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Since the Illinois High School Association has given us four (class) play in basketball, doesn't it seem a little curious that the three largest state champions from last season -- Richards (4A), Marshall (3A) and North Lawndale (2A) -- are all in the same class just one year later.
All three schools are in Class 3A. Just wondering if enrollments changed that much in such a short time

Simeon

Former NBA standout Sonny Parker, who played at Farragut, said that his eighth grade son Jabari will enroll at Simeon in the fall

Word is that a stress fracture in his back will sideline Schaumburg;s Alabama-bound guard Cully Payne for six to eight weeks

Zion-Benton, which finished second in Class 4A in March, signed a contract to play at the Jacobs Holiday Classic in 2009.

Z-B, which played at Proviso West last month, will replace Marian Central Catholic in the Jacobs' field.

From the CPS Holiday Classic at DePaul

Phoenix knocks off Farragut 70-62 as Terry Johnson scored 26 and J. Mills has 16 points and 18 boards

Already a half hour behind and that's after only one game

Three techs on players and it seemed like 1,000 free throws

Marshall has an 18-point lead in the third quarter but Eriq Harris went down with an ankle and didn't return
A box-and-one in the second half by Foreman slowed down Marshall star Darius Smith

Foreman coach Terrance Head after the game said "[Smith] already has my vote for Player of the Year."

Foreman rallies for a dramatic three-point win, scoring four points in the last 17 seconds -- a baseline jumper Tommy Woolridge gave the Hornets the led, then two free throws with 0.2 seconds to play put it away

After Crane beat Payton for the consolation title, Farragut knocked off Marshall 61-53
Harris didn't play

The title game in coming up on ME-TV (Ch 23 or 223 if you have Comcast digital)

Perhaps it's the new math, but I just arrived at DePaul for the last five games of the Chicago Public League's Boys Holiday Classic.

The first Christmas tournament games I attended were back on Dec. 20th
That would make this is 15th day of Christmas.

In the first overtime in the Big Dipper in 20 years

A three-pointer by Jamal Gray with 46 second to play gave Thornton a 71-69 play
Sumter goes to the line with 29 second to play and makes two to tie the game
Thornton calls time with nine seconds left in OT
Reggie Smith flys to the basket and scores with three second to go 73-71 Thornton
Final

Thornton had four players in double figures and Rich East had three

Rich South got 30 from Morse and upset Leo 68-64 in the third-pace game

First game for Waukegan (8-0, 3-0 Central Suburban South) since taking over as No. 1 in Michael O'Brien's Super 25 Monday

The Bulldogs came out on top 59-53 in a game in which neither team was up by more than five until the last two minutes

Despite some serious foul trouble Jereme Richmond led the way with 20 points for Waukegan, Colin Nickerson had 13 and Quan Conner 11
Sean Stanley led the Trevians with 19 points, Fred Heldring added 13 and Alex Rossi 11

Before the game I had a chance to chat with Waukegan coach Ron Askew
He told me that his team "was playing the way people didn't think Waukegan could play -- sharing the ball and playing together."
I agree
I've watched Waukegan play basketball for 45 years, since I was a high school freshman
This team is for real and should make a statement to the state at Pontiac

And I agree with OB
Save an unbelievable performance against Thornton by Simeon's Jeremy Jones, JR is the best player I've seen

Pairings for the 78th Annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament which runs Dec. 29-31:

8 am: Joliet vs. Curie
9:30 am: Simeon vs. West Aurora
1 pm: Lockport vs. Bloomington
2:30 pm: Warren vs. Niles West
4 pm: Plainfield North vs. United Twp.
6:30 pm: Waukegan vs. Danville
8 pm: Schaumburg vs. Pontiac
9:30 pm: Manual vs. Oak Park

If you've never visited the Pontiac Tournament, I would highly recommend it. The atmosphere and style of basketball is quite a bit different from Proviso West or the Big Dipper. Pontiac is about an hour and forty minutes from Chicago, straight down I-55. And for those who can't attend in person the semi finals will be broadcast live on Comcast SportsNet Chicago at 1pm on Dec. 31.

Freshman sensation Malcolm Hill-Bey is in street clothes as the No. 10 Caravan warms up for a 7:30 game at Fenwick.

Haven't heard yet what the reason is. He looks healthy, so it could be a grades issue...

UPDATE: It's an ankle problem. Mount Carmel coach Mike Flaherty expects him to be back soon.

Here are the pairings for the Proviso West Tournament, in bracket order:

St. Joseph vs. Homewood-Flossmoor
Young vs. Proviso East
Glenbrook North vs. Hillcrest
Morton vs. Von Steuben
Foreman vs. Fenwick
Proviso West vs. New Trier
Zion-Benton vs. TF North
Evanston vs. St. Patrick

A couple points:

-It is very likely that round two will feature two recent rematches, Young vs. H-F (which is happening Sunday night) and Evanston vs. Zion-Benton (which happened last week). Isn't the whole point of holiday tournaments to see games we don't get to see during the rest of the season? Something should have been done to make sure that half of the second round wasn't a rerun.

-I understand that Proviso West is the host, but matching them up against New Trier in the first round really weakens the bottom half of the bracket.

Big Dipper pairings:

Rich East vs. Hales
Seton vs. Morgan Park
Thornton vs. Rich Central
Leo vs. Marian Catholic
Bolingbrook vs. Fenger
Bloom vs. Shepard
Lincoln Park vs. Rich South
Crete-Monee vs. Tinley Park

-The second round should be a blockbuster, with possible matchups of Thornton-Leo and Bolingbrook-Bloom. I'd recommend taking in the first round at Proviso West and then heading to Rich South on the 27th. Overall, Proviso West has five ranked teams and the Big Dipper has seven, although three other Proviso West teams (Hillcrest, St. Joseph, Evanston) were ranked in the pre-season.

Here are the matchups this weekend
Five games each day AT DIFFERENT VENUES

SATURDAY
At Attack Athletics
Farragutvs. Hillcrest, 1:30
Von Steuben vs. Richwoods, 3
Marshall vs. New Trier, 4:30
Curie vs. Seton,6
North Lawndale vs. Mount Carmel, 7:30

SUNDAY
At Chicago State
Crane vs. Payton, 1:30
Hyde Park vs. T.F. North, 3
Brooks vs. Glenbrook North, 4:30
Simeon vs. Thornton, 6
Young vs. Homewood-Flossmoor, 7:30