Holiday Takeaways: Big Dipper Final & Jack Tosh Semis

It was a big day of hoops around the state on Thursday! We saw a lot of basketball so we thought we would give it to you in several articles. In this one we examine Hyde Park’s win over Hillcrest at the Dipper and a pair of final four games at York! We break them down in Holiday Takeaways: Big Dipper Final & Jack Tosh Semis!   Williford Goes Steps Up in Dipper Title Win for Hyde Park What a couple of days for Hyde Park! They knocked off two of the better teams in the Chicago south suburbs in Thornton and then Hillcrest in the final. Didn’t look like it was going to go that way early on as Hillcrest jumped out 9-0 behind the strength of their interior play. Things looked even more bleak after star [player_tooltip player_id="925214" first="Davontae" last="Hall"] went out with an injury midway though the first quarter after injuring his side. That is when [player_tooltip player_id="1215301" first="Camron" last="Williford"] came to the rescue! Epic performance by the 2023 combo guard who completely took over the game. Williford got whatever he wanted whenever he wanted. Floaters, step backs, threes, and got layups off his defense. He was a one man show leading his team to the title with 30 points. He got some help from senior Byron Hobbs in the second half who came up with some timely baskets playing with toughness around the hoop and getting to the line as he had 8 points. Hillcrest was led by a pair of 2023s in [player_tooltip player_id="939078" first="Bryce" last="Tillery"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1215285" first="Matthew" last="Moore"]. Tillery is a compact lead guard with range on his shot and a shifty handle. Moore has a ton of upside as an athletic four that rim runs, dunks on dives, and protects the rim. Each had 12 points in the loss.   Glenbard West Has Off Night Shooting and Still Wins with Ease A sign of an elite team is when you show up with your C game and win against a quality team. That is exactly what happened on Thursday as the state’s top team Glenbard West moved to the Jack Tosh championship game with a 58-40 victory over Rolling Meadows. They just didn’t shoot it any where near as well as they usually do from distance. This great team found a way to get it done. Good start when you have the best big man in the state [player_tooltip player_id="925183" first="Braden" last="Huff"]. Gonzaga commit went to work inside scoring on quick moves inside, reverse layups, takes from the mid-post, and got on the offensive glass racking up 25 points. Army commit [player_tooltip player_id="863598" first="Bobby" last="Durkin"] is a fun player to watch as the underappreciated star does so many things well. Excellent passer that had quite a few dimes in traffic. Drained a couple threes which is his specialty along with playing good defense in a 12 point outing. Their other West Point commit [player_tooltip player_id="1106936" first="Ryan" last="Renfro"] ran the floor and hit the glass for 6 points. Brings so much toughness each and every night. [player_tooltip player_id="996060" first="Caden" last="Pierce"] is headed to Princeton. The top 20 prospect only scored 4 points, but did an excellent job of dishing, defending, and rebounding. He is their perfect ace that you can play against any team and he can bring whatever is needed. [player_tooltip player_id="996070" first="Paxton" last="Warden"] did the dirty work getting rebounds and making extra passes along with scoring 8 points. Great small college prospect that has all conference ability at that level. Overall their ability to share the ball, keep it constantly moving, and wreaking havoc in their 1-3-1 will carry them most days. Rolling Meadows only had success shooting over the Glenbard West zone. [player_tooltip player_id="939055" first="Cameron" last="Christie"] has been one of the top scorers at the event and the top 5 junior did manage three triples along with a couple of contested pull ups for 13 points. His running mate [player_tooltip player_id="1210381" first="Orlando" last="Thomas"] is an unsigned senior that has elevated into D2 territory over the last six months. He also nailed three from distance in a 15 point outing.   Akron Commit Dominates in Lyons Win over Bolingbrook The second semi at Jack Tosh it was undefeated Bolingbrook against Lyons. Good battle throughout but Lyons held a pretty consistent lead in the second half winning by a final of 73-61. Lyons 2022 point guard [player_tooltip player_id="1048712" first="Tavari" last="Johnson"] is a star that doesn’t get talked about enough by casual basketball fans. The Akron commit is a top 10 prospect in the senior class and completely torched Bolingbrook in the victory. His float game was flowing like it usually is as he won off the bounce getting in the paint for scores over and over with either runners or acrobatic layups. Slick driver and ball handler that can also create his own shot with a killer pull up game. Elite passer and vision in the half court making sound decisions over and over. Went for 28 points. Got some help from his wings as well. Senior [player_tooltip player_id="1055140" first="Billy" last="Bach"] has mostly been known as a spot up shooter and he did hit one in this game, but it was more his reverse layups that made the difference in a 13 point outing. Nikolas Polonowski is a bouncy junior small forward who hammered it on his opponent for one dunk and you can see the burst on several other drives in his 14 point performance. [player_tooltip player_id="1215292" first="Graham" last="Smith"] brought toughness and consistency on the glass while chipping in 9 points. Bolingbrook was pushed by [player_tooltip player_id="1210405" first="Michael" last="Osei-Bonsu"] on the interior. Love what this undersized physical post brings with his tenacity. Plays physical and is light on his feet. Rebounds extremely well in his area. Went for 15 points. On the perimeter [player_tooltip player_id="989271" first="Mekhi" last="Cooper"] was solid as the 2023 point guard knocked in three triples along with a pair of mid-range jumpers for 17 points. MJ Langit is a sleeper prospect that got to the rim with consistency throughout the game for 16 points.