State Finals: 4A Friday Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the afternoon we had action from 4A on Friday with the semis taking place between Normal Community vs Palatine followed by New Trier vs Homewood Flossmoor.&nbsp; PHI dives into each game and the prospects that made an impact in <strong>State Finals: 4A Friday Notebook</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Normal Community Clicks on All Cylinders Blowing Out Palatine</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Ironmen left no doubt as they rolled to 58-38 win against Palatine.&nbsp; It was a completely dominant performance across the board.&nbsp; Up front Wright State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1157233' first='Jaheem' last='Webber'] had 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.&nbsp; It was a dominant showing for the big man as he over powered Palatine inside imposing his will both scoring and on the glass.&nbsp; He had help up front as well with his partner in crime [player_tooltip player_id='1285481' first='Noah' last='Cleveland'] had 8 points and 9 rebounds.&nbsp; Was excellent on the offensive glass.&nbsp; Off the bench the third big man [player_tooltip player_id='2105203' first='Kobe' last='Walker'] was also effective with 4 points and 3 rebounds.&nbsp; Their perimeter highly ranked duo also had it working.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1172774' first='Braylon' last='Roman'] has it flowing from the perimeter with 19 points including three from distance.&nbsp; One of the best unsigned prospects in the 2024 class.&nbsp; Saginaw Valley State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1285483' first='Niko' last='Newsome'] connected on a pair of threes for 8 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1541230' first='Connor' last='May'] from Palatine was the leading scorer the Pirates with 17 points.&nbsp; He essentially had to carry them for Palatine to even have a shot.&nbsp; The Wash U commit is a crisp shooter from mid-range that has such a great skill set all-around.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Heard Pours in Jumpers for Homewood Flossmoor in Narrow Win Over New Trier</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Trier got this game at their pace.&nbsp; It was 11-11 at the half against Homewood Flossmoor.&nbsp; When it got going in the second half New Trier started to slice up HF with backdoor cuts while [player_tooltip player_id='1385293' first='Bryce' last='Heard'] carried HF with his shot making.&nbsp; New Trier tried to make a comeback late, but a steal by [player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] which he took end to end was the biggest single play of the game as HF won 40-35.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Homewood Flossmoor 2025 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1385293' first='Bryce' last='Heard'] has made a very compelling case to move to the top spot in the junior rankings with the way he has played the last two months.&nbsp; He made another statement in this one draining feathery jumpers all over the floor.&nbsp; Heard was aggressive hunting his shot hitting them one after another from 15-18 feet along with a pair off the catch from three finishing with 16 points (7-11 FG).&nbsp; He carried them for stretches in this game.&nbsp; Columbia commit [player_tooltip player_id='1352590' first='Gianni' last='Cobb'] came up with some clutch plays as well including that big steal late along with an array of acrobatic finishes.&nbsp; One of the most athletic players in the state got to the rim and line for scores notching 12 points.&nbsp; Sleeper 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='2104827' first='Dominic' last='Pangallo'] does what he does best draining a spot up three along with finishing a dump off and hitting a pair of free throws for 7 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Trier 2026 standout point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1554516' first='Christopher' last='Kirkpatrick'] was the story in the first half scoring almost all of their points.&nbsp; He is an athletic and tough lead guard that cut well off the ball for several finishes along with a three finishing with 13 points.&nbsp; Despite not scoring Will Leemaster ran New Trier's offense as the small forward worked from the high-post slicing the defense up on back cuts recording 5 assists to go with his 5 rebounds.&nbsp; Logan Feller scored on several of those back cuts along with a pair of jumpers for 9 points while also being a solid passer in his own right with 3 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->