2A Tournament Preview

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The state tournament starts up next week so we wanted to dive into the brackets to look at storylines, top prospects, predictions, and more about each field.  Here we examine the 2A bracket in <strong>2A Tournament Preview</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who Are the Favorites?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Honestly it is a pretty open field with several contenders for a state title.&nbsp; Our friend Aaron Britton (NestoHoops.com) has on his Feb 6 poll the top teams as Columbia (who is actually a 2 seed in sectional) as the top team in the state for 2A.&nbsp; Fairbury, Normal University, Princeton, and Breese Central round out the top 5.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Which High Seeds Have Difficult Paths?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I am going to look at Phillips as they could have to beat Dunbar at Dunbar in a regional, then the hottest prospect in state right now [player_tooltip player_id='1766460' first='Al' last='Brooks'] from Hansberry, and then Perspectives in the sectional final all just to reach the super.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What are the Top Storylines?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Top teams vs star players.&nbsp; This could be the theme of this tournament over the next several weeks as we will see several matchups of highly ranked teams against a highly ranked individual prospect.&nbsp; Who will come out on top could determine which teams we see in Champaign.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Which Sleeper Team Can Pull Off An Upset?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I like Carterville as a team that can pull off some damage in this field.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1113525' first='Caden' last='Hawkins'] is a senior scoring guard that is primed to breakout on a state wide stage along with running mate [player_tooltip player_id='1048391' first='Kade' last='Lustenberger'].&nbsp; Nashville is another squad to pay attention to as they are playing their best basketball of the season now.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Where is the Toughest Sectional?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It might not be the most difficult, but I think the toughest to predict might be the Pinckneyville Sectional.&nbsp; This one has as many as six teams that could conceivably if things go their way come out of it including Massac County, Columbia, Pinckneyville, Breese Central, Nashville, and Carterville.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Who are the Top Seniors?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Illinois State signee [player_tooltip player_id='989264' first='Ty' last='Pence'] from St. Joseph Ogden headlines the list of best seniors in the field.&nbsp; He checks in at #12 overall and has the ability to take his team deep in this tournament.&nbsp; Other top 100 seniors to watch include [player_tooltip player_id='1476086' first='James' last='Stevenson'] (Momence), [player_tooltip player_id='1048391' first='Kade' last='Lustenberger'] (Carterville), [player_tooltip player_id='1371072' first='Jakeem' last='Cole'] (Perspectives), [player_tooltip player_id='1744051' first='JK' last='Woods'] (Perspectives), Walter Hill Jr (Rockford Lutheran), [player_tooltip player_id='1215299' first='Dylan' last='Schmidt'] (Johnsburg),[player_tooltip player_id='1113525' first='Caden' last='Hawkins'] (Carterville), and [player_tooltip player_id='1231683' first='Dylan' last='Murphy'] (Columbia).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Any Breakout Juniors to Watch?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The obvious choice here is the state's top uncommitted junior and #3 overall [player_tooltip player_id='1157235' first='Cole' last='Certa'].&nbsp; He has been on a tear scoring the basketball from all three levels including a 47 point outing over the holidays and 43 points at the O'Fallon Shootout.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] is a top 25 senior that has a chance to make a name for himself with a strong tournament.&nbsp; Explosive guard with speed from Perspectives!&nbsp; DePaul Prep has a duo of potential D1 prospects in big man [player_tooltip player_id='1157352' first='Jaylan' last='McElroy'] and wing [player_tooltip player_id='1157225' first='Payton' last='Kamin'] who have both missed time due to injury this season.&nbsp; Other top 100 juniors in the field include [player_tooltip player_id='1598775' first='Thon' last='Bill'] (Timothy Christian), [player_tooltip player_id='1541236' first='CJ' last='Nichols'] (Chicago Christian), [player_tooltip player_id='1428864' first='Mason' last='Shubert'] (Breese Central), [player_tooltip player_id='1373447' first='Colin' last='Hayes'] (Bloomington Central Catholic), and [player_tooltip player_id='1541240' first='Vontez' last='Dent'] (Rockford Lutheran).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Which Sophomores Could Make Biggest Impact?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are a pair of top 10 sophomores who recently made their debuts in the 2025 rankings.&nbsp; El Paso Gridley five man [player_tooltip player_id='1576619' first='Jonah' last='Funk'] has game changing ability on both ends as a big man that can score, board, and block shots.&nbsp; Hansberry small forward [player_tooltip player_id='1766460' first='Al' last='Brooks'] Jr who has posted monster numbers and stock is soaring right now can take over a sectional.&nbsp; DePaul Prep duo [player_tooltip player_id='1385297' first='Jonas' last='Johnson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1385311' first='Robert' last='Walls'] along with Rockford Christian point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1553123' first='Christian' last='Cummings'] are all top 20 prospects.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Best Potential Matchups Before State?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockford Christan vs Rockford Lutheran (Sectional Final)<br>Bloomington Central Catholic vs Normal U-High (Sectional Final)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>What are PHI's Picks to Click?</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Sectional Finals</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Teutopolis over Lawrenceville<br>Columbia over Carterville<br>DePaul Prep over Christ the King<br>Perspectives over Phillips<br>Rockford Christian over Rockford Lutheran<br>Princeton over Rockridge<br>St. Joseph Ogden over Fairbury<br>Bloomington Central Catholic over Normal U-High</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Super Sectionals</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Columbia over Teutopolis<br>Perspectives over DePaul Prep<br>Rockford Christian over Princeton<br>St. Joseph Ogden over Bloomington Central Catholic</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Final Four</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perspectives over Columbia<br>St. Joseph Ogden over Rockford Christian</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>Championship</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Perspectives over St. Joseph Ogden</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->