4A Tournament Preview

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 4A bracket in 4A Tournament Preview!   Who Are the Favorites?   Where to start?  From the CPS Kenwood and Whitney Young will have to go through each other to get to the final four, but either could win the whole thing as they are loaded with prospects.  Don't count out Curie either.  Benet from the Chicago suburbs has only lost one game all season to 3A favorite Simeon at Pontiac.  They have what it takes to win the last game of the year.  Another two suburban teams to watch are Joliet West and Rolling Meadows.  They feature the top two seniors in the state and the best sophomore as well.  Moline and Quincy from central Illinois are the two that have legit shots to make a run at a title.  Moline has a pair of top 10 seniors and Iowa commits that have all the pieces to win in March.  The ultimate sleeper/most talented team in this field is St. Rita.  They have the talent, but haven't put it all together.  Its now or next year.   Which High Seeds Have Difficult Paths?   The St. Rita path is crazy hard for a team that came in as the preseason #2 team in the state.  Try Homewood Flossmoor, Brother Rice, Kenwood, and Whitney Young just to get to Champaign.  You could say the same for Kenwood in that sectional having to go through potentially Rich Township (at Rich) for regional, Marist/Bloom, Brother Rice/St. Rita (at St. Rita), and Whitney Young to make it to state.   What are the Top Storylines?   Which St. Rita team will show up?  The Mustangs are the most talented team in the field, but have failed to win big games.  With three high-major juniors and the #2 sophomore they had their eyes set on Champaign in November.  Now it's time to prove everyone who has doubted them throughout the year wrong.   Which one of the CPS power trio of Kenwood, Whitney Young, and Curie will advance out of the super sectional to reach state?  All could conceivably do it and if they do win the big trophy.   Moline and Quincy seem destined to meet up in March.  The two best 4A teams in central Illinois.  It seems like it is Moline's time now and Quincy's to reign the next two years over central Illinois.  Can Quincy crash the party early?   How about the big men battle in the lower half of the Moline sectional?  Top 10 big men [player_tooltip player_id='1285496' first='Jason' last='Jakstys'] (Yorkville) could face [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'] (Normal Community) in the regional final.  On the other side top senior post [player_tooltip player_id='989265' first='Owen' last='Freeman'] could very well play his old school Bradley Bourbonnais at their house going against one of the best sophomore big men [player_tooltip player_id='1545117' first='Nick' last='Allen'].   Potential Mr. Basketball [player_tooltip player_id='1562176' first='Jeremy' last='Fears'] came back for this.  Run at a state title with his younger brother [player_tooltip player_id='1385291' first='Jeremiah' last='Fears'] at Joliet West.  It is going to be a familiar path in the sectional against rivals Romeoville and Bolingbrook who each have D1 guards.  Then potentially a super against state title contenders Moline or Quincy to advance to Champaign.   Which Sleeper Team Can Pull Off an Upset?   There are a few sectionals that we can see some upsets happening.  Naperville North is a team we like with their guard play which wins in the tournament.  Rockford East impressed us this season when we saw them with their veteran lineup.  Watch out for them.    Where is the Toughest Sectional?   The toughest sectional comes down to the St. Rita and Hinsdale Central Sectionals.  In the St. Rita sectional you have Kenwood, Marist, Bloom, Brother Rice, and St. Rita.  Only one of those teams will make it to the elite 8.  Same can be said at the Hinsdale Central with a loaded field of Whitney Young, Downers Grove North, Proviso East, Hinsdale Central, Riverside Brookfield, Lane Tech, Curie, and Lyons.  Oh yea then the winners of those two play in the super.  Think about that.  Only one of those 13 teams are getting to Champaign.   Who are the Top Seniors?   It is a who's who of the best 2023's in the state with six of the top seven seniors in [player_tooltip player_id='1562176' first='Jeremy' last='Fears'] (Joliet West), [player_tooltip player_id='939055' first='Cameron' last='Christie'] (Rolling Meadows), [player_tooltip player_id='939050' first='Darrin' last='Ames'] (Kenwood), [player_tooltip player_id='989265' first='Owen' last='Freeman'] (Moline), [player_tooltip player_id='989274' first='Brock' last='Harding'] (Moline), and [player_tooltip player_id='939057' first='Dalen' last='Davis'] (Whitney Young).  Other top 25 prospects include [player_tooltip player_id='1048324' first='Daniel' last='Johnson'] (Whitney Young), [player_tooltip player_id='1215289' first='Mekhi' last='Lowery'] (Oswego East), [player_tooltip player_id='1048375' first='Nik' last='Polonowski'] (Lyons), [player_tooltip player_id='1048307' first='Ahmad' last='Henderson'] (Brother Rice), [player_tooltip player_id='1215287' first='Jake' last='Fiegen'] (New Trier), [player_tooltip player_id='989271' first='Mekhi' last='Cooper'] (Bolingbrook), and [player_tooltip player_id='1215311' first='Nikola' last='Abusara'] (Benet).   