It was a good time in Champaign, the last two games of the tournament made it worth the trip. Here we go:
Attendance:
It was disappointing except for the Catholic schools who's students came out in full force. Brother Rice crazies showed up and showed out. Togas for the title game!!!!! Took their shirts off for the fourth quarter in semifinals vs St Patrick. My suggestion is to have the Class 3A and 4A state finals in Chicago Area. The UIC Supersectional was packed with fans. IHSA would make more money and the local fan bases would show up and show out. Or.....
Have semifinals local:
Texas did that this year with great success. Duncanville vs Allen Class 6A Semifinal sold out in 30 minutes played in the DFW Metroplex. Ohio has something similar as does California.
Jaxson Davis of Warren Township (Gurnee) is SPECIAL!!!!:
As I predicted showed the state how good he is. Thing is he played sick the entire weekend and still showed out. Almost led this team all the way back from 9 point deficit in fourth quarter of Class 4A title game but came up 1 point short. Gathered some Mr Basketball votes but will be hard for a sophomore no matter how special he is. Nobody stood out this season to separate themselves during the year, so might see history in the making.
So is Tyjuan Hunter of Hope Academy (Chicago):
He's listed at 5'7". The junior point guard may be more like 5'5"but dominated the Class 1A State Finals. Made it here last year but they did not finish how they wanted. This time they take the title in dominant fashion. Title game vs Eastland (Lanark) he took over scoring in the third quarter. Then decided he'd take over with his passing. He was one assist from the state finals record. Dominated the semifinal also vs St Anthony (Effingham). Had double/double's (points/assists) in both games. Best player i've seen under 5'10" since Tyler Ulis at Marian Catholic (Chicago Heights), McDonald's All-American who ended up playing in the NBA.
Ronnie Fields FINALLY gets his title:
Hope Academy (Chicago) Head Coach gets the Class 1A state title in his second year of coaching. He made it here last year in his first year. He was a McDonald's All-American as a player at Farragut Academy (Chicago). Made it to the Elite 8 (at the time 8 schools advanced to State Finals), but lost in an upset to Thornton Township (Harvey) in 1995. Congrats King of Bounce.
Gene Heidkamp FINALLY gets his title:
Fourth time in title game is the charm for the Head Coach of Benet Academy (Lisle). He took teams to the title game in 2014,2016, and 2023 without success. I said last year in April that Benet would win a state title in the next three years. This was before star Gabe Sularski left for Lemont. I stuck to my prediction and didn't back down. Glad they did it as I saw the young talent in the program. Something told me they would break through. Coach Heidkamp is too good a coach to not win it at some point. Congrats Coach, players, and fans of the Redwings. I guess I spoke it into existence.
Recliner Boys came oh so close.......
Brother Rice (Chicago) was not expected to do much (at least according to me smh). I thought they lost too much to make a run. Citadel commit Marcos Gonzales, Caden Workman, KJ Morris had other ideas. They added Jack Weigus from Hinsdale South (Darien), and they were off and running. Lost the Class 3A title game in double overtime.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE HEART OF A CHAMPION:
Those words were spoken by Houston Rockets Head Coach Rudy Tomjanovich after they won a back to back title after a slog of a regular season. These words apply to DePaul College Prep (Chicago) after they were left for dead in the fourth quarter down 9 points vs Brother Rice (Chicago). They came back and forced overtime on three free throws from junior Rykan Woo to tie the game. They won it in two overtimes for their third straight title and second straight in Class 3A (won the first one in 2A before moving up (Western Illinois commit Makai Kvamme has three rings as does Robert Walls II, Jonas Johnson, and Gus Donohue). Joins Peoria Manual (4 straight) , Simeon Career Academy (Chicago) (4 straight) and Orr Academy (Chicago) (should have been 4 straight (COVID)) with at least three straight titles. Also......
DePaul College Prep (Chicago) is the fourth school to win football/basketball state titles in the same school year joining Carlyle (1988-1989) Maroa Forsyth (2006-2007) and Stevenson (Lincolnshire) (2014-2015) in achieving that feat.
Althoff (Belleville) almost joined them:
They came close getting to the title game but lost to Dyett (Chicago) whom won their first title ever in their first appearance in the state finals. The school almost closed in 2015 but a community effort with a hunger strike kept it open.
Dyett (Chicago) is the epitome of team:
No big time superstars on the team, they have a balance of scoring threats. Semifinal win over Manual (Peoria) they had five players score between 8 and 11 points. Senior Jayden McKinnon and Ricky Coleman took star turns in the title game offensively. Their team defense is what won them the title as they shut down teams at all 5 positions on the court.
Christ The King College Prep (Chicago) makes first appearance in state finals. The school on the West Side had talented teams the last two years but couldn't get over the hump. This team lead by Darien Green, Aramis Currin, and Aaron McClure finished third in Class 2A.
Evanston Township was counted out by a lot of people at the start of the season (not me). I went to one of their early open gyms and wrote they had a shot at getting to the state finals. https://tim1coleman.wixsite.com/website/post/open-gym-run-evanston-township. I also had them ranked in the preseason. Transfers Kaidan Chatham (Niles North (Skokie) and George Richardson (DePaul College Prep) fit in with returnees Theo Rocca (Washington University St Louis commit), Ian Peters, and Vito Rocca. They came in third in Class 4A. Richardson had 17 points 8 rebounds and 5 steals in third place game vs Rich Township (Richton Park).
INJURIES AND HEALTH ISSUES DERAIL RICH TOWNSHIP'S CHANCE AT A TITLE:
Rich Township (Richton Park) came in as one of the favorites in Class 4A. Big man Matthew LeSure was injured and didn't play at all this weekend. Junior star Jameson Coulter Jr played one minutes before having to leave and not return because of a health issue. Didn't play in the third place game. They still almost made it to the title game as Al Brooks Jr had a double/double in semifinals vs Warren Township (Gurnee).
Jayden Williams of Rich Township (Richton Park) showed the state he'll be a force to be reckoned with next season:
Junior combo guard showed out all weekend. He had 18 points (6/13 FG, 2/3 3pt) 4 rebounds in semifinal. Scored at all three levels in overtime loss to Evanston Township in third place game. Totaled 28 points (10/23 FG, 8-9 FT) in that game. Didn't play first two years of high school because he broke both legs one in freshman year, then the other his sophomore year. Great first full season of high school basketball.
BIG TIME ATHLETES FROM OTHER SPORTS COMPETED IN CHAMPAIGN:
Dierre Hill Jr, Althoff (Belleville): Oregon football recruit at running back, broke the state title game rushing record in Class 1A title game in Fall with 32 carries 438 rushing years, and 519 all purpose yards and 7 total touchdowns. Runs track too.
Cameron Appenzeller, Glenwood (Chatham): Possible Major League baseball first round draft pick as a left handed pitcher. 6'5" combo guard didn't have his best weekend scoring wise in Class 3A, but we could see him in a few years pitching on a major league mound. Said to have a fastball that tops at 95 MPH. Committed to Tennessee for baseball.
Brock Fearday, St Anthony (Effingham): Averaged a double/double in Class 1A state finals. 27 PPG and 13.5 RPG. Committed to Southwestern Illinois Junioor College as a third baseman/pitcher. Fastball said to top out at 88 MPH.
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