By Joe Henricksen
The calendar on Sunday may say Dec. 2, but the Whitney Young-Hales Franciscan showdown at 6:30 p.m. at
Chicago State University is still big--very big. The City/Suburban Hoops Report preseason No. 1 and No. 2 teams in
the state will not meet at any other time this season, thanks to the new four-class system. So you better believe
Hales heads into this one with something to prove.
By Joe Henricksen
Make no mistake about it, the City/Suburban Hoops Report has been a four-class basher since the mere thought of
expanding classes became a topic several years ago. Time passes and the distaste for four classes just continues
to grow. Breaking down the sectional assignments the IHSA recently released just adds fuel to the fire. Here
are some quick observations with more to follow in the future.
By Joe Henricksen
With the first issue of the City/Suburban Hoops Report now in the mail and heading out to subscribers around the
state, it's finally time to take a look at the preseason Top 25. The Hoops Report publication has a preseason Top 50
in its issue but we'll keep it to the Top 25 in this blog entry.
By Joe Henricksen
Although nearly every top prospect in the state of Illinois has already committed, the formality of the official signing
day is quickly approaching. The Hoops Report takes a look at what schools made out the best in terms of securing
recruits from Illinois. This isn't simply looking at the best players, but the impact they might have and other factors
and reasons as well.
By Joe Henricksen
Add another young, talented prospect to the Curie program. Dennis Hodges, who entered high school last year as
one of the more highly-regarded freshmen in the state when he began his career at Crane, has made another
move. After transferring from Crane to Hales Franciscan last winter, Hodges is now enrolled at Curie as of
Thursday, Nov. 8. The paperwork will be submitted to gain eligibility and, worse case scenario, would probably
have Hodges set to go in January -- if not sooner.
By Joe Henricksen
With the start of high school basketball practices officially starting around the state Monday, there are several
teams that will be ranked among the top 25 in the City/Suburban Hoops Report preseason rankings that are directly
affected by football. There is no team that will be more shorthanded at the start of practice than Homewood-
Flossmoor.
