Another long weekend of high school basketball is in the books. I’ve now seen 21 of the 25 ranked teams play, so I have a much better handle on things.
The quick list of teams I’d say impressed me as better than I expected them to be in the preseason: Simeon, Joliet West, Benet, Hillcrest, St. Ignatius, Bloom, Lincoln-Way East, Hyde Park, Proviso East, Lemont.
Marist, Rolling Meadows, New Trier and Lyons are the four ranked teams I haven’t had a chance to cover yet.
Marist is the only team added this week. Oak Lawn falls out after losing to Evergreen Park and Hinsdale Central. The Spartans still have that big win over Mount Carmel on their resume though, so don’t forget about them.
A lot of the holiday tournament pairings were released over the weekend. Tomorrow I’ll post a story with everything I’ve seen so far. No word yet on Proviso West. It’s possible I will get the Big Dipper pairings tomorrow.
Super 25 for Dec. 11, 2022With record and last week’s ranking
1. Simeon (6-0) 1Playing in Arkansas next weekend
2. Kenwood (6-1) 2Lost in Atlanta
3. Joliet West (7-2) 3In Madison next weekend
4. St. Rita (4-3) 5Won at Brother Rice
5. Young (4-3) 4Went 1-2 in DC
6. Brother Rice (9-1) 6Knocked off Bloom
7. Benet (8-0) 8Hosts Marian Catholic Friday
8. Hillcrest (8-1) 9Played well vs. East St. Louis
9. St. Ignatius (7-1) 10Reggie Ray can play
10. New Trier (8-1) 18Beat Rolling Meadows
11. Mount Carmel (8-1) 17Took down Curie
12. Curie (7-3) 11Looking for a leader
13. Rolling Meadows (9-1) 7Fell short vs. Trevians
14. Glenbrook North (8-0) 12Patrick Schaller has emerged
15. Bolingbrook (6-1) 13Winning shorthanded
16. Bloom (5-2) 14Loaded with potential
17. Marian Catholic (7-2) 16Handled Evanston
18. Lincoln-Way East (7-1) 20Hosts Andrew Tuesday
19. Oswego East (8-1) 21Faces Curie Saturday
20. Lyons (6-0) 22Beat Glenbard West
21. Hyde Park (7-1) 23Takes on Romeoville Saturday
22. Proviso East (5-1) 24Knocked off De La Salle
23. Lemont (9-0) 25Castillo twins are dominating
24. Evanston (7-2) 19Searching for shooting
25. Marist (8-0) NRYoung and unbeaten