We just finished off a pretty epic holiday tournament run of high-profile, down-to-the-wire finishes. The calendar has flipped to January, and we kick off the new year with a monster weekend of ranked teams squaring off all across the state.
Here is a hot forecast and picks for the weekend. Season record: 13-2
Friday
No. 16 Neuqua Valley (13-3) at No. 14 Waubonsie Valley (13-0)
A huge showdown in the DuPage Valley. Both are atop the conference at 3-0. Both are red-hot with holiday tournament championships.
Waubonsie is one of three unbeaten teams remaining in the Chicago area. Tre Blissett is Swiss Army Knife on the perimeter, but the impact of junior point guard Tyreek Coleman has pushed the Warriors to another level.
Neuqua’s Luke Kinkade, who won MVP honors at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic, is a scoring guard who is among the top uncommitted seniors in the state. Waubonsie’s speed and length gives it a chance to neutralize the 20-plus-point scorer.
The pick: Waubonsie Valley 52, Neuqua Valley 47
No. 12 New Trier (15-2) at Glenbrook North (14-2)
While Evanston and Glenbrook South will be a factor in the always rough-and-tumble Central Suburban League South, these two are both unbeaten in league play.
Senior point guard Josh Fridman is the catalyst for Glenbrook North. He makes everything go, and you know what you’re going to get from veteran senior guard Owen Giannoulias. But Sam Lappin has stepped up and provided a big offensive lift. The obscure 5-10 senior guard averaged 16.5 points in four tournament games at Wheeling.
There are few teams with as many capable shooters and offensive threats as New Trier. New Trier sophomores Christopher Kirkpatrick and Danny Houlihan have taken their games to another level the past few weeks.
The pick: New Trier 61, Glenbrook North 57
No. 20 West Aurora (12-4) at No. 19 Romeoville (13-3)
These two lead their respective sides of the Southwest Prairie with identical 6-0 records.
Romeoville and junior point guard EJ Mosley did fall to Bolingbrook earlier this week. But a strong performance over the holidays laid a foundation of what’s hopefully on the horizon. The Spartans finished third at the State Farm Classic, losing only to talented Normal, 67-66. This young team of Mosley, Kendall Culter, DJ Porter, Mickeis Johnson and 6-10 Adam Walker has a very high ceiling.
West Aurora also went 3-1 over the holidays. The Blackhawks picked up wins over Peoria Manual, Joliet West and Simeon at Pontiac with Terrence Smith, CJ Savage and Jordan Brooks all averaging 15 points a game.
The pick: Romeoville 68, West Aurora 63
Saturday
No. 3 Mount Carmel (16-2) vs. No. 5 Benet (14-1) at DePaul Prep
Mount Carmel and Angelo Ciaravino have played up to their preseason hype. The Caravan haven’t lost to an in-state opponent and Ciaravino, a Northwestern recruit, was named the Pekin Holiday Tournament MVP while leading them to a tourney title.
Coach Phil Segroves does have a star, but he also has a surplus of other weapons in Lee Marks, Cameron Thomas, Christian Uremovich and Noah Mister.
Benet’s surprising unbeaten run to the start the season ended in heartbreaking fashion, losing to Curie in double overtime of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. But this young team took a big step forward at Pontiac. It’s a team that has improved considerably since Thanksgiving.
Benet has size with the emerging 6-11 Colin Stack and big, versatile 6-7 wing Gabe Sularski. The young backcourt of sophomore Jayden Wright and junior Blake Fagbemi grew up a lot over the holidays.
The pick: Benet 57, Mount Carmel 56
No. 7 DePaul Prep (16-0) vs. No. 2 Homewood-Flossmoor (13-1)
A top 10 matchup with two teams feeling good with holiday tournament titles under their belt –– DePaul at Hinsdale Central and H-F winning the Big Dipper.
Bryce Heard was the Big Dipper MVP. But the 6-5 junior is just one of four Vikings, including guards Jayden Tyler, Carson Brownfield and Gianni Cobb, who are all capable of scoring in double figures. They will have their hands full with a DePaul defense that has been the most dominant and consistent in high school basketball so far.
