State Farm Holiday Classic Preview

<p>It is that time of year!  We are gearing up for the holiday tournament season!  Tournaments all across the state!  Over the next few days we will be previewing some of the top events in the state.  Here is our <strong>State Farm Holiday Classic Preview</strong>!</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Dates of Event</strong></p> <p>December 27, 28, 29, 30</p> <p><strong>Location</strong></p> <p>Illinois Wesleyan University and Normal West High School</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>First Day Schedule (Not in Bracket Order)</strong></p> <p>December 27</p> <p>Large School (First Day at IWU)</p> <p>10:30 AM       Springfield vs Metamora<br /> 12:00 PM       Rock Island vs Joliet Central<br /> 1:30 PM         Wheaton Warrenville South vs Harlem<br /> 3:00 PM         Brother Rice vs Mahomet Seymour<br /> 5:00 PM         Bradley Bourbonnais vs Peoria<br /> 6:30 PM         East St. Louis vs Normal U-High<br /> 8:00 PM         Normal Community vs North Chicago<br /> 9:30 PM         North Lawndale vs Lincoln Way West</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Small School (Frist Day at Normal West)</p> <p>10:30 AM       St. Joseph Ogden vs Downs Tri Valley<br /> 12:00 PM       Quincy Notre Dame vs Rock Falls<br /> 1:30 PM         Sacred Heart Griffin vs Minonk Fieldcrest<br /> 3:00 PM         Bishop McNamara vs Winnebago<br /> 5:00 PM         East Dubuque vs Bloomington Central Catholic<br /> 6:30 PM         El Paso Gridley vs Annawan<br /> 8:00 PM         Rockford Lutheran vs Providence St. Mel<br /> 9:30 PM         Olympia vs Aurora Christian</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Favorites to Win</strong></p> <p>This should be a great finals if he plays out that way with Normal Community vs East St. Louis.  This would feature the top teams from central Illinois and southern Illinois.  At the small school level we will go with the best two teams in Sacred Heart Griffin and St. Joseph Ogden.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Final Four and Championship Picks</strong></p> <p>Large School</p> <p>Normal Community (Champion)<br /> Brother Rice<br /> Rock Island<br /> East St. Louis</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Small School</p> <p>Sacred Heart Griffin<br /> Aurora Christian<br /> St. Joseph Ogden (Champion)<br /> Bloomington Central Catholic</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Sleeper Teams</strong></p> <p>Large School</p> <p>Wheaton Warrenville South<br /> Metamora<br /> North Lawndale<br /> <br /> </p> <p>Small School</p> <p>Bloomington Central Catholic</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Top Overall Prospects</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="996062" first="Zach" last="Cleveland"] (Normal Community – 2022 – Liberty)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1157233" first="Jaheem" last="Webber"] (Normal Community – 2024)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1048307" first="Ahmad" last="Henderson"] (Brother Rice – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="999560" first="Christian" last="Jones"] (East St. Louis – 2022 – Mizzou)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="939073" first="Macaleab" last="Rich"] (East St. Louis – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="989265" first="Owen" last="Freeman"] (Bradley Bourbonnais – 2023 – Iowa)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="989264" first="Ty" last="Pence"] (St. Joseph Ogden – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="939065" first="Ethan" last="Kizer"] (Metamora – 2023)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> </p> <p><strong>Best Unsigned Seniors<br /> <br /> </strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1048716" first="Famious" last="French"] (Normal Community)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="996063" first="Trey" last="Redd"] (Normal Community)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="863615" first="Amarion" last="Nimmers"] (Rock Island)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="863612" first="Marieon" last="Anderson"] (Rock Island)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="996067" first="Elijah" last="Reese"] (Rock Island)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1049084" first="Mitchell" last="Logan"] (Springfield)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1049101" first="Zack" last="Schroeder"] (Metamora)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1049054" first="Dashawn" last="Wells"] (Peoria)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="996079" first="Drew" last="Meyers"] (Aurora Christian)<br /> <strong><br /> <br /> <br /> Prospects Most Looking Forward to Evaluating</strong></p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1285481" first="Noah" last="Cleveland"] (Normal Community – 2024)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="939054" first="Ronald" last="Chambers"] (North Lawndale – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="939081" first="Damarion" last="Wyatt"] (North Lawndale – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="939074" first="Khalil" last="Ross"] (Brother Rice – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1215297" first="Nick" last="Niego"] (Brother Rice – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1048327" first="Ryan" last="Kenney"] (Brother Rice – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1279766" first="Jayden" last="Watson"] (Brother Rice – 2023)<br /> Tyson Swanson (Metamora – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1215296" first="Damarion" last="Brown"] (East St. Louis – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1215294" first="Mason" last="Funk"] (Normal U-High – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1048376" first="Ty" last="Minor"] (Normal U-High – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="989267" first="Jake" last="Hamilton"] (Sacred Heart Griffin – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1113521" first="Zack" last="Hawkinson"] (Sacred Heart Griffin – 2023)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1157235" first="Cole" last="Certa"] (Bloomington Central Catholic – 2024)<br /> [player_tooltip player_id="1285520" first="Anthony" last="Kemp"] (Bloomington Central Catholic – 2024)</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><strong>Website</strong></p> <p>https://theclassic.org/</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Where to Watch Online<br /> <br /> </strong></p> <p>Clutch Sports</p>