Scouting: Tri-Cities boys basketball holiday tournaments
Traveling is no violation when it comes to holiday boys basketball tournaments.
Whether near (Aurora Central Catholic heading 5 miles to East Aurora) or far (St. Charles North and West Aurora bound for Pontiac) the holiday tournaments are a season highlight offering unusual opponents, an in-season assessment and for some an historical perspective.
St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin called the Pontiac Holiday Tournament, now in its 84th year, "perfect."
"Everyone needs to go down and experience it, whether you just go watch," Poulin said. "But participating in it is right up there with any moment I've ever had in basketball as a player or a coach. It's because of the people - it really is because of the people of Pontiac and the people that put that tournament on."
Following are some who's, what's and wherefores of holiday tournaments Tri-Cities boys teams will visit to cap the first half of their seasons and send them into the new year.
DeKalb Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic, Dec. 22-23, 26-27.
The field: Belvidere, Belvidere North, DeKalb, Eisenhower, Glenbrook North, Hampshire, Harlem, Marmion, Moline, Mundelein, Rochelle, St. Charles East, Schurz, Sterling, West Chicago, Winnebago.
The favorites: St. Charles East, DeKalb.
The dark horses: Eisenhower, Glenbrook North.
The scoop: At 87 years the longest-running tournament in the state, the Chuck Dayton Classic and the host team itself got a boost when DeKalb hired Al Biancalana as its head varsity coach after a regime change at the University of Illinois-Chicago where he was an assistant. Biancalana's Barbs got off to a 5-1 start to snag the tournament's No. 2 seed behind 7-1 St. Charles East; top-four seeds include Moline and Glenbrook North. The defending champion, Hinsdale South, moved to the York tournament, and runner-up Belvidere is off to a middling start. St. Charles East opens Dec. 22 against Mundelein, a team Saints coach Pat Woods said due to losses against the likes of Stevenson and Warren, makes this not a typical game between a top seed and a 16th seed. Last year's fourth-place finisher, Marmion (4-3) has the unenviable task of opening against Eisenhower, which substitutes five at a time to foster an up-tempo pace where 100 points are the norm.
Quotable: "He's (Biancalana) a great, organized person and I have a feeling that DeKalb will be a good fit for us this year," said St. Charles East coach Patrick Woods, told in late May the Saints would not be invited back to a slimmed-down Proviso West tourney.
East Aurora Holiday Tournament, Dec. 26-27, 29-30.
The field: Aurora Central Catholic, East Aurora, Geneva, Lincoln-Way Central, Neuqua Valley, Noble College Prep, Urban Prep, Wheaton Academy.
The favorites: Geneva, Neuqua Valley.
The dark horse: East Aurora.
The scoop: The Tomcat tourney has had its ups and downs over 49 years as teams have flowed in and out, but the bottom line remains that there are few better places to watch high school basketball than the East Aurora gymnasium, especially in a playoff or tournament-title scenario. This year that title atmosphere may come as quickly as the third day when divisional foes Geneva (6-1) and Neuqua Valley (7-1) square off at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 29. Good news also is East Aurora itself starting to find itself again under veteran coach Wendell Jeffries. The Tomcats are but 2-5 but appear to have more in the tank than the team that went 7-20 last year. Aurora Central Catholic (3-3) is still probably a year away and will not benefit by being in the same division as Geneva and Neuqua. Brett Czerak, Matt Cowen and the Chargers open the tournament Friday against Geneva, which behind reigning MVP Nate Navigato defeated East Aurora for the 2013 title.
Quotable: "I'm assuming the championship is going to run through those two," ACC coach Nathan Drye said of Geneva and Neuqua Valley.
Plano Christmas Classic, Dec. 23, 26-27, 29-30.
The field: Aurora Christian, Burlington Central, Coal City, Dixon, Forreston, Genoa-Kingston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek, Kaneland, LaSalle-Peru, Lisle, Mendota, Morris, Newark, Ottawa, Plano, Princeton, St. Bede, Sandwich, Seneca, Somonauk, Streator, Wilmington, Yorkville.
The favorites: Dixon, Mendota.
The dark horses: Aurora Christian, Burlington Central.
