Holiday Tournament rewind: Highlights and observations from tournaments around the state

Mount Carmel owns the Pekin Holiday Tournament. 

Last year the Caravan upset eventual Class 4A state champ Moline in the final. This year coach Phil Segroves’ team took care of Lake Park in the championship game. In the last three years the Caravan are now 12-0 with three consecutive Pekin titles.

While Northwestern recruit Angelo Ciaravino was named the tournament MVP, Mount Carmel’s success this season has been a result of a top-to-bottom balance among its top six players. The run at Pekin was further evidence. 

Ciaravino is an extremely efficient star. He averaged 15.5 points a game at Pekin while shooting over 60 percent from the field. But Christian Uremovich, Cameron Thomas, Grant Best, Noah Mister and Lee Marks all averaged between 7.7 points and 11.5 points a game for the Caravan in the four wins. 

The defense did its job as well. Lake Park’s Cam Cerese came into the title game having scored 86 points in the previous three tournament games; Mount Carmel limited Cerese to 16 points on 6 of 19 from the field in the championship. 

Favorites deliver

A season that’s been billed as one full of parity certainly didn’t come across that way over the holidays. 

There were endless down-to-the-wire barnburners across the state, filled with overtime and last-second shots. But by the time New Year’s Eve rolled around and the holiday tournaments were wrapped up, all the favorites were celebrating. 

Curie was the top seed at Pontiac. Metamora was favored at York. Warren was the team to beat at Proviso West, Mount Carmel at Pekin and Normal at the State Farm Classic. DePaul Prep and Waubonsie Valley went into the holidays unbeaten and came out unscathed, winning at Hinsdale Central and Jacobs, respectively.

Homewood-Flossmoor over Thornton at the Big Dipper, a battle of two highly-ranked teams chock-full of talent, wasn’t exactly a surprise. 

The one holiday surprise winner? Neuqua Valley. 

Glenbrook North was favored at the Wheeling Hardwood Classic, but it was Neuqua and high-scoring senior guard Luke Kinkade taking advantage of a winnable tournament. Kinkade, the tournament MVP, averaged 19.7 in the four wins and is putting up over 23 points a game on the season. 

Riding a seven-game win streak, Neuqua Valley (13-3) rolls into January with momentum and a huge showdown with unbeaten rival Waubonsie Valley this Friday. 

Romeoville rising

The team that fell short of reaching a title game but perhaps gained the most confidence is Romeoville. The semifinal defeat to highly-regarded Normal at the State Farm Classic in Bloomington-Normal could be a momentum-building loss. 

Romeoville fell behind 19-0 to a team with a massive home crowd on its side and is a legitimate state title contender in Class 4A. But in a game that was all but over, the Spartans showed plenty of perseverance and rallied behind junior point guard EJ Mosley. They nearly pulled off the come-from-behind upset but ultimately fell 66-65 in a heartbreaker. 

Mosley connected on four three-pointers and buried one contested big shot after another. He scored 30 points in putting together one of the best individual holiday tournament performances. 

Romeoville bounced back to beat Bradley-Bourbonnais in the third-place game and headed home with a sparkling 13-2 record. 

Here are a whole lot more thoughts and notes from the busiest week of the high school basketball season:

