CHICAGO — A Chicago high school scoring legend is back home again filling the city's buckets.
Two years after averaging a state-best 34.1 points per game for the now-closed Power House High on the city's West Side, Elliott Cole has transferred from a junior college in Florida to Chicago State, where he leads the Cougars with an average 14.3 points per game.
"Feels good to be back home," said the 21-year-old junior guard, who had a season-high 21 points in a buzzer-beating loss to Illinois on Nov. 23. "It's fun to play in front of the people who saw me in high school, then I left the scene a bit. I'm just a Chicago kid who wants to get better every possession."
Cole's throng of supporters at every Cougars home game include his parents, brother, sister, cousins, aunts and uncles. His older brother, Felton, said Cole "has put himself back on people's radar that may have forgotten how good this kid can be."
There wasn't a better scorer in Illinois during Cole's senior season at Power House, which included a 63-point outburst against Little Village High School — tied for 28th best in state history and the 12th most ever by a Chicago player. His prodigious scoring outputs came despite Power House not having regular practices or a home court on school grounds.
Chicago State offered Cole a scholarship his senior season, but he didn't qualify academically, so he was forced to take the junior college route. He was named one of the top 50 junior college players in the country last season at Gulf Coast (Fla.) State College.
A few schools, including Chicago State, offered Cole scholarships after he finished up at Gulf Coast State. Cole selected the South Side university because he wanted to come home.
"He brings the type of attitude and confidence and the ability to score the ball that you need to be successful," Chicago State head coach Tracy Dildy said. "We're really excited about having Elliott come back home."
The Cougars are 3-6 heading into Saturday's home game against Valparaiso. Cole said he's still getting familiar with his teammates, which include four other Chicago Public Schools graduates.
Cole expects his scoring average to increase immensely as the season progresses, but he's far more concerned with winning games.
"Winning is what drives me and pushes me to work harder," he said. "But I want to set the city of Chicago on fire the way I did senior year in high school, but with a new group of guys."
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