Welcome to the most anticipated, tension-packed, memorable journey of the high school sports season: the road to Peoria.
When the Class AA tournament tips off Monday at sectional complexes throughout the state, 228 teams will be hoping Carver Arena is their destination on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.
Public League basketball coordinator George Stanton and West Aurora coach Gordon Kerkman have successfully navigated this treacherous course. Stanton led Young to its first state championship in 1998, and Kerkman secured the Blackhawks’ first title last year after nine previous appearances in the final four.
“With so many close games in the city this season, that would indicate the playoffs are wide open,” Stanton said. “I believe Marshall has a lot of the ingredients you need to get Downstate–size, guard play, good coaching and a strong tradition. Young made it to the Public League [final] last year and has the talent to take the next step. Crane has a lot of talent, and you’ve also got Morgan Park, Farragut, Simeon, Carver and Julian.”
Notice Stanton didn’t mention any teams from the Central or North Sections, which make up the lower bracket. In the Public League’s rotating pairings format, the dominant Red West and Red South teams will be knocking each other off en route to the March 11 semifinals at Illinois-Chicago.
Marshall will have a more difficult path, having lost the No. 1 seed after forfeiting seven games for using an ineligible player.
“It’s going to be brutal in the upper bracket,” Stanton said. “In the lower bracket, Dunbar and Von Steuben could make it to the final four.”
Sometimes it’s simply the luck of the draw.
“Last year we had 23 turnovers in our state quarterfinal game,” Kerkman said. “Fortunately, Gordon Tech had more (28). Had we drawn either East St. Louis or Westinghouse in that first game and played like that, we’re probably coming back home.”
Although this has pretty much been a winter of parity, Kerkman does see an early favorite.
“Thornwood looks awfully tough with that big kid,” he said, referring to 6-foot-11-inch, 290-pound Eddy Curry. “I don’t know if anybody else has someone who can handle him. After Thornwood, there are a lot of teams capable of being in the championship game.”
The last two champions, West Aurora and St. Joseph, were not dominant, intimidating teams. Could such a team emerge during March Madness?
“I would say Danville is a sleeper team to watch,” Kerkman said. “Joliet could come through and win it all. I think Centralia or Moline could surprise a lot of people, and [from] around here, someone like Downers Grove North could win the title.”
Here’s a readers’ guide to the state tournament trail (all records through Thursday):
Hazardous road
Third-ranked Joliet may have to defeat Lockport (12-11), No. 16 Bloom (19-6), No. 4 Lincoln-Way (20-4) and No. 1 Thornwood (24-1) before the Steelmen can begin packing for the River City.
Peoria express
By winning the Central Section and then being paired against weaker North Section teams, Dunbar (17-7) might be tested only once in qualifying for the March 12 Public League title game at the United Center. The Mightymen could draw DuSable (10-14), Steinmetz (14-10) and Mather (16-11) before facing Von Steuben (20-4) in the semifinals. Dunbar would be the favorite in all four games.
Magic number
That would be one as Peoria Richwoods is poised to win its first state title with six of its top nine players back from last year’s fourth-place finisher. Leading the way are Steve Turner, 6-7 Marcus Jackson, 6-6 Robert Turner and freshman sensation Sean Livingston.
Tourist attractions
Buy your tickets early if these materialize:
– Marshall vs. Young in the Public League playoffs.
– Peoria Richwoods vs. Springfield Lanphier in the Normal supersectional.
– Proviso East vs. Lyons in the Willowbrook sectional final.
– Downers Grove North vs. West Aurora in the Hinsdale South sectional final.
– Joliet vs. Lincoln-Way in the Bradley-Bourbonnais sectional.
Detour
Five killer potholes:
– Young: Hottest team in the city with the return of its best player, 6-8 junior Marcus White.
– Thornwood: Umbeaten against Illinois teams, and who wants to face Curry?
– Brother Rice: Lives and dies by the three-point shot, and on a good night can beat anyone.
– Peoria Richwoods: Focused on getting to the title game and has the talent to do it.
– Rockford Boylan: Titans have size, outside shooting, backcourt leadership and, in Steve Goers, one of the most respected coaches in the state.
Map to Peoria
Quarterfinals: Marshall over Centralia; Thornwood over Peoria Richwoods; West Aurora over Schaumburg; Rockford Boylan over Proviso East.
Semifinals: Marshall over Thornwood; Rockford Boylan over West Aurora.
Title game: Marshall over Rockford Boylan.
Licensed to shoot
Ten most likely to hit a game-winner: Chris Hobson, Eisenhower; Brian Allured, Wheaton North; Scott Horne, Evanston; Kelly Whitney, Marshall; Sean Dockery, Julian; Will Bynum, Crane; Jason Straight, Dunbar; Joe Chapman, Bloom; Teran Lee, Carver; Anthony Scala, St. Patrick.