In winning four games at Hinsdale, the Rams forced turnovers (over 16 a game) and boasted effective field goal percentage defense (21 percent from three). It’s difficult to be dominant in both of those statistics.
DePaul isn’t full of flash or big numbers. The balance, unselfishness and different players stepping up has become a thing. Jaylan McElroy, though, was the tournament MVP at Hinsdale Central, while unheralded PJ Chambers was an all-tournament selection.
The pick: DePaul 50, Homewood-Flossmoor 48
No. 11 Kenwood (10-3) vs. Normal (12-1) at Highland
There won’t be a game played this season with more size on the floor. But this one could be decided with backcourt play. Can Normal, which lost to Thornton earlier this season, handle the ball pressure thrown at them?
Kenwood features 6-10 Arizona State recruit Jaden Smith, 6-9 Aleks Alston and a pair of 6-5 seniors in Calvin Robins and Chris Riddle. But the Broncos need steady play from its young guards, sophomore Rajan Roberts and freshman Devin Cleveland.
Normal counters with 6-10 Jaheem Webber, who is headed to Wright State, 6-8 Noah Cleveland, 6-6 Niko Newsome and 6-4 point guard Braylon Roman, who will be the key to handling Kenwood’s pressure.
The pick: Kenwood 60, Normal 59
No. 8 Thornton (11-2) vs. Metamora (12-3) at Highland
Metamora is riding the high of beating Bolingbrook in a thriller to win the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament. Thornton is bouncing back from a gut-wrenching one-point loss to Homewood-Flossmoor in the Big Dipper final.
Might this be a preview of a potential Class 3A game in Champaign this March?
Morez Johnson was his dominating self with 21 and 23 points in the final two games of the Dipper. There are other scorers in Chase Abraham, Isaiah Green and Meyoh Swansey, but the Wildcats must be able to show consistency shooting the basketball.
Metamora moves and shares the ball, starting with senior guard Tyler Mason, the tournament MVP at York. Mason checks so many boxes for the Redbirds. Cooper Koch, the 6-8 senior headed to Iowa, is a versatile offensive threat.
The pick: Metamora 58, Thornton 56
Sunday
No. 1 Curie (14-1) vs. No. 19 Romeoville (13-3) at Young
A fun matchup featuring plenty of firepower in the backcourt, starting with Curie’s Carlos Harris and Romeoville’s EJ Mosley. Harris is a warrior who makes a difference in a lot of ways. Mosley is a point guard who scores and distributes.
Romeoville played Normal tough and lost. They competed against Bolingbrook for three-plus quarters and lost. The Spartans are talented enough but still need to get over the hump against a high-level opponent.
Harris and the Condors, with some help from Will Gonzalez and Christian Brockett, survive their first week at No. 1.
The pick: Curie 69, Romeoville 64
No. 4 Warren (15-1) vs. No. 11 Kenwood (10-3) at Young
There are a lot of variables in this one. It’s a rematch of a game that was played a week ago. Kenwood will also be traveling back from the Highland Shootout in southern Illinois after playing a tough Normal team on Saturday.
Warren knocked off Kenwood 73-63 in a Proviso West Holiday Tournament semifinal matchup.
Kenwood dug itself a hole and allowed 42 points in the first half in the first meeting. This team should be headed for a correction in a rematch.
There is no doubt Warren is pretty self-reliant on freshman guard Jaxson Davis, who is averaging 19.6 points and 5.6 assists a game. But the Blue Devils beat Kenwood with Davis scoring below his average and Alex Daniels, Braylon Walker and Jack Wolf stepping up. That trio went 7 for 11 from the three-point line and combined for 43 points.
What should we expect from a rematch of a game that was played just a week ago?
It feels as if Warren is due for a hiccup, while Kenwood kind of needs this one — a big, local win over a ranked team. Kenwood revs it up in getting an opportunity to play Warren a second time and finds a way.
The pick: Kenwood 62, Warren 59
