13 PROVISO WEST HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT TEAMS RANKED;
NUMEROUS PLAYERS HIGHLIGHTED IN PRE-SEASON LISTINGS
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13 PROVISO WEST HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT TEAMS RANKED;
NUMEROUS PLAYERS HIGHLIGHTED IN PRE-SEASON LISTINGS |
Released: November 20, 2006
As the start of the basketball season opens, as
many as 13 teams in the 16 team field of this year’s Proviso West Holiday
Tournament have received a mention in the pre-season state ratings. The four
day event will boast one of its deepest fields in the 46 year history of the
event.
Saint Joseph (#2 in Chicago Tribune / #3 in Chicago Sun-Times); Von Steuben (10 / 15); Thornton Fractional North (11 / 18); Whitney Young (13 / 17); Homewood-Flossmoor (17 / 11) and Proviso East (20 / 15) were all rated in both Chicago’s daily papers Top 20 pre-season Chicago Area Teams. The Illinois Prep Bullseye rated 13 Proviso West Tournament Teams in their pre-season Top 45 teams statewide. In addition to the six teams listed above, Hillcrest, New Trier, Morgan Park, Saint Patrick, Glenbrook North, Proviso West and Peoria Central all received rankings.
This year’s tournament will also feature one of the deepest individual player talent pools as well. Four seniors have already signed to Division I schools and a recent publication placed 30 players which will compete on the Proviso West hardwood this holiday season on its “Players to Watch” list.
Saint Joseph’s Evan Turner (Ohio State) and Demetri McCamey (Illinois); Proviso East’s Jacob Pullen (Kansas State) and Saint Patrick’s Sam Maniscalco (Bradley) are on their way to NCAA institutions next fall. The tournament will also feature one of the state’s top juniors (Kevin Dillard of Homewood-Flossmoor) and one of the nation’s top sophomore prospects (D.J. Richardson of Peoria) according to consensus pre-season player ratings.
This year’s player corps could rival the 1978 Proviso West Holiday Tournament, in which 17 players went on to play ball at Division I schools later in their career.
Pairings for the 46th Annual Tournament will be announced at the tournament Media Night on Monday, December 4. Complete schedules and brackets will also be available on the tournament website, www.pwhoops.com.
The tournament, which has produced 26 professional basketball players and 11 state championship teams, will be held December 27-30 in the Proviso West Sports Arena.