Best Central and Southern Illinois Thanksgiving Tournaments

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are so close to the start of Thanksgiving Tournaments across the state of Illinois!&nbsp; Here is a look at a few of the best in central and southern Illinois!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Decatur Turkey Tourney</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams<br></strong><br>Bolingbrook<br>Champaign Central<br>Decatur Eisenhower<br>Decatur MacArthur<br>Peoria Manual<br>Peoria<br>Sacred Heart Griffin<br>Springfield Southeast</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Storylines</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I have attended this event many times and it is a neat event.&nbsp; The community really gets into it and has a cool environment.&nbsp; Two of the preseason top 10 teams in the state could be a fantastic matchup in the final with Bolingbrook and MacArthur.&nbsp; We will get to see what Bolingbrook has out of the gate with a tough road of potentially SHG, Peoria, and MacArthur which would be three great wins if they can do it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>Names to Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2531973' first='Brady' last='Pettigrew'] (Bolingbrook), [player_tooltip player_id='2244002' first='Jayden' last='Madden'] (Bolingbrook), [player_tooltip player_id='1874876' first='Trey' last='Brost'] (Bolingbrook), [player_tooltip player_id='2323268' first='Tishawn' last='Clemmons'] (Decatur MacArthur), [player_tooltip player_id='2105414' first='Sean' last='Lee'] (Decatur MacArthur), [player_tooltip player_id='2474926' first='Kayden' last='Turner'] (Peoria), [player_tooltip player_id='2834186' first='Nigel' last='Moore'] (Peoria), [player_tooltip player_id='2991689' first='Myles' last='Montgomery'] (Sacred Heart Griffin), [player_tooltip player_id='2991688' first='Tereik' last='Hurd'] (Sacred Heart Griffin)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>Pick to Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Decatur MacArthur over Bolingbrook</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Inter City Tip Off (Bloomington)</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams<br></strong><br>Normal Community<br>Normal U-High<br>Normal West<br>Bloomington Central Catholic<br>Bloomington</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Storylines</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This event is all the Normal and Bloomington schools going at it in a round robin event.&nbsp; Normal Community has dominated it for the most part winning 4 of the last 5.&nbsp; They have a pair of top 10 underclassmen that lead the way.&nbsp; Overall an interesting mix of upside young prospects and small college seniors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Names to Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2125642' first='Jarrel' last='Brown'] (Normal Community), [player_tooltip player_id='2542412' first='Chase' last='Kasten'] (Normal Community), [player_tooltip player_id='2823571' first='Trey' last='Birditt'] (Normal Community), [player_tooltip player_id='2953859' first='Cameron' last='Johnson'] (Normal U-High), [player_tooltip player_id='2532349' first='Owen' last='Kirby'] (Normal U-High), [player_tooltip player_id='2894776' first='Devin' last=''] Fitzgerald (Normal U-High), [player_tooltip player_id='2323677' first='Camron' last='Dunson-Riggs'] (Bloomington), [player_tooltip player_id='2751058' first='Kyron' last='King-Warr'] (Bloomington), [player_tooltip player_id='2455395' first='Keshaun' last='Manney'] (Bloomington Central Catholic)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pick to Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Normal Community</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Kevin Brown Memorial</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Illinois Teams<br></strong><br>Morton<br>Washington<br>O'Fallon<br>West Hancock<br>Metamora<br>Routt Catholic<br>Dunlap<br>Peoria<br><br><strong>Storylines</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>First of all this is an amazing event for a great cause in honor of former Washington coach Kevin Brown.&nbsp; It features big time teams from around the country in a multi tournament event that goes all week!&nbsp; From an Illinois standpoint we are looking forward to seeing [player_tooltip player_id='2426366' first='Cooper' last='Knowles'] against quality competition as one of the top uncommitted seniors in the state.&nbsp; Also how do central Illinois reloading powers Metamora and Peoria look.&nbsp; O'Fallon will get a big test as well!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Names to Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2734458' first='Alex' last='McKie'] (Morton), [player_tooltip player_id='2749984' first='James' last='Johnson'] (Washington), [player_tooltip player_id='1501486' first='Ben' last='Akoro'] (O'Fallon), [player_tooltip player_id='2454165' first='Lawson' last='Bynum'] (O'Fallon), [player_tooltip player_id='2426366' first='Cooper' last='Knowles'] (West Hancock), [player_tooltip player_id='2751060' first='Brady' last='Jones'] (Metamora), [player_tooltip player_id='2916010' first='Sam' last='Koch'] (Metamora), [player_tooltip player_id='2474926' first='Kayden' last='Turner'] (Peoria), [player_tooltip player_id='2389398' first='Orlando' last='Edwards'] (Peoria),</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Games to Watch for Illinois Teams<br></strong><br>West Hancock vs Washington<br>O'Fallon vs Morton<br>O'Fallon vs Mater Dei (CA)<br>Metamora vs Pasadena<br>Peoria vs Pasadena</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Trenton Wesclin Tournament</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams<br></strong><br>Columbia<br>Breese Mater Dei<br>Nashville<br>Trenton Wesclin<br><br><strong>Storylines</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How will Columbia look early in season without injured star and Sam Donald's graduation?&nbsp; Can Ritzel take over the tournament for Nashville?&nbsp; Is this the arrival of the Rahm and Haar show on a statewide radar for Wesclin?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Names to Know</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2376280' first='Brody' last='Landgraf'] (Columbia), [player_tooltip player_id='1552415' first='Maddox' last='Ritzel'] (Nashville), [player_tooltip player_id='2963262' first='Gavin' last='Rahm'] (Wesclin), [player_tooltip player_id='2383992' first='Bryce' last='Haar'] (Wesclin)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pick to Win</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trenton Wesclin</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->