This is the final year of two class basketball in Illinois. Is anyone happy about that?

Personally, I just don't see the justification for moving to four classes for basketball. Enrollment means nothing. Ask fans of Lane Tech, Warren, Joliet or Morton.

Take a look at some of the recent Class AA state champions:

In 2004, Peoria Central (883) beat Homewood-Flossmoor (2,641). In 2003, Peoria Central (906) beat Thornwood (2, 572). Three of the Peoria Manual championships (Manual had around 1,000 students at the time) came against high schools with over 2,000 kids (West Aurora, Thornton).

As far as the argument that more teams will win regional and sectional titles, does anyone really care about that?

Lately, we've been very lucky to have the best players in the state battle in the state finals (Livingston vs. Wright, Scheyer vs. Rose, etc.) who wants that to stop?

Instead of finding ways to hand out more trophies, perhaps the IHSA should concentrate on changing the rules they've made that are harming the kids. Wouldn't it be nice if high school coaches were allowed more contact time during the summer? That would limit the influence of AAU coaches and street agents, helping to clean up the game. That's the issue the IHSA should be debating and holding votes on, not how many trophies to hand out in March.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (39) | TrackBacks (0)

80 pages of Illinois prep basketball news and features...

For the first time, Ill. Hoops is offering a hard copy issue. The preseason preview includes features on Glenbard East's Mike Capocci, Simeon coach Rob Smith, St. Joe's Demetri McCamey and Evan Turner and Lincoln Park's Michael Thompson, along with many others.

Contact Scott Powers at scottpowers@illhoops.com for more information.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A closer look at the rankings...

Kind of a rough week in the rankings. Thornton, H-F, Oak Park and Hales were all kicked out. They are all talented teams and will probably return quickly, but Conant, Fenwick, Jacobs and Morgan Park all deserve recognition for fabulous Thanksgiving weeks.

RISING

Loyola, from 8 to 5: Ramblers have dominated so far at Mundelein.

Hillcrest, from 16 to 6: Had the best week of any team in the state,
beating H-F and Bloom.

Proviso East, from 15 to 10: Creamed East Aurora and nearly beat St.
Joseph.

T.F. North, from 18 to 12: Beat Hyde Park, Westinghouse and Prospective.

Batavia, from 19 to 15: Beat Addison Trail, Aurora Christian and St.
Francis.

Lockport, from 20 to 16: Beat Romeoville, Joliet Catholic and
Plainfield Central.

Warren, from 23 to to 17: Beat Fremd, Bartlett and Waukegan.

Curie, from 22 to 18: Beat Jacksonville, Austin and lost by two
points to Peoria Richwoods in overtime.

Leo, from 25 to 29: Beat H-F, Sandburg and Bowen. Lost to Bloom.

Being the first week, a number of teams got bumped up that didn’t
play, because other teams lost: Crane, Von Steuben, Young and Farragut.

FALLING

Bloom, from 5 to 9: Lost to Hillcrest, beat Leo and Sandburg and Bowen.

Lincoln Park, from 10 to 13: Lost to Duncanville, Texas and Phoenix
St. Mary’s, beat Champaign Central.

West Aurora, from 6 to 23: Beat United Township and Rock Island, lost
to Rock Island Alleman.

KICKED OUT

Thornton: Lost to Conant

Homewood-Flossmoor: Lost to Hillcrest and Leo

Oak Park: Lost to Evanston

Hales: Lost to St. Rita.

NEW ADDITIONS:

Conant: Beat Thornton

Fenwick: Beat St. Patrick

Jacobs: Beat Quincy, Collinsville and Centralia

Morgan Park: Won St. Rita Tournament

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Wheaton Warrenville South's Purdue-bound running back Dan Dierking, who will lead the Tigers against Mount Carmel in the Class 8A title game on Saturday at 4 (Ch. 50) was one of the "Faces in the Crowd" in this week's Sports Illustrated.

SI also gave props to the Chicago Sun-Times for selecting Dierking as the 2006 Player of tthe Year

Posted by Steve Tucker at 10:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The top player in the class of 2010 has given an oral commitment to Bruce Weber...

After his massive 34 point, 21 rebound game against Aldon-Hebron, Weber apparently didn't waste any time in offering Jereme Richmond. Richmond, a 6-5 freshman at North Shore Country Day, gave an oral commitment to Weber on Wednesday.

"When Bruce Weber said he's gonna change his recruitment, he sure wasn't kidding," Roy Schmidt of Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye said. "Skill-wise, Richmond is one of the top five players in the state regardless of class."

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

The first test of the season for the Blazing Trojans...

I doubt anyone in the state thinks as highly of Bloom as I do. I love watching Larry Dumas play, he reminds me of some of the tough Joliet players I grew up watching, guys like Richard Terry and Joel House.

