Plenty of changes to tournament lineup

Get your scorecards ready. Some changes have arrived for the holiday boys basketball tournament season in DuPage County.

Between the end of the Waubonsie Valley tournament last season and the debut of the Hinsdale South tourney this season, there’s been a bunch of movement in the past year.

Here’s a rundown of what area teams can expect in next week’s holiday tournaments.

38th annual Jack Tosh Holiday Classic (Tuesday through Friday):Defending champion Downers Grove South (7-1), led by the backcourt of Jerron Wilbut and Jamall Millison, returns to York as the second seed behind De La Salle (7-1). Depth again strengthens the field with the return of teams like St. Ignatius, but the big boost comes from newcomers.Waubonsie Valley (6-3) and Naperville North (6-2), the fourth and fifth seeds, join the group after the Warriors ended their annual tournament after last year.Waubonsie Valley, with standout junior guard Jared Brownridge, faces a tough first-round matchup against Lyons Twp., last season#146;s runner-up, while the Huskies play Kenwood.#147;The first couple of teams are really, really good, and then after that it#146;s wide open,#148; said Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer. #147;For us we#146;re new, so we#146;re the rookies. We#146;re just trying to try to go in and do the best we can.#148;Other area teams include St. Francis, Wheaton Warrenville South and York.10th annual Glenbard West Holiday Classic (Tuesday through Friday):After Wheaton Academy ruled the field the last two years, it may be time for the host Hilltoppers to reclaim their title behind Michael and Matthew Mache. Glenbard West enters with a 6-0 record but needs to shake off the rust of an 18-day layoff. Newcomer St. Charles East (5-3) and Purdue-bound Kendall Stephens could face the Hilltoppers in Friday#146;s title game.#147;It#146;ll probably be the best lineup we#146;ve had from top to bottom,#148; said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder. #147;When you bring in a team like St. Charles East, obviously you#146;ll be improved.#148;Addison Trail, Fenton, Timothy Christian, West Chicago, Wheaton Academy are the other area representatives.51st annual Proviso West Holiday Tournament (Tuesday through Friday):Benet (10-1) attempts to defend its title with a drastically different team that#146;s off to a tremendous start behind 6-foot-8 sophomore Sean O#146;Mara. Pat McInerney is the lone returning starter, but he#146;s out with a broken wrist. Former East Suburban Catholic Conference rival St. Joseph and Reggie Johnson, committed to Tennessee State, are the Redwings#146; first-round challenge.#147;Last year our goal was to win the tournament and we were fortunate to get that one,#148; said Redwings coach Gene Heidkamp. #147;This year we#146;ll just take it game by game and try to get better.#148;Hinsdale Central (5-2) opens with Morgan Park (3-2), one of the many teams at Proviso West that entered the season state-ranked. The top four seeds are Proviso East, with Sterling Brown and St. Louis-bound Keith Carter, Rockford Auburn with Wichita State recruit Fred VanFleet, Glenbrook North and Homewood-Flossmoor. New Trier and Connor Boehm, committed to Dartmouth, is another ranked team expected to contend for the title. Hinsdale South Holiday Tournament (Tuesday through Friday):The brainchild of Hornets coach Vince Doran, the inaugural 16-team tournament makes a big splash at Hinsdale South. Drawing teams that played at a variety of other tournaments in the past, it#146;s a diverse and talented field.Metea Valley (9-0) and Kenny Obendorf stand as the top seed ahead of Schaumburg, Brother Rice and Minooka. The host Hornets, led by 6-8 Brock Benson, are the eighth seed.#147;I think it#146;s a very good field,#148; said Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza, whose team opens with Eisenhower. #147;There are some good teams here, and if we play well we#146;ll get to see those teams and it#146;ll be an interesting matchup for us.#148;Downers Grove North and Wheaton North also play at Hinsdale South.34th annual Wheeling Wildcat Hardwood Classic (Tuesday through Friday):Lake Park (8-1) and Naperville Central (5-3) return to Wheeling in hopes of unseating Notre Dame (9-2) as the defending champion. This could be one of the deepest fields in years thanks to the emergence of the Lancers, St. Viator (10-0) and Stevenson (7-1).#147;There#146;s eight teams that could win it,#148; said Lake Park coach Josh Virostko. #147;The tournament is loaded, and if we play Notre Dame in the second game, then you know how tough the tourney#146;s going to be.#148;The Lancers, led by Dominique Spencer, open against Deerfield. Naperville Central and sophomore center Nick Czarnowski play Carmel.State Farm Holiday Classic (Tuesday through Friday): Glenbard East (5-2) and returning starter Dante Bailey are back in Normal for a second straight year on the heels of last season#146;s runner-up finish in the Large School division. The sixth-seeded Rams face Mahomet-Seymour in the first round with a possible second-round game looming against No. 3 Hononegah. North Chicago#146;s the top seed with Illinois State-bound Aaron Simpson followed by North Lawndale. Normal University is the fourth seed led by 6-7 sophomore Keita Bates-Diop.#147;It#146;s good for us to go down there because we get to see some different styles,#148; said Rams coach Scott Miller. #147;Obviously, we#146;re going in expecting to win it. But honestly, we#146;re just trying to get better.#148;Romeoville Christmas Classic (Monday through Thursday):This is a revamped version of the Lemont tournament with its split brackets of small and large schools. Many teams differ from the Lemont field, however, including Glenbard South and Willowbrook. The Raiders open with Reavis and Willowbrook plays Hubbard.Immaculate Conception/Westmont Christmas Tournament (Monday through Thursday):The host Knights (8-0) picked the perfect time to host their own tournament, one that will be shared with Westmont with a bracket at each of the two sites.Immaculate Conception, which bounced between Luther North, Plainfield North and Waubonsie Valley the past several years, is an instant favorite to win the title on its home court. 49th annual Plano Christmas Classic (Monday through Friday):Lisle (3-8) is back for the Reapers#146; legendary tournament in a field loaded with seven Interstate Eight Conference rivals among the group of 24 teams. The top eight seeds #8212; headed in order by Rockford Christian, Yorkville, Kaneland and Aurora Christian #8212; receive first-round byes. The Lions are the 22nd seed and play Burlington Central in the first round. The winner of that game faces No. 6 Streator. Third annual Bulldog Christmas Classic (Wednesday and Thursday):Montini (3-2) returns to St. Anthony High School in Effingham with a much-improved team. It#146;s a whirlwind two days for the Broncos, who play St. Anthony and Robinson on Wednesday. After facing Sullivan Thursday morning to finish round-robin bracket play, fifth-seeded Montini will cross over later in the day against a team from the other four-team bracket.