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Scouting DuPage County boys basketball holiday tournaments

Holiday basketball tournaments provide players relief from silly stuff like classes and homework, and give coaches - and fans - a midseason evaluation against opponents and styles they may not typically face. Each of the 29 boys basketball teams in DuPage County is entered in one of the holiday tournaments listed below.

East Aurora Holiday Tournament

Dec. 26-Dec. 29.

Teams: Aurora Central Catholic, Downers Grove North, East Aurora, Joliet Catholic, Marmion, Neuqua Valley, Plainfield Central, Wheaton Academy.

Top players: Trey Boston, Downers Grove North; Marcus Bult, Wheaton Academy; Jonas Cebulski, Aurora Central; Sema'j Henderson, Downers Grove North; John Poulakidas, Neuqua Valley; Brandon Shoemaker, Plainfield Central; Thomas Surges, Marmion; Jules Williamson, East Aurora.

Defending champion: Oswego East.

Outlook: Big news at the 53rd East Aurora tournament, which features two divisions each of four teams, is the addition of Downers Grove North after the Trojans competed several years at Proviso West. (Defending tournament champion Oswego East has departed.) Despite losses to Glenbard West and Downers Grove South, Downers North (7-2 entering Friday) brings a backcourt of Sema'j Henderson, Trey Boston and Collin Reed that is hard to stop, and the Trojans have height as well. Six-foot-four Marcus Bult and Wheaton Academy (7-2) can face larger schools and drill on half-court and up-tempo styles in its first appearance here since 2014. Neuqua Valley (4-5) won it all in its 2011 tournament debut and in 2014 and placed second in 2015 and 2017. Sophomore guard John Poulakidas, already bearing Southern Illinois and Illinois-Chicago offers, averages around 14 points with guard Connor Davis at 10 points a game. East Aurora, whose Jules Williamson averages 28 points, has reached the title game twice since 2012 and Joliet Catholic won it in 2016.

Glenbard West Holiday Classic

Dec. 22, Dec. 26-28.

Teams: Addison Trail, De La Salle, Glenbard North, Glenbard South, Glenbard West, Hoffman Estates, Lake Park, Leyden.

Top players: Sheldon Barnett-Morales, Hoffman Estates; Ocean Johnson, Leyden; Carter Lindstrom, Glenbard West; Adem Mehmeti, Addison Trail; Caden Phillips, Glenbard West; Tommy Powers, Glenbard South; Luke Sgarbossa, Lake Park; Evan Taylor, Glenbard West.

Defending champion: Glenbard West.

Outlook: Two teams exit, two teams are welcomed in. Addison Trail returns to the field - replacing Willowbrook as a second West Suburban Gold team - while De La Salle will be at Glenbard West for one year only. This is a pool-play tournament, making a team's placement pretty important. This season it's Addison Trail, Glenbard West, Hoffman Estates and Lake Park in the Green Pool, and De La Salle, Glenbard North, Glenbard South and Leyden in the White Pool. The Hilltoppers (8-2) have the best player in the field with Southern Illinois-bound Evan Taylor but they also have a good supporting cast with guard Carter Lindstrom and post Caden Phillips. Glenbard West faces a stiff opening test against Hoffman Estates, but challenges also await against Addison Trail (6-4) and Lake Park (5-4), which enters the tournament on a roll behind junior guard Luke Sgarbossa. Glenbard West is the favorite, but don't be surprised if someone else emerges atop the pool. The White Pool is just as interesting. First place might come down to Wednesday's matchup between Glenbard South (5-2) and Leyden (5-4), which feature potent scorers in Tommy Powers and Ocean Johnson.

Pontiac Holiday Tournament

Dec. 27-29.

Teams: Benet, Bloom, Bloomington, Curie, Danville, Joliet West, Lockport, New Trier, Oak Park, Peoria Manual, Plainfield North, Pontiac, Simeon, St. Charles North, Warren, West Aurora.

Top players: Ciaran Brayboy, New Trier; Kejuan Clements, Simeon; Colin Crothers, Benet, Quintez Edwards, Manual; Will Engels, Benet; Dashon Enoch, Oak Park; Dajuan Gordon, Curie; Sean Houpt, Danville; Dante Maddox Jr., Bloom; Martice Mitchell, Bloom; Chris Payton, Bloomington; Antonio Reeves, Simeon; Kendrick Tchoua, Benet; Marquise Walker, West Aurora.

Defending champion: Simeon.

Outlook: Perennially known as one of the best - if not the best - holiday tournaments in the state, Pontiac may be at its peak this season. Unbeaten top seeds Bloom and Curie, led by Kansas State-bound Dajuan Gordon, are also regarded as the top teams in the state. Danville enters as more of an unknown as a third seed and Bloomington, powered by Southern Illinois recruit Chris Payton, is the fourth seed. With Benet (10-1) "unofficially" the fifth seed (the tournament only announced the top four seeds), the Purple Raiders loom as a second-round opponent for the Redwings. But hold everything...Benet won't have an easy time with Manual in its opener. It's a team the Redwings edged 47-44 in the opening round last season. Benet's trio of Colin Crothers, Will Engels and Kendrick Tchoua has been steady, but it'll take more than that for the Redwings to go deep in the bracket. Just how deep is the bracket? How about a first-round game between Oak Park and West Aurora, with the winner likely facing top-seeded Bloom? And, sure, Simeon's been struggling. But as a sixth seed the Wolverines are a definite sleeper team.

