Holiday Previews: Collinsville, Centralia, Pekin

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PHI wanted to give a spotlight to a few of the best central and southern Illinois Holiday Tournaments. In this edition we examine the tournaments at Collinsville, Centralia, and Pekin!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Collinsville</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Team&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quincy is the top team coming into the event.&nbsp; Their combination of youth and talent make them the team to beat in this event.&nbsp; Sophomore sensation [player_tooltip player_id='1385298' first='Bradley' last='Longcor'] is a sharp shooter with athleticism and no doubt D1 talent.&nbsp; Really like what Camden Brown has brought to them early in the season emerging as a big time prospect to go with their depth across the board.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dark Horse&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>O'Fallon is a team to watch in this field.&nbsp; They will have a tough semi final against Belleville East, but their quartet of [player_tooltip player_id='1476094' first='Koby' last='Wilmoth'], [player_tooltip player_id='1373443' first='Rini' last='Harris'], [player_tooltip player_id='1157355' first='Jaeden' last='Rush'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1215303' first='Jalen' last='Smith'] give this team different ways to score and versatility on the defensive end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Player&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Longcor is the best prospect long term, but the best player in the field is SIU-Edwardsville commit [player_tooltip player_id='939071' first='Jordan' last='Pickett'].&nbsp; The three level scoring combo guard is primed for a monster tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch<br></strong>Camden Brown from Quincy is the one I am most looking forward to evaluating.&nbsp; After missing his sophomore season the 2024 wing showed a ton of promise at their Thanksgiving event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Unsigned Senior</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A few intriguing small college guys to watch here for D3, NAIA, and JUCO's still looking for talent.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1476094' first='Koby' last='Wilmoth'] from O'Fallon is a skilled forward with size.&nbsp; Lincoln's [player_tooltip player_id='1476087' first='Peyton' last='Cook'] has tremendous physical tools on the wing.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1048308' first='Chris' last='Martin'] of Mundelein is a physical rebounder. [player_tooltip player_id='1055130' first='McGrady' last='Noyes'] of Triad is one of the more underappreciated wings in the 618!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Centralia</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Team&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Evanston should be the team to beat in this event.&nbsp; They have the senior talent across the board with [player_tooltip player_id='1215286' first='Prince' last='Adams'], [player_tooltip player_id='1048321' first='Joshua' last='Thomas'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1279759' first='Hunter' last='Duncan'] to make a run at the title!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dark Horse&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marist is the up and coming team that has surprised a lot of people with how well they have played early in the season.&nbsp; Love their upside young prospects in [player_tooltip player_id='1598774' first='Steven' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1598743' first='Keshaun' last='Vaval'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Player&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Best player in the field with the ability to take over a game out of the Illinois teams in the event is [player_tooltip player_id='1598743' first='Keshaun' last='Vaval'].&nbsp; Skilled and athletic combo guard in the sophomore class that has D1 ability.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch<br></strong>Really looking forward to seeing Champaign Central 2025 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1545129' first='Chris' last='Bush'].&nbsp; The top 30 sophomore showed a lot of promise over the summer and looks primed to have a breakout tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Unsigned Senior</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top senior in the event is Evanston's [player_tooltip player_id='1215286' first='Prince' last='Adams'].&nbsp; He is among the better unsigned prospects in the state overall especially among posts.&nbsp; The Evanston big man brings athleticism, rebounding, and defense.&nbsp; A few other unsigned seniors to monitor for small college coaches are [player_tooltip player_id='1048321' first='Joshua' last='Thomas'] (Evanston), [player_tooltip player_id='1279759' first='Hunter' last='Duncan'] (Evanston), [player_tooltip player_id='1416500' first='Rolen' last='Adams'] (Mt. Vernon), and [player_tooltip player_id='1467212' first='Josh' last='Jones'] (Glenwood).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><u>Pekin</u></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Team&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moline and it's not really close.&nbsp; This squad has two of the top six seniors in the state to go with a ton of depth.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='989265' first='Owen' last='Freeman'] and [player_tooltip player_id='989274' first='Brock' last='Harding'] lead the way, but this team has a lot of prospects up and down their roster that can provide impact.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dark Horse&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I wouldn't say dark horse, but the clear only contender to challenge Moline is Mt. Carmel.  The Chicago Catholic League squad has a trio of players they rely on in [player_tooltip player_id='989268' first='DeAndre' last='Craig'] (Denver), [player_tooltip player_id='1371067' first='Anthony' last='Ciaravino'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1285492' first='Lee' last='Marks'] who have got them off to a very fast start this season.  Three D1 prospects can give Moline a run in a title game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Player&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='989265' first='Owen' last='Freeman'] is the top ranked prospect in the event.&nbsp; He is an Iowa commit that makes it look easy scoring around the basket on a consistent basis while impacting on the glass and boards.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Player to Watch<br></strong>Want to see what Lanphier young prospects Shaunassey Hatchett and [player_tooltip player_id='1385295' first='JaiQuan' last='Holman'] bring.&nbsp; They have the ability to take over games and should get a nice test in the second round against Moline.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top Unsigned Senior</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Moline's shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='989276' first='Grant' last='Welch'] is a big time three point threat that will be an impactful small college guard.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1537997' first='Austin' last='Robinson'] is the ideal D3 or NAIA post with his toughness and efficiency inside.&nbsp; Mt. Carmel's [player_tooltip player_id='1371067' first='Anthony' last='Ciaravino'] is among the best pure spot up threats from deep in Illinois.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->