What are the Toughest Paths for 4A State Title Contenders?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>***Use Code “ScottyB30” for 30% off your subscription***</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What potential 4A title contenders have the toughest paths to get to Champaign?&nbsp; We look at a few of them here!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Curie</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Curie has been the top team in the state all season long and the power of the CPS.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2734369' first='Justin' last='Oliver'] has played like a true go to guy at the lead guard spot.&nbsp; He is surrounded by great role players in fellow seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2823632' first='Kendall' last='Holliday'], [player_tooltip player_id='1845358' first='Michael' last='Oliver'], and [player_tooltip player_id='3361104' first='Saquon' last='Commings'].&nbsp; They are #1 seed in a super tough sectional!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Lyons/Oak Lawn<br>Sectional Semi – Mt. Carmel/St. Laurence<br>Sectional Final – St. Ignatius/Whitney Young<br>Super Sectional – Glenbard East/Glenbard North</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>St. Ignatius</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Iggy has exceeded expectations this season with an awesome year led by Yale commit power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2323283' first='Chris' last='Bolte'] along with point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2531962' first='Amir' last='Tucker'] who is among the best sophomores in the state at the point guard spot.&nbsp; Role players like [player_tooltip player_id='2125620' first='Duke' last='Ross'] have stepped up in a major way for this squad!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Kenwood/Perspectives<br>Sectional Semi – Whitney Young/Riverside Brookfield<br>Sectional Final – Curie/Mt. Carmel/St. Laurence<br>Super Sectional – Glenbard East/Glenbard North</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Homewood Flossmoor</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2467517' first='Darrius' last='Hawkins'] has elevated the play of those around him and his fellow sophomore running mate [player_tooltip player_id='2540205' first='John' last='Brown IV'] is stepping up at the right time!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Lincoln Way East/Sandburg (at Sandburg)<br>Sectional Semi – Brother Rice<br>Sectional Final – Marist/Lockport<br>Super Sectional – Rock Island/Richwoods/Normal/Edwardsville/Belleville West</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Marist</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Marist has been extremely up and down this year.&nbsp; When they are good usually [player_tooltip player_id='1552445' first='Charles' last='Barnes Jr'] has been leading the way!&nbsp; They will need [player_tooltip player_id='2125658' first='Kendall' last='Meyers'], [player_tooltip player_id='1845350' first='Stephen' last='Brown'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1552436' first='Karson' last='Thomas'] clicking to make a deep run!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Thornwood/Rich Township (at Rich)<br>Sectional Semi – Lockport/Bloom/Joliet West<br>Sectional Final – Homewood Flossmoor/Brother Rice<br>Super Sectional – Rock Island/Richwoods/Normal/Edwardsville/Belleville West</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rock Island</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rocky could make a deep run as they have a veteran team led by junior [player_tooltip player_id='2712818' first='Deven' last='Marshall'] along with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2823476' first='Lawson' last='Zulu'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2876529' first='Aris' last='Morgan'].&nbsp; The path is EXTREMELY TOUGH to get to Champaign!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Richwoods<br>Sectional Semi – Normal Community<br>Sectional Final – Belleville West/Edwardsville/Alton<br>Super Sectional – Homewood Flossmoor/Marist</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Normal Community</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Normal has a pair of top 10 ranked prospects in [player_tooltip player_id='2125642' first='Jarrel' last='Brown'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2542412' first='Chase' last='Kasten'].&nbsp; Similar path to Rocky above to get to state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Moline<br>Sectional Semi – Rock Island/Richwoods<br>Sectional Final – Belleville West/Edwardsville/Alton<br>Super Sectional – Homewood Flossmoor/Marist</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>DePaul Prep</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>No favors done for the 3 time defending champs who are going for the historic four peat!&nbsp; If DePaul Prep does it their trio of [player_tooltip player_id='1845360' first='Rashaun' last='Porter'], [player_tooltip player_id='1435692' first='Rykan' last='Woo'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2323334' first='AJ' last='Chambers'] will certainly have earned it!&nbsp; This is the path to state.&nbsp; The semis they would most likely get Benet or Warren before taking on the winner of top half of bracket.<br><br>Sectional Semi – St. Patrick/New Trier<br>Sectional Final – Evanston/Loyola (at Loyola)<br>Super Sectional – Fremd/Palatine</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Benet</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>They have been the best team in the state all year led by [player_tooltip player_id='2105376' first='Colin' last='Stack'], [player_tooltip player_id='2323620' first='Ed' last='Stasys'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2105390' first='Jayden' last='Wright'].&nbsp; What does the path look like?&nbsp; They will have to go through some big time prospects to get back to Champaign!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Waubonsie Valley/West Aurora<br>Sectional Semi – Naperville North/Downers Grove South/Yorkville<br>Sectional Final – Neuqua Valley/Bolingbrook/Oswego East<br>Super Sectional – Warren/Waukegan</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Neuqua Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2531981' first='Cole' last='Kelly'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2839878' first='Mason' last='Martin'] have lit up the state all season.&nbsp; They are looking to do it deep into March.&nbsp; Kelly was recently at Illinois for a visit and Martin is committed to the Illini.&nbsp; Here is what their road to play on that floor looks like!&nbsp; Would have to play a top 5 prospect in all four of these games!&nbsp; That's crazy.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Oswego East<br>Sectional Semi – Bolingbrook/Oswego<br>Sectional Final – Benet<br>Super Sectional – Warren</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bolingbrook</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2531973' first='Brady' last='Pettigrew'] is the go to guy as the #1 sophomore could have to face his competition for that spot early on in the tournament.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1552408' first='TJ' last='Williams'] is looking to close out a strong senior campaign in style!&nbsp; They also would have to beat a host of highly ranked prospects to get to state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Oswego (at Oswego)<br>Sectional Semi – Neuqua Valley<br>Sectional Final – Benet<br>Super Sectional – Warren</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Warren</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2323571' first='Jaxson' last='Davis'] is the player I would most want to have on my team in March!&nbsp; He is a winner that can score and set others up making those around him better.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2437525' first='Joel' last='Paasch'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2437519' first='Braylon' last='Walker'] are primed to make noise on the wings.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Regional Final – Libertyville<br>Sectional Semi – Rockford Auburn<br>Sectional Final – Waukegan/Rockford Guilford<br>Super Sectional – Benet</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->