The scoop: This gathering, in its 52nd year and growing from eight teams at its inception to its current 24, is one of the state's top small-school tournaments. Last season's champion, Ottawa, and runner-up, Morris, are lodged as the Nos. 9 and 6 seeds with unbeaten Dixon and 8-win Mendota earning the top two seeds. Dixon offers 6-7 Isaiah Roby, committed to Nebraska; Mendota returns James Carroll, who led all scorers in last year's tournament with a record 42 points in one game. Aurora Christian (5-1), featuring returning all-tournament forward R.D. Lutze, drew a No. 4 seed with Burlington Central earning a No. 3. Aurora Christian coach Pat McNamara believes up to nine teams could win it. His Eagles would be included should they cut their 15 turnovers a game. No. 14 seed Kaneland (1-6) opens against Indian Creek, which Aurora Christian beat 75-32.
Quotable: "Dixon, in my opinion, is kind of at a level above the other teams so far," Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. "They're playing at a really high level and a majority of their seniors are three-year starters."
Pontiac Holiday Tournament, Dec. 29-31.
The field: Benet, Bloom, Bloomington, Curie, Danville, Joliet West, Lockport, Niles West, Oak Park, Peoria Manual, Plainfield North, Pontiac, St. Charles North, Simeon, Warren, West Aurora.
The favorites: Simeon, Curie.
The dark horses: Plainfield North, West Aurora.
The scoop: As St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin noted some of the programs at the 84th Pontiac Holiday Tournament are consistently among the best in the state. Benet replaces Waukegan to add more west suburban heft. Defending champion Curie and runner-up Simeon, the 2010-12 winner, come in as Nos. 2-1 seeds. Simeon fields two players, D.J. Williams and 2013 Pontiac First-Team selection Ed Morrow, among ESPN's top 100 of the Class of 2015. Should West Aurora (5-3) get past Lockport in its opener and then the Oak Park-Peoria Manual winner, odds are the Blackhawks face Simeon. West Aurora placed fourth last year, was the 2012 runner-up to Simeon and won its sole Pontiac title in 1990. St. Charles North (5-4) opens with Warren with a good chance of facing Trevor Stumpe (like West Aurora's Roland Griffin, a returning Second-Team all-tourney pick) and No. 3 seed Plainfield North in the second round. At Pontiac, a final four slot is a major achievement and as a whole it's a tournament geared toward second-half improvement.
Quotable: "First of all, you're going to run into good competition and that's only going to make you better. And when you do make it into the final four you're going to see real good competition," West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman said.
York Jack Tosh Holiday Classic, Dec. 26-27, 29-31
The field: Batavia, Conant, DePaul College Prep, Downers Grove South, Elk Grove, Glenbard East, Highland Park, Hinsdale South, Lake Forest, Lane Tech, Lyons, McHenry, Metea Valley, Minooka, Naperville North, Nazareth, Oswego, Palatine, Providence, Ridgewood, Riverside-Brookfield, Rolling Meadows, St. Ignatius, St. Patrick, Sandburg, Schaumburg, Stagg, Timothy Christian, Waubonsie Valley, Wheaton North, Wheaton Warrenville South, York.
The favorites: Lake Forest, Riverside-Brookfield.
The dark horses: St. Ignatius, St. Patrick.
The scoop: York, in its 41st year hosting a boys basketball tournament, has been positioning itself as the suburban place with its expansion to 32 teams last year - particularly following the dissolution of the Elgin Tournament after 39 years and a Proviso West Holiday Tournament that has been in flux. Batavia (5-4) came over from Elgin and will be greeted by Oswego in its first-round game Dec. 26. There may not be a great number of true blue-chip teams that Pontiac, Proviso West and maybe Rich South's Big Dipper would like to boast - though Evan Boudreau and defending tourney champ Lake Forest might take issue with that - but they all are pretty good as well as diverse. Smaller schools like Timothy Christian vie with city schools like Lane Tech and DePaul Prep; gutty, proud Catholic-school teams like St. Ignatius and Providence go against teams from McHenry to Stagg. Highland Park and Lyons both reached the 2013 semifinals and could again, challenged by any number of schools headed by unbeaten Lake Forest and Riverside-Brookfield.
Quotable: "We're the only Upstate Eight River team, so we'll see different competition. It's what you want a Christmas tournament to be - good competition, good atmosphere and teams you don't see all the time," said Batavia coach Jim Nazos.