Latest news with #DariusJohnson
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
South Shore Drill Team celebrates 45-year anniversary in June with performance at Gary Comer Youth Center
The South Shore Drill Team Performing Arts Ensemble has dazzled audiences for 45 years. In June, current and former members, including CBS News Chicago's own Darius Johnson, will honor the legacy of the group with a special performance. Inside the gym, on the stage, every clap and count is calibrated. Far beyond a routine, it's a ritual. The South Shore Drill Team was founded by Arthur Robertson, a Chicago Public Schools teacher who wanted to give young people a place to belong. It started in 1980 with just four members. Today, it has served thousands of young people. In 2025, they are marking that legacy with a full-circle moment as members past and present return to perform together. "Forty-five years, that's not something easy to do," said alum William Lamb. For many, the drill team is home, and once you're in, you never really leave. "It feels very good to see old faces that used to be on the drill team," said Morgan Keating, pee-wee captain. "Once you're here, you're family," Lamb said. Lamb's journey began a decade ago; now he's returned for the spring show, because the 45th anniversary hits different. "It's going to be a full-circle moment for me, because my first spring show was the 35th anniversary," he said. For current members and alumni, it's not just about the moves, it's about the message. Performing on stage is a bigger feeling than anyone can imagine. The energy is so infectious, it even resonates among the youngest members of the team; the pee-wees. "One thing I love about being on the drill team is doing parades all the time, and also performing in shows," Keating said. Keating has performed on the team for the last two and a half years. Her love for the team started at an early age, thanks to her family. "My uncle is on drill team," she said. "I used to always love watching him teach and perform also." That same uncle is still teaching today, and Keating is now a captain. With that title comes responsibility. "You always have to lead by example, even though others aren't doing it," Keating said. And it takes practice to become perfect. "I'd be lying to you if I said I got everything right away," said Lamb. But with time, it all becomes second nature, and the reward is even bigger than the stage. "The drill team is more than just you have teammates. You have your brothers and sisters," Lamb said. "The bonds that you build with these people are bonds that will last a lifetime." Over the last four decades, the team has taken those bonds across the world, from the Bud Billiken Parade to presidential inaugurations and even to Morocco. And yet the heart of it all has always been home in Chicago. "If you spent plenty of months working on something, of course you want to display that to the people," Lamb said. And that's what they'll do this summer as they celebrate 45 years of family, formation, and show-stopping pride. "I'm really looking forward to the show, and showing off my moves and how good I am," Keating said. "It was always success, it was always excellence. That showed that we were good at what we were doing. The mission of the drill team still lives on today. So that's the excitement for me," said Lamb. The South Shore Drill Team's spring show will celebrate 45 years of performance on June 14 at 6 p.m. at the Gary Comer Youth Center in Greater Grand Crossing.
