Final Illinois Basketball Top 40

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After nearly four long months, the IHSA boys basketball season came to a close Saturday night in Champaign. It was surely a season to remember. In 2A, Phillips Academy captured its first Championship in nearly 50 years. It's previous 2A champions, DePaul Prep, bumped up a class and won it in 3A. Which is something no team in the four-class system has ever done. To cap things off, Homewood-Flossmor, led by a 21-point performance from top 2025 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='1385293' first='Bryce' last='Heard'], took home it's first 4A championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Homewood-Flossmor reign supreme and finishes the season number 1. A spot they held on numerous occesions throughout the season. Despite losing to the 4A runner-ups in the regular season, DePaul Prep finishes number 2. The Rams lost an OT classic to Normal back in January. But they were coming off a 2OT win over Brother Rice less than 20 hours before. Their only other loss came to H-F. Additionally, they stormed through the 3A playoffs, winning every game by double-digits.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>2A champion Phillips makes its debut. They showed they were a team that was heavily overlooked and earned their way into the rankings. The junior guard trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1385290' first='Amari' last='Edwards'], Lawrence Horton, and [player_tooltip player_id='2217980' first='Phoenix' last='Childs'] came through when needed. All three could have their stocks boosted as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FINAL 2023-2024 RANKINGS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>RANK</strong></td><td><strong>SCHOOL</strong></td><td><strong>RECORD</strong></td><td><strong>PRESEASON RANK</strong></td><td><strong>NOTES</strong></td></tr><tr><td><strong>1</strong></td><td><strong>Homewood-Flossmor</strong></td><td>34-4</td><td>8</td><td>4A champs. Season for the ages.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>2</strong></td><td><strong>DePaul Prep</strong></td><td>35-2</td><td>9</td><td>3A champs. Capable of a three-peat.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>3</strong></td><td><strong>Normal</strong></td><td>32-6</td><td>3</td><td>4A runner-up. Tons to be proud of.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>4</strong></td><td><strong>Curie</strong></td><td>31-3</td><td>12</td><td>Condors always compete. Lost heartbreaking super-sectional to H-F</td></tr><tr><td><strong>5</strong></td><td><strong>Mt. Carmel</strong></td><td>32-6</td><td>6</td><td>3A runner-up. Ciaravino leaves his mark</td></tr><tr><td><strong>6</strong></td><td><strong>Peoria Richwoods</strong></td><td>30-5</td><td>7</td><td>Sommerville's return doesn't dissapoint. 3rd in 3A.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>7</strong></td><td><strong>Thornton</strong></td><td>29-5</td><td>5</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1157230' first='Morez' last='Johnson'] wins Player of the Year. Fell in supers to Richwoods.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>8</strong></td><td><strong>Metamora</strong></td><td>30-5</td><td>1</td><td>Richwoods spoils repeat chances in sectional final.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>9</strong></td><td><strong>Quincy</strong></td><td>31-4</td><td>10</td><td>Heartbreaking sectional-final loss. [player_tooltip player_id='1385298' first='Bradley' last='Longcor'] leads exciting group of returners.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>10</strong></td><td><strong>Brother Rice</strong></td><td>31-4</td><td>32</td><td>Exceeded expectations.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>11</strong></td><td><strong>Downers Grove North</strong></td><td>29-5</td><td>4</td><td>Couldn't get past Normal in supers.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>12</strong></td><td><strong>Bolingbrook</strong></td><td>26-5</td><td>17</td><td>Had several big wins, but couldn't get past sectionals.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>13</strong></td><td><strong>Kenwood</strong></td><td>24-8</td><td>2</td><td>An up-and-down season leads to a sectional semifinal loss. Broncos will be back.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>14</strong></td><td><strong>Mt. Zion</strong></td><td>35-3</td><td>NR</td><td>4th in 3A. Will definitely contend again next season.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>15</strong></td><td><strong>New Trier</strong></td><td>29-8</td><td>38</td><td>Back-to-back third place finishes in 4A. [player_tooltip player_id='1554516' first='Christopher' last='Kirkpatrick'] is the real deal.