Roadside assistance
Five traditional powers with engine problems: St. Joseph, Thornton, Oak Park, Maine West, Marist.
Not too young to drive
Five underclassmen likely to have an impact in the playoffs:
– Jay Thomas, West Aurora: The freshman point guard is already among the best at his position in the Chicago area.
– Richard McBride, Springfield Lanphier: The sophomore guard is rated among the best in his class nationally.
– Marcus White, Young: The 6-8 junior rates with Dockery and Bynum as the best in the city.
– Hobson, Eisenhower: The 6-3 sophomore averaged 40 points over a four-game stretch, including a school-record 47.
– Dockery, Julian: The 6-3 point guard is considered the most complete player in the state and rated among the top juniors in the nation.
Start your engines
The sectionals, in bracket order:
At Chicago: Marshall, Young, Farragut and Morgan Park are the favorites to emerge from the Public League playoffs–its own supersectional–although Dunbar and Von Steuben are good bets to make the final four.
At Belleville East: Behind 6-8 Josh Shaw and 6-6 Chris Carter, top seed Centralia is the pick. The Orphans figure to get the biggest challenges from Belleville West, Belleville East and Carbondale.
At Collinsville: Centralia’s opponent in the Carbondale supersectional will likely come from among No. 1 seed Collinsville, Alton, East St. Louis, Edwardsville and Jerseyville.
At Peoria: Another dogfight among top seed Peoria Richwoods and intracity rivals Manual and Central. Two others that could be factors are second-seeded Normal West and No. 3 Pekin. Richwoods prevails on tournament experience.
At Springfield: Get ready for a terrific sectional final between No. 1 seed Springfield Lanphier with McBride and No. 2 Mt. Zion, which features three Division I recruits in its starting lineup. Two dark horses that could surprise: Quincy and Danville.
At Bradley-Bourbonnais: To give you an idea how deep this sectional is, Marian Catholic is seeded ninth despite a 17-7 record. There is no clear-cut favorite among leading contenders Joliet (21-4), Lincoln-Way (20-4), Hillcrest (21-4) and Bloom (19-6). Those four are ranked among the top 16 teams in the Chicago area.
At Thornwood: No. 1-ranked Thornwood already has Curry, and now the Thunderbirds also get home-court advantage. That means potentially four straight home games leading up to the St. Xavier supersectional. Biggest challenge should come from Shepard, whose style of play has given Thornwood fits.
At Conant: Led by all-around talent Mark Pancratz, No. 1-seeded Schaumburg is the strong favorite here, having already beaten many of the other teams in this sectional. The Saxons’ only real test could come from No. 2 St. Viator.
At Waukegan: No. 1 seed Warren’s decisive victory over No. 2 Zion-Benton last week would seem to indicate that coach Chuck Ramsey’s team is poised for a return trip to the Evanston supersectional. Best bet to upset Warren is Stevenson.
At Hinsdale South: Another deep sectional. Defending Class AA champion West Aurora may have to defeat East Aurora, Waubonsie Valley and No. 1 seed Downers Grove North before advancing to the DeKalb supersectional. Look for a dynamic final between Downers North and West Aurora and the matchup of North’s Kyle Kleckner and Eric Allen vs. West Aurora’s Thomas and Jamaal Thompson.
At Elgin: Nobody paid much attention to Wheaton North until the Falcons beat West Aurora twice. Now they’re the top seed and seem headed for a third showdown with their DuPage Valley rival. Best of the rest: Elgin, St. Charles East and surprising Bartlett.
At Rockford Guilford: Top seed Boylan will be hard to beat behind shooter Mike Britton, 6-8 Jason Winkler, 6-7 Adam Finley, point guard Steve Harris and a 6-2 sophomore named Matt Weber who reminds observers of ex-New Trier star Matt Lottich.
At Sterling: Led by Justin Diedrich and Eric Jaske, top seed DeKalb is off to its best start since finishing fourth in the state in 1968. But keep an eye on fast-closing Moline with Chris Hickey, Ryan Scannell and Travis Hoyt. Rochelle, which has beaten DeKalb, is young but dangerous.
At Leyden: Welcome to a wide-open free-for-all featuring No. 1 seed Evanston, No. 2 New Trier, No. 3 St. Patrick and No. 4 Loyola. Evanston has beaten New Trier twice in league play, and Loyola has beaten St. Pat’s. This sectional has four of the area’s best outside shooters in Horne of Evanston, James Romey of New Trier, Scala of St. Pat’s and Colin Falls of Loyola.
At Willowbrook: No. 1 seed Proviso East with its terrific backcourt trio of Daniel and Shannon Brown and Charles Richardson is expected to match up against Lyons with 6-4 Cortez Forte, 6-5 Jim Maley and A.J. Allodi in the sectional final.
