advertisement

Top talent on display at Fremd on Saturday

The fourth annual Chicagoland Invitational Showcase will feature nonstop girls basketball action in two gymnasiums at Fremd High School on Saturday.

Twenty two teams from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, including 17 Division 1 recruits and 60 uncommitted future D-I players, will compete from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

"I am very excited about our field for Saturday," said showcase organizer and Fremd girls basketball coach Dave Yates. "We have some of the best teams in the Midwest coming here. If you want to see highly competitive basketball, Fremd is the place to be on Saturday."

It is the deepest field Yates has assembled in four years.

"We have some tremendous matchups all day," said Yates, whose Fremd teams have been in the final four of the Class 4A state finals the past three years, an unprecedented feat for a Mid-Suburban League program.

One of the marque matches will be Wisconsin defending state champion Beaver Dam and unbeaten Maine West, which is 6-0 with a 48.2 average margin of victory. The game will tip off at 5:30 p.m.

"We also have three of the top teams from Indiana (Carmel, South Bend St. Joseph's and Marquette Catholic)," Yates said.

Carmel is currently the top-ranked team in Indiana and features seven Division I prospects.

Fremd will face Marquette Catholic, which features three standout juniors committed to D-I programs - 6-foot-2 twins Emma and Sophia Nolan are headed to Saint Louis University while Emmery Joseph is a Valparaiso recruit.

The complete list of games is as follows:

Fremd vs. Marquette Catholic (Ind.), 10:30 a.m.; Hersey vs. Marist, 11 a.m.; Loyola vs. Kenwood Academy, 12:15 p.m.; Nazareth Academy vs. Buffalo Grove, 12:45 p.m.; Benet vs. St. Joseph Academy (IN.), 2 p.m.; Carmel Catholic (Wis.). vs. North Lawndale, 2:30 p.m. Rock Island vs. Carmel (Ind.), 3:45 p.m.; Lake Zurich vs. Harvest Christian, 4:15 p.m.; Maine West vs. Beaver Dam (Wis.), 5:30 p.m.; Maine South vs. Lake Forest, 6 p.m.; and Evanston vs. Marian Catholic, 7 p.m.

One change this year new will be free admission for any grade school girls basketball player who comes to the game in their park district or feeder jersey.

Adults accompanying players will have to pay admission.

"We want to extend an opportunity for future high school players to have the chance to see some of the best girls basketball players in the country perform," Yates said.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.