• There are now just three teams remaining in the Chicago area without a loss: DePaul Prep, Waubonsie Valley and Beecher. 
• The three-point shot is a game-changer in basketball. Underdogs find a way to knock off top teams with it. But it’s been a non-factor playing DePaul Prep this season –– teams were shooting 23 percent from three heading into the holidays. And that trend continued at the Hinsdale Central Holiday Tournament.
• DePaul’s four opponents shot 21 percent from the three-point line, connecting on just 11 threes in the four games. DePaul’s dominance at Hinsdale Central was noteworthy, which included a four-game winning margin of 20 points a game. 
• Homewood-Flossmoor winning the Big Dipper certainly wasn’t a surprise. The Vikings are as talented as anyone and have been ranked near the top all season. Nonetheless, beating Thornton and Morez Johnson was a statement. Behind Big Dipper MVP Bryce Heard and a vast array of weapons, coach Jamere Dismukes’ Vikings secured their biggest win just before embarking on what will be a rugged stretch in January. 
• H-F will play eight teams in the coming four weeks who enter January with a combined record of 97-21. They face five teams in DePaul Prep, Bolingbrook, Romeoville, Downers Grove North and Thornton that are all currently ranked among the top 20 teams in the Super 25. 
• Keep an eye on Rockford Auburn sophomore Amir Danforth. The scoring guard averaged 21 points a game and buried 12 three-pointers in four games at Hinsdale Central. Danforth is the nephew of former Auburn star and current NBA player Fred Van Vleet. 
• Metamora’s winning DNA matters. It’s a thing. And it was evident in its title game victory over Bolingbrook at York. Remember, this program is fresh off winning a Class 3A state championship last March after finishing second two seasons ago. 
• Metamora’s Tyler Mason is a winner. You can just tell his appetite for the game and competition is great. The MVP of the Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament is a recruiting dream for a Division II program like Winona State. He’s tough, competes and is an improved shot-maker who has some sneaky athleticism. Mason is a vastly underrated player statewide. 
• A really overlooked senior, particularly for how much success his team has had thus far, is Warren’s Alex Daniels. The 6-5 Daniels is such a steady influence on this team. He put up 14 points a game at Proviso West and consistently does what that team needs. Daniels will be a high-priority small college recruit over the coming months. 
• Kenwood lost to Warren in the Proviso West Holiday Tournament semifinals, but there were some positive takeaways over the holidays for coach Mike Irvin and the Broncos. First, getting freshman point guard Devin Cleveland back from injury and into the flow was a key step in getting this team going. And speaking of getting going, 6-9 junior Aleks Alston putting up 15.8 points a game and shooting 43 percent from three is a boon for this team going forward. 
• The shot clock is fantastic. It’s game-changing for the viewer, more interesting for coaches and more fun for players. The more games with the shot block, the better. And we are getting more and more of it with the majority of holiday tournaments and premier events utilizing the shot clock. 
• When New Trier shoots the ball like it certainly is capable of? Watch out. Coach Scott Fricke has five legitimate shooting threats. When you’re able to bring in a sniper like sophomore Danny Houlihan off the bench? Dangerous. Houlihan was 15 of 30 from three at Pontiac. The Trevians knocked down a ridiculous 45 three-pointers while going 3-1 at Pontiac. 
• Waubonsie Valley rolled to a tournament championship at Jacobs. It’s a very balanced attack that has helped the Warriors to an unbeaten record through December. But point guard Tyreek Coleman continues to showcase he’s one of the really underrated prospects in the junior class. Coleman is an improved shooter who can play at another gear with the ball in his hands. 
• After missing his junior season, Normal’s Noah Cleveland has been playing at a difference-making level as a senior. Big and athletic with the type of 4-man versatility you love, the 6-8 Cleveland was named to the State Farm Holiday Classic all-tournament team while helping his team to a title. He was terrific in his 22-point performance against Romeoville in the semifinal win. 
• Normal’s Braylon Roman is the best-uncommitted senior in Illinois. The 6-4 point guard and his teammate, Zach Cleveland, are arguably the two best uncommitted seniors. 
• Brother Rice is fueled by its guards. But Zavier Fitch, a 6-7 versatile 4-man for coach Conte Stamas, continued his breakthrough senior season. In four games at Hinsdale Central, Fitch averaged 17 points and 12.7 rebounds while knocking down 6 of 11 from the three-point line. 
• Some top teams have really developed sidekicks to their stars in the first month of the season, including Downers Grove North and Curie.  Jack Stanton is Downers Grove North’s proven go-to star. But Alex Miller has arrived as a major weapon and a serious space-the-floor shooter. The 6-5 senior’s shooting prowess was on full display in five games at York. While averaging 12.8 points a game, Miller shot over 50 percent from beyond the arc with 19 three-pointers (19 of 38) in tournament play. He was named to the all-tournament team at York. Curie is always going to rely heavily on senior guard Carlos Harris, the UIC recruit who was clutch in leading the Condors with 22 points in a title game win over Benet. But in that championship game, senior Will Gonzalez contributed 16 points. He scored 20 in the win over West Aurora and averaged 13.2 points a game at Pontiac. The 6-5 senior has been a huge addition since his arrival this year from Riverside-Brookfield. 
• Jehvion Starwood showed his explosive offensive potential in Oswego East’s third-place win over Brother Rice at Hinsdale Central. The Wyoming recruit pumped in 37 points in the win.
• Underrated: Liam Taylor of Lyons. The unknown 6-7 senior is a recruiting prize for Division III Denison. Long and versatile, Taylor had a pair of 23-point games for the Lions at York. 
• DeKalb won its own holiday tournament. Waubonsie Valley remained unbeaten by sweeping four games at Jacobs. Neuqua Valley won at Wheeling. The DuPage Valley Conference produced three holiday tournament champs –– and Metea Valley lost to Normal in the championship game of the State Farm Classic. 
• Marist has been heading to the Centralia Holiday Tournament for years, so when you’re 300 miles away it’s out of sight, out of mind for the Chicago area basketball world. Marist, however, made a run, reached the final and fell to the host. It’s never easy beating Centralia in Centralia, particularly this season with the Orphans a perfect 15-0. Marist’s Darshan Thomas was named to the all-tournament team.