Fox Sports
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
UCF beats Villanova 104-98 in OT, will play Nebraska for College Basketball Crown championship
Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Senior Darius Johnson scored 10 of his career-high 42 points in overtime to lead UCF to a 104-98 victory over Villanova on Saturday in a College Basketball Crown semifinal. The Knights (20-16) will play Nebraska in the championship game on Sunday. The Cornhuskers (20-14) beat Boise State 79-69 in an earlier semifinal. Johnson also had seven assists and five rebounds for UCF. Jordan Ivy-Curry hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 with seven rebounds. Deebo Coleman hit three 3-pointers and scored 13. Wooga Poplar led the Wildcats (21-15) with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Dixon added 29 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Perkins pitched in with 18 points and six rebounds. Johnson scored 13 second-half points and hit the game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left in the second half to send the game to overtime. Johnson shot 2 of 3 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line in the 5-minute OT. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
Associated Press
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
UCF beats Villanova 104-98 in OT, will play Nebraska for College Basketball Crown championship
▶Follow AP's full coverage of March Madness. ▶Get the AP Top 25 men's college basketball poll delivered straight to your inbox with AP Top 25 Poll Alerts. Sign up here. LAS VEGAS (AP) — Senior Darius Johnson scored 10 of his career-high 42 points in overtime to lead UCF to a 104-98 victory over Villanova on Saturday in a College Basketball Crown semifinal. The Knights (20-16) will play Nebraska in the championship game on Sunday. The Cornhuskers (20-14) beat Boise State 79-69 in an earlier semifinal. Johnson also had seven assists and five rebounds for UCF. Jordan Ivy-Curry hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 with seven rebounds. Deebo Coleman hit three 3-pointers and scored 13. Wooga Poplar led the Wildcats (21-15) with 32 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Dixon added 29 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Perkins pitched in with 18 points and six rebounds. Johnson scored 13 second-half points and hit the game-tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left in the second half to send the game to overtime. Johnson shot 2 of 3 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line in the 5-minute OT. ___
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
College Basketball Crown: Darius Johnson leads UCF past Cincinnati, seals cash prize
Darius Johnson had no shortage of personal motivation ahead of Thursday's College Basketball Crown quarterfinal. UCF's next loss will be the final chapter of his four-year career, and its opponent — longtime conference rival Cincinnati — had beaten Johnson and the Knights five straight times, including a 93-83 backbreaker in Orlando two months ago. Advertisement Yet, Johnny Dawkins — the Knights' head coach and Johnson's godfather — reminded his team of one extra incentive before tipoff. "Our coach always tells us that you're either going to play for two things — pride or money. Right now, our guys are playing for both," Johnson told FS1 in a postgame interview. The Knights, thanks to Johnson's late-game heroics, will cash out of Las Vegas at least $50,000 richer as a team. Johnson punctuated a pivotal 10-0 run with eight unanswered points in an 82-second span and led all scorers with 31 points on 11-of-23 shooting as UCF eliminated the Bearcats from the inaugural 16-team tournament with an 88-80 victory. Advertisement "Obviously, I'm an older guy, senior guy, and I've got to take the ball into my own hands," Johnson told FS1. "I've been in the position with Coach Dawkins before. He trusts me. My teammates trust me. I've just got to go out and make plays. That's what good players do." The Knights (19-16) will play in Saturday's second semifinal, against either Villanova or USC, at 4 p.m. On the other half of the bracket, Nebraska meets Boise State at 1 p.m. The College Basketball Crown and its corporate partner Vivid Seats will award $300,000 in Name, Image and Likeness prize money to the champion, $100,000 to the runner-up and $50,000 to both the third- and fourth-place teams. UCF shot 47% from the field, hitting 10 of 30 attempts from 3-point range, and committed just eight turnovers across the 40 minutes. Taylor Hendricks and Nils Machowski, both of whom entered the NCAA transfer portal before the start of the Crown, shined again in expanded minutes with combined totals of 25 points and nine rebounds. Advertisement Moustapha Thiam provided 13 points and five rebounds, Jordan Ivy-Curry scored seven off the bench and Benny Williams chipped in six points and five boards, including a spectacular putback slam. Day Day Thomas paced Cincinnati with 19 points, sinking five of its 12 field goals from beyond the arc. Tampa native Dillon Mitchell notched a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds, tacking on six assists. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: College Basketball Crown: UCF defeats Cincinnati in quarterfinals
Fox Sports
04-04-2025
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Johnson scores 31, UCF takes down Cincinnati 88-80 in College Basketball Crown
Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Darius Johnson's 31 points led UCF over Cincinnati 88-80 on Thursday in the College Basketball Crown. Johnson also contributed seven assists for the Knights (19-16). Tyler Hendricks shot 3 of 5 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free-throw line to add 14 points. Moustapha Thiam went 6 of 9 from the field (1 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 13 points. Day Day Thomas led the Bearcats (19-16) in scoring, finishing with 19 points and two steals. Dillon Mitchell added 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists for Cincinnati. Simas Lukosius also had 11 points. UCF entered halftime up 38-35. Johnson put up 18 second-half points. ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