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>16</strong></td><td><strong>Warren</strong></td><td>31-5</td><td>NR</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='2194324' first='Jaxon' last='Davis'] is a contender for the #1 spot in 2027. Upset in supers by Palatine.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>17</strong></td><td><strong>Kankakee</strong></td><td>27-5</td><td>NR</td><td>Another team that exceeded expectations. Look out for [player_tooltip player_id='2105360' first='Lincoln' last='Williams'].</td></tr><tr><td><strong>18</strong></td><td><strong>Benet</strong></td><td>26-7</td><td>16</td><td>Top 2026 Gabe Sularski will lead a promising Redwing junior class. </td></tr><tr><td><strong>19</strong></td><td><strong>Palatine</strong></td><td>28-10</td><td>NR</td><td>Cinderella run to state. 4th in 4A</td></tr><tr><td><strong>20</strong></td><td><strong>Simeon</strong></td><td>17-14</td><td>13</td><td>Got hot at the right time. Close loss to Curie in sectional final.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>21</strong></td><td><strong>Bloom</strong></td><td>19-10</td><td>22</td><td>Had the season I expected.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>22</strong></td><td><strong>Marist</strong></td><td>29-5</td><td>31</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1845350' first='Stephen' last='Brown'] will lead a promising junior class next season.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>23</strong></td><td><strong>Centralia</strong></td><td>32-3</td><td>NR</td><td>Make their marks. Lost nail-bitter to Mt. Zion in supers.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>24</strong></td><td><strong>Waubonsie Valley</strong></td><td>27-3</td><td>NR</td><td>Far-exceeded expectations. Unbeaten until February.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>25</strong></td><td><strong>De La Salle</strong></td><td>23-12</td><td>15</td><td>Played a very difficult national schedule. Coach Gary Decesare has the Meteors back on the map.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>26</strong></td><td><strong>Phillips</strong></td><td>25-9</td><td>NR</td><td>2A champs. Underrated all season. </td></tr><tr><td><strong>27</strong></td><td><strong>Lake Park</strong></td><td>27-4</td><td>NR</td><td>Upset on a buzzer-beater in sectional semifinal</td></tr><tr><td><strong>28</strong></td><td><strong>Glenbrook North</strong></td><td>25-8</td><td>26</td><td>Also upset at the buzzer by New Trier. Sectional finalist.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>29</strong></td><td><strong>East St. Louis</strong></td><td>20-13</td><td>14</td><td>Upset in sectional semifinals.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>30</strong></td><td><strong>Loyola</strong></td><td>27-6</td><td>25</td><td>Another strong overall season for the Ramblers.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>31</strong></td><td><strong>Marian Catholic</strong></td><td>22-11</td><td>NR</td><td>Surprising season. Picked up several nice wins throughout the year.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>32</strong></td><td><strong>Collinsville</strong></td><td>28-5</td><td>NR</td><td>Promising season cut short in regionals.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>33</strong></td><td><strong>Rockford Guilford</strong></td><td>26-5</td><td>39</td><td>Unbeaten in NIC-10. Early exit in playoffs. </td></tr><tr><td><strong>34</strong></td><td><strong>Moline</strong></td><td>27-7</td><td>29</td><td>A 4A repeat was not to be.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>35</strong></td><td><strong>Rich Township</strong></td><td>23-8</td><td>NR</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1845352' first='Jamson' last='Coulter'] has so much promise.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>36</strong></td><td><strong>St. Patrick</strong></td><td>25-10</td><td>NR</td><td>Promising run to the supers. Lost in OT to Mt. Carmel.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>37</strong></td><td><strong>Riverside-Brookfield</strong></td><td>26-5</td><td>NR</td><td>[player_tooltip player_id='1285519' first='Stefan' last='Cicic'] left his mark.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>38</strong></td><td><strong>Glenbard North</strong></td><td>22-12</td><td>NR</td><td>Incredible run to the super-sectionals.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>39</strong></td><td><strong>Lake Forest</strong></td><td>25-8</td><td>NR</td><td>Ran into DePaul</td></tr><tr><td><strong>40</strong></td><td><strong>Lincoln Park</strong></td><td>21-10</td><td>NR</td><td>Lions couldn't get past difficult 4A sectional.</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table -->