Jamal Daniel, Bloom's junior point guard, is a real sleeper. H-F's Kevin Dillard was the only young player in the south suburbs who played better last season. It'll be interesting to see just how much Daniel has improved over the summer.

Leo is loaded with size and talent. They never really put it together last season. Tonight will be a real chance for them to prove they will be a force this season.

Last night turned into "Upset Tuesday." I wasn't real surprised by Conant beating Thornton. The Cougars are well coached and have a lot of skiled, experienced players. This isn't the same Thornton team that's been around the past few years — Joevan Catron will be missed more than any other graduated senior in the state.

St. Rita over Hales was a shocker. Last season, I was very impressed with Hales sophomore team. I didn't think they'd struggle much when promoted to varsity. Kudos to Rob Sarmiento, the new St. Rita coach. He got himself on the map pretty quickly.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 02:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Freshman phenom Jereme Richmond lived up to all the hype in his varsity debut...

North Shore Country day defeated Alden-Hebron 54-37.

Richmond, a 6-5 freshman, scored 34 points and grabbed 21 rebounds.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Hales and Thornton both fall...

A quick update from tonight...

Tournament host St. Rita upset Hales Franciscan 55-51 behind Kyle Smith's 26 points and Conant beat Thornton 55-51. Mustapha Farrakhan scored 15 for the Wildcats.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Young and talented Zion-Benton crushes the Eagles...

Just got back from Lane where Brooks went down 78-43. It was close for about a quarter. The Eagles began the game disciplined and focused, but as soon as Zion-Benton went on a run, everything fell apart.

Head doesn't have a lot of talent to work with. Terrence Jordan, a 6-3 senior, scored 17 points. He's athletic, but very raw. The team wasn't necessarily making terrible decisions, they just aren't very good shooters.

“I knew coming into this situation that it would be a process of teaching,� Head said. “The most important thing is that we keep getting better."

Zion-Benton's star, sophomore Markus Yarbrough, didn't play. Apparently he's serving a suspension from school. He's expected to play tomorrow against Evanston.

The Zee-Bee's are very young and talented. Despite the fact that this was their first game, it's probably the best Zion-Benton team I've seen. Keep an eye on sophomores Quintrell Love (14 points) and Ronald Steward (10 points).

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Simeon falls one vote short of being the unanimous preseason #1 team. Someone voted for Thornwood...

CLASS AA PRESEASON AP POLL

1. Simeon (13) 233
2. St. Joseph 187
3. Marshall 161
4. Peoria Richwoods 148
5. Thornwood (1) 147
6. Lincoln Park 131
7. Loyola 119
8. Washington 103
9. West Aurora 101
10. Decatur Eisenhower 98
11. Crane 58
12. Homewood-Flossmoor 49
13. Warren 40
14. Bloom 33
15. (tie) Thornton 31
15. Von Steuben 31

Others receiving votes: Champaign Central, Alton, Bloomington, Rockford
Boylan, East Moline United Township, Edwardsville, Schaumburg, T.F. North,
Proviso East, Lincoln, Hales Franciscan, East St. Louis, Leo, Rock Falls,
Young, Peoria Manual, T.F. South, Farragut, Carbondale, Bloomington,
Hillcrest, Lockport, Batavia.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tonight I'll be heading to Lane to watch Brooks and Zion-Benton...

Neither team is ranked, but it will be fun to watch a Chris Head coached team again. I'm not sure if Brooks has any talent, but I'm sure Head will find a way to make them competitive. Zion-Benton has Marcus Yarbrough, a 6-7 sophomore. I haven't seen him play yet, but most recruiting analysts say he's a top 20 player in the 2009 class, so I'm sure he's worth a look.

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

As you probably saw in today's paper, we've got Simeon No. 1, followed by Marshall, St. Joseph, Thornwood and Bloom. Here's what some other sources have to say...

Joe Henrickson's City/Suburban Hoops Report checks in with the following top 5: Simeon, St. Joe's, Loyola, Lincoln Park and Marshall.

Henrickson's preseason preview is available now. The City/Suburban Hoops Report is a revelation. If you're reading this blog, I guarantee you'd enjoy it. The Report is high school team, not recruiting based, and Henrickson has a certain knack for noticing up and coming suburban teams before most of us do.

Subscriptions are $25. You can email Joe for more information: hoopsreport@yahoo.com

Our friends over at Illinois Prep-Bulls Eye have also released their extensive Top 45 rankings. Simeon is No. 1, followed by Marshall, St. Joe's, Decatur Eisenhower and Lincoln Park.

Check out the entire list at www.ilprepbullseye.com

Posted by Michael O'Brien at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's what Mustapha had to say Tuesday afternoon...

"It came down to Ilinois and Virginia and in the end I wanted to play in the ACC," Farrakhan said.

Roy Schmidt of Illinois Prep Bulls-Eye's take:

"It's a good fit for (Virginia coach Dave) Leitao because he was able to swoop in at the last second and land a kid that has p