Any Breakout Juniors to Watch?   Gotta start with the St. Rita high-major trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1157230' first='Morez' last='Johnson'], [player_tooltip player_id='1157228' first='James' last='Brown'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1157223' first='Nojus' last='Indrusaitis'].  All are big time prospects.  More top 25 2024s include [player_tooltip player_id='1285496' first='Jason' last='Jakstys'] (Yorkville), [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'] (Normal Community), [player_tooltip player_id='1284852' first='Chris' last='Riddle'] (Kenwood), [player_tooltip player_id='1157226' first='Josh' last='Pickett'] (West Aurora), [player_tooltip player_id='1157211' first='Carlos' last='Harris'] (Curie), [player_tooltip player_id='1541230' first='Connor' last='May'] (Palatine), [player_tooltip player_id='1285487' first='Calvin' last='Robins Jr']. (Kenwood), [player_tooltip player_id='1373439' first='Shaheed' last='Solebo'] (Lane Tech), [player_tooltip player_id='1157209' first='Will' last='Gonzalez'] (Riverside Brookfield), [player_tooltip player_id='1157346' first='Jaden' last='Smith'] (Kenwood), [player_tooltip player_id='1285479' first='Isaiah' last='Green'] (Kenwood), [player_tooltip player_id='1285519' first='Stefan' last='Cicic'] (Riverside Brookfield), [player_tooltip player_id='1157204' first='Jakob' last='Blakley'] (Larkin), [player_tooltip player_id='1750594' first='Camden' last='Brown'] (Quincy), and [player_tooltip player_id='1373437' first='Justus' last='McNair'] (Joliet West).   Which Sophomores Could Make Biggest Impact?   The top three sophomores in Illinois are looking to make their first big impacts in the state tournament in [player_tooltip player_id='1385291' first='Jeremiah' last='Fears'] (Joliet West), [player_tooltip player_id='1385285' first='Melvin' last='Bell'] (St. Rita), and [player_tooltip player_id='1385300' first='Antonio' last='Munoz'] (Whitney Young).  Despite being a sophomore the go to player for a team with Champaign hopes in Quincy is sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1385298' first='Bradley' last='Longcor'] who has experience from last year.  A few more to track are [player_tooltip player_id='1545117' first='Nick' last='Allen'] (Bradley Bourbonnais), [player_tooltip player_id='1598743' first='Keshaun' last='Vaval'] (Marist), [player_tooltip player_id='1545131' first='Elijah' last='Lovemore'] (Bloom), [player_tooltip player_id='1545116' first='Terrence' last='Smith'] (West Aurora), and [player_tooltip player_id='1385299' first='Ian' last='Miletic'] (Rolling Meadows).   Best Potential Matchups Before State?   Regional Finals Curie vs Lyons Joliet West vs Romeoville O'Fallon vs Belleville East Normal Community vs Yorkville Moline vs Bradley Bourbonnais   Sectional Semis New Trier vs Evanston St. Rita vs Brother Rice Whitney Young vs Downers Grove North Curie vs Hinsdale Central Oswego East vs Bolingbrook Moline vs Normal Community/Yorkville   Sectional Finals Rolling Meadows vs New Trier Kenwood vs St. Rita/Brother Rice Whitney Young vs Curie/Hinsdale Central Joliet West vs Oswego East/Bolingbrook Moline vs Quincy   Super Sectionals   Kenwood/St. Rita/Brother Rice vs Whitney Young/Curie/Hinsdale Central Moline/Quincy vs Joliet West/Bolingbrook/Oswego East   What are PHI's Picks to Click?   Regional Finals   Libertyville over Warren Barrington over Fremd Stevenson over Lake Zurich Palatine over Prospect   New Trier over Niles North Evanston over Glenbrook South Glenbrook North over Taft Rolling Meadows over Loyola   Benet over Bartlett Lake Park over Willowbrook Naperville North over Wheaton Warrenville South Glenbard West over Geneva   Rockford East over Huntley St. Charles East over South Elgin Dekalb over Larkin Rockford Guilford over Rockford Auburn   Kenwood over Rich Township Bloom over Marist Brother Rice over Andrew St. Rita over Homewood Flossmoor   Whitney Young over OPRF Downers Grove North over Proviso East Hinsdale Central over Riverside Brookfield Curie over Lyons   Joliet West over Romeoville Lincoln Way East over Neuqua Valley Bolingbrook over Waubonsie Valley Oswego East over Aurora West   O'Fallon over Belleville East Quincy over Collinsville Normal Community over Yorkville Moline over Bradley Bourbonnais   Sectional Semis   Barrington over Libertyville Palatine over Stevenson   New Trier over Evanston Rolling Meadows over Glenbrook North Benet over Lake Park Naperville North over Glenbard West   Rockford East over St. Charles East Dekalb over Rockford Guilford   Kenwood over Bloom St. Rita over Brother Rice   Whitney Young over Downers Grove North Curie over Hinsdale Central   Joliet West over Lincoln Way East Oswego East over Bolingbrook   Quincy over O'Fallon Moline over Normal Community   Sectional Finals   Palatine over Barrington Rolling Meadows over New Trier Benet over Naperville North Dekalb over Rockford East Kenwood over St. Rita Whitney Young over Curie Joliet West over Oswego East Moline over Quincy   Super Sectionals   Rolling Meadows over Palatine Benet over Dekalb Kenwood over Whitney Young Moline over Joliet West   Final Four   Benet over Rolling Meadows Kenwood over Moline   Championship   Kenwood over Benet

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 4A bracket in 4A Tournament Preview!