York Jack Tosh Holiday Classic

Dec. 26-29, 31.

Teams: Andrew, Batavia, Brother Rice, Conant, Downers Grove South, Elk Grove, Glenbard East, Highland Park, Hinsdale South, Lake Forest, Lemont, Lyons Twp., McHenry, Metea Valley, Minooka, Nazareth, Naperville North, Palatine, Providence, Riverside-Brookfield, Rolling Meadows, Sandburg, Schaumburg, Stagg, St. Francis, St. Ignatius, St. Laurence, St. Patrick, T.F. South, Timothy Christian, Wheaton North, York.

Top players: Julian Campbell, Palatine; Max Christie, Rolling Meadows; Christian Davis, St. Ignatius; Billy Durkin, Hinsdale South; Justin Eagins, Downers Grove South; Nate Ferguson, Lemont; Ethan Helwig, Metea Valley; Chris Hodges, Schaumburg; Wes Hooker, Downers Grove South; Jayden Johnson, Batavia; Marquise Kennedy, Brother Rice; Nick Kosich, York; Alijah Nelson, Glenbard East; Deng Reng, Wheaton North; Tyrese Shines, Lyons Twp.; Zach Vaia, Riverside-Brookfield; Tom Welch, Naperville North; Jeremiah Williams, St. Laurence.

Defending champion: Conant.

Outlook: The 45th Tosh Tournament is the state's largest single-bracket boys holiday tournament at 32 teams. Unbeaten when seeded, No. 1 Riverside-Brookfield (9-2) has since dropped two of its last three games. No. 2 seed York (8-1) - champ in 2012 and 2015 after a 31-year lapse - and No. 3 seed St. Laurence (10-1) may be the hottest teams going, each on a six-game winning streak. The bracket's bottom 16 includes three of the top five seeds - Riverside-Brookfield, 2017 third-place winner Batavia (6-2) and No. 5 seed Brother Rice (7-4), loser last year in double-overtime to two-time defending Tosh champion Conant. Any number of teams could make a run: 2017 fourth-place finisher Wheaton North and consolation champ Lyons Twp., suddenly hot Downers Grove South, St. Ignatius, Schaumburg, the DuPage duo of Metea Valley and Naperville North, and more. DuPage fans familiar with returning all-tourney selections Deng Reng, Nick Kosich and Wes Hooker can also see young stars Jeremiah Williams, Julian Campbell, Marquise Kennedy and Max Christie, the Rolling Meadows sophomore who recently scored 51 points.

DeKalb Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic

Dec. 26-29.

Teams: Belvidere North, Byron, Comer, DeKalb, Dundee-Crown, Dyett, Hononegah, Huntley, IMSA, Muchin, Naperville Central, Oswego, Rockford Guilford, Schurz, West Chicago, Yorkville.

Defending champion: Naperville Central.

Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic

Dec. 26-29.

Teams: DePaul, Glenbrook North, Hinsdale Central, Homewood-Flossmoor, Lincoln Park, Maine South, Marian Catholic, Oswego East, Richards, Rockford Auburn, St. Charles East, St. Rita, Stevenson, Urban Prep, Westinghouse, Willowbrook.

Defending champion: St. Rita.

IC Catholic/Westmont Christmas Classic

Dec. 26-29.

Teams: Christ the King, Eisenhower, Elmwood Park, Evergreen Park, Fenton, Holy Trinity, IC Catholic, Latin, Legal Prep, Montini, Perspectives Leadership, Perspectives MSA, Phoenix Military, St. Edward, Tinley Park, Westmont.

Defending champion: IC Catholic.

Jacobs Hinkle Holiday Classic

Dec. 22, Dec. 26-29.

Teams: Barrington, Bartlett, Cary-Grove, Crystal Lake South, Dixon, Grant, Jacobs, Johnsburg, King, Marian Central, Payton, Prairie Ridge, Rockford Jefferson, South Elgin, Streamwood, Waubonsie Valley.

Defending champion: Jacobs.

Plano Christmas Classic

Dec. 26-29.

Teams: Burlington Central, Coal City, Hinckley-Big Rock, Kaneland, LaSalle-Peru, Lisle, Mendota, Morris, Newark, Northridge Prep, Ottawa, Peoria Notre Dame, Plano, Sandwich, Streator, Yorkville.

Defending champion: Burlington Central.

State Farm Holiday Classic (Bloomington-Normal)

Dec. 26-29.

Teams (Large-school Bracket): Joliet Central, Kenwood, Machesney Park Harlem, Mahomet-Seymour, Metamora, Normal Community, Normal U-High, North Chicago, North Lawndale, Peoria, Plainfield South, Rock Island, Springfield, Thornwood, Wheaton Warrenville South, Zion-Benton.

Defending champion: Normal Community.

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