 1 colleges and 17 made it to the NBA. The list includes notable names such as Andray Blatche, Isaiah Thomas, Dion Waiters, Jack McClinton and Dorell Wright.
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Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale
Mar 20, 2024
Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast
LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.
On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.
Yale was seeded 13th in the East and got matched against (4) Auburn University March 22 in the first round.
On the way to the Ivy League title, Yale defeated Cornell University in the semifinals, denying one South Kent School graduate his ticket to the tournament. Nazir Williams, South Kent class of ‘21, averaged about 13 points per game for Cornell this past season.
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Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning
Mar 20, 2024
Kathryn Boughton
KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.
Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.
The bells were a significant gift and Guse estimates they would cost $15,000 to $20,000 to replace today. But their potential has never been truly explored. In Kent, they have remained safely ensconced in their cases and used only occasionally by children.
“They range from the C below middle C, all the way up to the C two octaves above middle C for a total of 37 bells,” she said. “Since I arrived at St Andrew’s, individual bells and small groups of bells have been used to accompany psalm singing and Christmas anthems sung by our choir.”
Now Guse has assembled a small group of volunteers, a couple of whom have previous ringing experience and some with musical backgrounds, to learn arrangements for the Easter service. Seven players, all handling at least two bells, will accompany the choir on Easter morning, the clear tones ringing out and blending with the voices.
One should not imagine the clanging a school marm’s bell when thinking of them. Manufactured by Schulmerich Company in Pennsylvania, one of only two such firms in the United States, these are true musical instruments that produce lovely tones. The players sound notes by moving their arms smoothly forward in an arc, producing that tones linger—rather like the singing bowls used in Tibetan ceremonies—until the players damp the bells by holding them to their bodies.
Typically, players handle two bells at a time, but at last Sunday’s rehearsal, with one player absent, Herman Compton was deftly handling three. Compton, a multi-instrumentalist, has played bells since he was a young child in his father’s church.
The other member of the new bell choir at St. Andrew’s with previous experience is Bill Watts, who also rang them in his former church.
Guse said American handbells vary from their English cousins in that the clapper moves only one way while English bells move in both directions. English handbells are traditional, with leather clapper heads and handles, while American handbells use modern materials, such as plastic and rubber, to produce the same effect. In both instances, however, the clapper moves only back and forth, unlike school bells where the clapper swings in all directions.
The bells also have springs that hold the clapper away from the casting after the strike to allow the bell to ring freely. The shaft of the clapper is rigid, so the bells can be held with their mouths facing upward.
Handheld bells have a long history. Robert and William Cor are credited with developing them in Aldbourne, England, between 1696 and 1724. The Cor brothers originally made brass bells for horse collars but, for reasons unknown, began fitting them with hinged clappers and tuning their bells to have an accurate tone.
“The thing about bells is that you can’t practice them by yourself,” said Guse. “Each bell is only part of an instrument. You can make a joyful noise, but only with others.”
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