Hoops Showdown to feature 4 area teams
Four area boys basketball teams have been chosen to participate in next season's 12th annual High School Hoops Showdown tripleheader at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates.
The Saturday showcase, which will be held on Jan. 17, 2009, will start at 4:30 p.m. with a Mid-Suburban West showdown between Conant and Barrington. Two-time defending MSL champion Conant returns Daily Herald All-Area guard Tony Rizzo, and Barrington has a strong core of returning players led by 6-foot-7 junior Mack Darrow.
The 6:30 p.m. game features two successful teams with excellent fan bases in Schaumburg and Jacobs. Schaumburg, which lost to Zion-Benton in the Class 4A sectional finals, returns DePaul recruit Cully Payne, who was a Daily Herald All-Area pick and the MSL West player of the year. Last season Jacobs won its first regional title since 1998 and has 6-6 junior standout and All-Area pick Conrad Krutwig back.
The tripleheader concludes with an 8:30 p.m. game featuring defending 2A champion North Lawndale from the Chicago Public League and perennial state powerhouse St. Joseph. North Lawndale will be led by 6-5 forward Jonathan Mills and St. Joseph, with legendary coach Gene Pingatore closing in on the boys state record for career victories of 826 by Dick Van Scyoc, is coming off an East Suburban Catholic Conference title with 6-3 Wisconsin recruit Diamond Taylor leading the way.
Pairings for the 14th annual City-Suburban Showdown at Northwestern's Welsh-Ryan Arena are expected to be announced in the next week.