Christmas gifts have been exchanged, the New Year is upon us and the NCAA bowl games are practically over.
What better time to assess the state of boys basketball and all the merriment created by the recent holiday tournaments?
There’s no question Young is Chicagoland’s finest and deserving of its No. 2 ranking nationally.
Just try to find a weakness on this team.
Quentin Richardson has emerged as the best player in Illinois and the leading candidate for the Tribune’s Mr. Basketball award. The 6-foot-6-inch DePaul recruit can muscle inside, hit the three-pointer, smother you defensively and carry you in the big game.
Cordell Henry is the best pure point guard around. He dribbles faster and fancier than any prep player without ever losing an ounce of cool. The Marquette recruit suppresses an explosive offensive arsenal to help maintain team harmony.
Dennis Gates, 6-9 Corey Harris, 6-6 freshman Najeeb Echols and 6-9 Marquis Wright are talented role players who would be stars in any other program. And, in his final year, coach George Stanton is doing a masterful job of weaving the Dolphins’ individual skills into a championship tapestry.
One level beneath Young are Elgin, Fenwick, Joliet, Farragut, King and New Trier.
“This is a year when any one of 20 teams outside the city could make it Downstate,” said Westinghouse coach Frank Lollino, whose team lost to Schaumburg and Fenwick at the Proviso West Holiday Classic. “That’s how good these other programs have become. In the Public League, if we could spread out to various sectionals, Young, King, Simeon, Farragut, us and DuSable would have chances to get Downstate.”
Here’s an early look at March Madness.
Figuring Young wins its second straight city title, the Dolphins could face Elgin in the first Class AA quarterfinal game at the Peoria Civic Center.
Quarterfinal No. 2 pairs the East Aurora supersectional winner against the Normal winner. Joliet, Hillcrest and Richards are the front-runners at Aurora while four-peat champion Peoria Manual, Lincoln and Quincy are the favorites to advance from Normal. We’ll say it’s Joliet against Manual.
The third quarterfinal should have Galesburg or Rockford Boylan heavily favored over the Carbondale supersectional representative. Right now, it looks like Galesburg with ex-Carver star Rod Thompson and Joey Range.
In the last quarterfinal, New Trier, Maine West or Zion-Benton should emerge from the Evanston supersectional to face Fenwick and 6-6 All-Stater Corey Maggette. Make it Fenwick against New Trier.
In an appealing rematch of last year’s quarterfinals, Young collides with Manual, but this time the Dolphins are victorious. The other semifinal has Fenwick knocking off Galesburg.
Finally, in resounding fashion, Young brings home the city’s first state title since King won it in 1993.
Here are a few more observations after watching 25 games in five days . . .
Watch out: Teams surging into January include Elgin, Joliet, Rich Central, Farragut, Richards, Young, New Trier, Thornwood, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Zion-Benton, Fenwick, Maine West and Providence-St. Mel.
Time out: Early-season disappointments looking to regroup before the playoffs–St. Joseph, Gordon Tech, Julian, Proviso East, West Aurora, Homewood-Flossmoor.
Best holiday jam: That would belong to Richardson, who unleashed a vicious, reach-way-back, tomahawk dunk on Memphis Westwood during the quarterfinals of the Public League Christmas Classic. The capacity crowd at Chicago State erupted in the loudest ovation of the night.
Best holiday move: That would belong to Henry in the same game. Dribbling slowly upcourt 13 seconds before halftime, Henry nonchalantly crossed the time line and was confronted by Westwood guard Greg Tucker.
Henry went between his legs twice, did a stop-and-start hesitation juke and culminated with a double Tim Hardaway crossover move. The first crossover froze Tucker, the second was for entertainment purposes only. Henry then drove the lane for an easy scoop shot as the other eight players stood admiring his artistry.
Faces in the crowd: Proviso West attracted many tournament alumni and former Chicago-area stars, including NBC analyst Isiah Thomas (St. Joseph), Jimmy Sanders (Westinghouse), Nick Irvin (Carver), Bulls guard Randy Brown (Collins), Cory Little (Addison Trail), Jerry Johnson (Proviso West) and Everette Stubblefield and Reggie Davis (Proviso East).
Analysis: Joe Henricksen of the City/Suburban Hoops Report and Harv Schmidt of the HoopScoop recruiting publication are calling Dennis Gates the most underrated player in the state. College and high school referee Darryl Royster of Western Springs said Sean Harrington of Elgin and Bill Block of Waubonsie Valley are the best outside shooters he has seen. Others to watch: 6-9 junior Brad Korn of Plano, 6-2 Chad Plotke of Naperville North, freshman point guard Jason Straight of Dunbar and guard Theo Williams of DuSable.
Penalty box: Maine West’s 6-7 Andy Lightfoot was suspended for one game after hitting a player during the Wheeling tournament won by Maine West. King assistant coach Ormon O’Quinn was banned from coaching one game after receiving two technical fouls and an automatic ejection from the Thornridge game at Proviso West.
