5 Takeaways: Central Illinois Regional Finals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Champions were crowned across the state on Friday night in all four classes.&nbsp; PHI took in a pair of games in central Illinois.&nbsp; First was a battle of Peoria as Richwoods clashed with Manual.&nbsp; That was followed by a matchup between the top two available big men in the 2024 class as Normal Community played Yorkville at Pekin High School.&nbsp; We dive into it all here in <strong>5 Takeaways: Central Illinois Regional Finals</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Richwood Depth Shines Again in Regional Victory</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the Peoria Regional Championship it was Richwoods vs Manual.&nbsp; Richwoods was without their star Artavious Smith early in the game with foul trouble.&nbsp; They got just enough from everyone in a balanced effort that saw five guys score at least nine points as they won 64-56.&nbsp; Jaivyn Moore brought toughness and athleticism slashing and scoring 10 points in transition.&nbsp; Greg Burnside hit mid-range jumpers for days netting 12 points.&nbsp; Sabari Qattum was an x-factor as a skilled undersized post hitting baseline jumpers, scoring in the pick/roll, and passing for 9 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2104980' first='Jared' last='Jackson'] closed it out at the line late as he had 9 points.&nbsp; Despite the early foul trouble Artavious Smith still scored 11 points giving his team a huge lift with his athleticism.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Manual Comes So Close</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There were several times in this game where it looked like things were going to go Manuals way.&nbsp; They own the regionals in Peoria usually with their rich basketball history.&nbsp; Big bodied 6'5” center Louis Bailey went to work early and often for Manual notching 12 points carving out space and finishing with touch.&nbsp; Major force especially in the first half.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1295513' first='Devonte' last='Burse'] stepped up big with his pull up game from three along with hitting them off the catch for 13 points.&nbsp; Star [player_tooltip player_id='1295514' first='Gerron' last='Trapps'] didn't have his best outing, but still managed 10 points.&nbsp; Like the upside of 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1576114' first='Dietrich' last='Richardson'] who is a long and wiry wing that showed some slashing pop in a 6 point outing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Roman Shows He is D1 Guard in 1st Half of Normal Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While most were focused on the battle of titans inside in Yorkville vs Normal Community it was another junior that stepped up.&nbsp; Normal Community top 30 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1172774' first='Braylon' last='Roman'] said this was going to be his night to shine!&nbsp; The slick handling two guard did just that winning off the bounce slithering through the defense over and over for and-1s.&nbsp; Cut off the ball for layups, hit a pair of threes, and also showed passing feel as a secondary ball handler.&nbsp; Scored 27 points displaying he is a no doubt D1 prospect.&nbsp; Normal Community handled Yorkville 61-45.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Top 10 Junior Posts Battle</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The real intrigue of the game came as the #6 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1285496' first='Jason' last='Jakstys'] (Yorkville) and #7 junior [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'] (Normal Community) were matched up.&nbsp; They happen to be the top uncommitted posts in the class.&nbsp; First neither one of them guarded each other straight up very much.&nbsp; There were a few and some help situations.&nbsp; Let's start with Normal Community's [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'].&nbsp; He had 12 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block, and 4 dimes.&nbsp; Early on in the game it seemed as if he was struggling against the length Yorkville had inside including Jakstys from the help side.&nbsp; Got a couple offensive rebounds, but couldn't finish.&nbsp; As the game went on especially in the second half he settled in.&nbsp; Confidence got going with a big dunk on an out of bounds play.&nbsp; That was followed up by a baseline spin and another reverse layup.&nbsp; Hit his free throws down the stretch as well.&nbsp; Strong rebounder that snatches them with two hands.&nbsp; We were very impressed with his passing instincts out of the post finding shooters and cutters.&nbsp; The mobility is going to be the question here, but as a mid-major big man he is a good looking physical throwback five man.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On the other side Yorkville's [player_tooltip player_id='1285496' first='Jason' last='Jakstys'] is a long and wiry five that is more of a face up prospect with room to fill out physically.&nbsp; The skilled showed through on a pair of right handed hook shots, jab step/mid-range jumper, and a reverse layup.&nbsp; Also altered several of Webber's shots early in the game with his length.&nbsp; Not a ton else from him as he had 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal.&nbsp; Definitely has a high ceiling and is primed for a breakout summer as he recently scored a pair of mid-major offers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Contrast in Location/Matchups</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Very big contrast in matchups in terms of locations and teams playing in the two games I saw on Friday night.&nbsp; The first was a pair of Peoria teams from the same conference playing in the city at a neutral site.&nbsp; Crazy atmosphere.&nbsp; The second had a solid crowd, but there wasn't a ton of juice as it was two teams that are from 90 miles away from each other playing at a site 45 minutes from one school and over two hours from the other.&nbsp; Without question cool to see them play because of the talent, but very odd pairing in a regional to say the least.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->