Lake County boys basketball holiday preview
The hottest boys basketball team in Lake County is headed to one of the state’s perennially competitive holiday tournaments.
Warren, ranked No. 7 in the most recent Class 4A Associated Press state poll, was 11-1 to start the week and had won 8 ballgames in a row.
The Blue Devils open play in the 16-team 62nd annual Proviso West Holiday Tournament Dec. 27 against Chicago Perspectives.
Freshman Jaxson Davis leads Warren in scoring at 17.2 points per game, while junior Javerion Banks is at 13.2 points and senior Alex Daniels is at 10.7 points and 4.9 rebounds.
“Proviso West is a good tournament with a strong field,” Warren coach Zack Ryan said.
At Jacobs
Grayslake Central, winners of 6 of 7 to stand at 6-3 overall to start the week, heads to Algonquin to play in the Hinkle Holiday Classic. Central is the No. 5 seed in the 16-team spread, opening against Bartlett Saturday.
Junior Xavi Granville leads the Rams at 18 points, 7 rebounds and 2 steals, while senior Jayden Hall averages a team-best 3 assists. Eric Brum has been an elite on-ball defender, coach Brian Centella said.
“The Hinkle Holiday Classic is an extremely well-run tournament,” Centella noted. “It is a great opportunity to challenge ourselves against some solid competition. We look forward to competing in it again.”
Lake Zurich also is part of the Algonquin Jacobs Hinkle Classic. Coach Terry Coughlin’s team was 7-3 overall, winners of 3 in a row and 7 of its last 8. Lake Zurich is the No. 2 seed and plays Prairie Ridge Saturday. Junior Anton Strelnikov averages 17 points, while Nick Popovic averages 13 points and 4 assists, while shooting 50 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line.
“Jacobs has a competitive field and will be fun to play teams and programs from the area we do not typically compete against in the regular season or postseason,” Coughlin said. “(Jacobs coach) Jimmy Roberts is a Lake Zurich alum and it will be nice to make the connection between our programs.”
Coughlin said his squad is battle-tested heading into Hinkle. “Our team has played a ton of close games and I believe it will serve us extremely well,” he said. “We are starting to figure out how to finish games. We are very efficient offensively and play at a fun pace, but will have to get better and more consistent defensively if we are going to reach our potential this year.”
The Lake County invasion at Jacobs also includes 6-5 Grant, which started the week having won five of its last seven and stood at 3-1 in Northern Lake County play. Grant is the No. 8 seed and plays South Elgin Saturday.
Junior Landon Enters leads Grant in scoring at 13.3 points. The Bulldogs force 18 turnovers per game. Coach Wayne Bosworth also is thrilled with the play of Josh Cox off the bench. He’s shooting 72 percent from 2.
“Jacobs is a great tournament with a lot of very good teams,” Bosworth said. “We are just beginning to turn a corner at this point and still have a lot of room for improvement. We’re looking forward to a great holiday tournament.”
At Collinsville
Mundelein will make the trek way south for Christmas to the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic. “It’s a very strong tournament,” Mundelein coach Matt Badgley said.
Mundelein opens with Belleville Althoff on Dec. 27 and would meet either Quincy or Oakville (Missouri) in its second game. Host Collinsville is ranked No. 10 in the most recent Associated Press Class 4A state poll.
The Mustangs were 3-7 overall to start the week and have been led by the likes of juniors Derek Bishop (20 points per game) and Evan Salvador (15 points per game) along with senior Vinny Rogalski (4 assists).
“We are undersized in most games while playing a strong schedule,” Badgley noted. “The boys play hard. We have many players with inexperience learning the varsity game. It takes time, but the kids are engaged and are determined to get there.”
At Maine East
Vernon Hills (4-6) is headed to Maine East where it opens play Dec. 27. Senior Dylan Chung averages 12.2 points a game for the Cougars. Junior Anthony Morgan averages 5.1 rebounds, while Anthony Martorano is at 2.7 assists. “We are looking forward to a very competitive tournament,” Cougars coach Matt McCarty said.
Leyden is the No. 1 seed there, while 7-3 host Maine East is in Vernon’s half of the bracket. Maine East recently beat Niles Notre Dame in the road.
Vernon Hills senior guard Bryce Drexler has been cleared to do work in practice after dislocating his shoulder in the third game of the year. “We have missed him,” McCarty said. “I consider him a glue guy on our team. He does a lot of little things well. We are hoping to have him back 100 percent for the tournament.”
Grayslake North, the No. 7 seed, faces Chicago Butler College Prep on Dec. 27 at Maine East. Junior point guard Jayden Hunt averages 18 points, while sophomore forward Uros Mitrovic has emerged as a consistent offensive threat, averaging 14 points and shooting 37 percent from 3 for the Knights.
“We are looking forward to some competitive games in the tournament as our focus right now in the season is trying to improve with each game, specifically on the defensive end,” Knights coach Josh Feinzimer said. “We’ve made strides on that front and I am really proud of the effort and hard work the players are putting in every day.”
Also at Maine East, Round Lake opens against Leyden on Dec. 27. Senior Cameron Hundley averages 5.7 points and junior JJ Jones is at 4.8 points for the Panthers (0-10).
“Although our team is off to a down start this year, we have been improving and getting better every game,” Round Lake coach Jack Hansa said. “We are looking to continue to do that and compete against every team we play this upcoming holiday tournament.”
At Hinsdale Central
Stevenson (4-4) will truck down to Hinsdale Central, facing Rockford Auburn in its Dec. 27 opener. Senior Jack Dabbs averages 12.8 points, while junior Atticus Richmond is at 12.5 points. Junior Aidan Bardic is at 12.1 points and sophomore Rocco Pagliocca averages 10 points.
“This is my 14th year as a head coach and I have never had three guys average double figures in points, let alone four, so the balance is something we hope to continue to build off,” Patriots coach Will Benson said.
Benson added Stevenson also has four players who have drained 10 or more 3s.
“We are a work in progress,” he said. “We have a lot of new faces to varsity basketball. Aidan and Jack are really the only two who saw significant minutes last year. When you combine that with it being year one with me and a difficult schedule and I think we have our best basketball ahead of this. Hinsdale Central is very difficult, so we will continue to get challenged.”
At Wheeling
Antioch (4-5 overall and 4-0 in Northern Lake County action) is at Wheeling for the holidays, opening on Wed. Dec. 27 against Neuqua Valley. The Sequoits have won four of their last five.
Senior Carter Webb averages 13 points, while junior Jack Majerowski is shooting 45 percent from 3 and junior Teddi Wetu is hitting 78 percent of his throws.
“Wheeling is going on year 45,” Antioch coach Sean Connor said. “It is a diverse field of 4A and 3A schools from the south, west and north suburbs, private and public. Glenbrook North will be the favorite, but every team has multiple scoring threats, and there are a variety of styles of offenses and defenses that make this tournament tough to prepare for.”
Lakes update
Lakes is not in a holiday tournament and started the week 4-9 overall and 2-2 in Northern Lake County action. Seniors Jimmy Kania and Thomas Mercure each average 12.2 points. JJ Jackson has 66 assists (5 per game), while Provide Matumona averages 8 rebounds and had a 10-point, 14-board performance against North Chicago.
“We are making strides,” Lakes coach Chris Snyder said. “We have played a very challenging schedule and this has shown us where we need to improve in order to become the team we think we can be. The guys are doing everything we ask of them and showing up every day ready to go. We’ll continue to focus on daily improvement as we move into the second half of the season.”