This is said to be the oldest holiday tournament in the United States. This is the 91st edition. The local fans really support the event and the hospitality is second to none. A great representation of teams from all parts of the state. It has an overwhelming favorite but a deep bunch of threes who could break through. Here we go:
FAVORITE: Simeon Career Academy (Chicago): Top ranked team in the Chicago Area and second ranked in the state overall. The floor general 5'9" point guard Jalen Griffith to me is the early favorite for the prestigious AC Williamson award. Controls the tempo and pace for the Wolverines. Senior twins Miles (Loyola Chicago commit) and Wes (Northern Iowa commit) are 6'9 monsters protecting the paint and stepping out to hit jumpers. Wing players Sam Lewis (6'6" wing Toledo commit) and Kaiden Space (6'0" Stony Brook commit) provide outside shooting from three. Senior center Steve Turner (6'10") comes off the bench at the 4 and 5 spots.
SECOND FAVORITE: West (Joliet): Third ranked West have the Fears brothers (senior Michigan State commit Jeremy Jr (6'2") and sophomore Jeremiah (6'1")) as leaders. They can provide scoring from all areas of the court, passing, and leadership. The excellent third guard is 6'2" junior Justin McNair. When you have great guards you have a shot. The bigs senior Matthew Moore (6'9" senior), and Drew King (6'9"junior) will need excellent tournaments to win it.
DARKHORSE: Benet Academy (Lisle): Fourth ranked team just went 3-0 in Arizona and are undefeated coming in. They don't have superstars, they have solid players who know how to play their role. The key to taking the tournament is John Hopkins commit senior point guard Brayden Fagbemi(6'0"). He knows how to control tempo and can hit jumpers in all area of the court. Senior wings Brady Kunka (6'3") can fill it up from outside, and Niko Abusara (6'6") is a slasher who can finish with a dunk on defenders. Junior forward Parker Sulaver (6'6") will have to give them rebounding and interior defense.
New Trier (Winnetka): They have had big leads on Simeon the last couple of years but have lost the lead not being able to handle the press. Let's see if they are better at it this year? They have senior point guard University of Chicago soccer commit Evan Kanellos (6'0") running the show. Also feature the best shooter in the state Cornell commit Jake Feagin (6'4" wing). They will need more production from Williams commit Tyler Van Gorp (6'10" forward) on the interior to pull the surprise and win the tournament.
UNKNOWN QUANTITY: Bloom Township (Chicago Heights): Talented combination of experience (senior guards Jordan Brown (6'3") and Raeshom Harris (6'4)) and youth (sophomore guard Elijah Lovemore(6'3"). Will need senior forward Jayden Watson (6'8") to man the interior.
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