1970
Five different teams are replaced from the
previous year field, marking the most since the tournament expanded in 1962.
Proviso East defeats Lyons Township 71-68 in the championship game, marking
the first of four titles for Pirates coach Glenn Whittenberg. The
inside-outside combination of Dave Roberts (24 points, 10 rebounds) and
David Fowlkes (20 points) prove to much for the Lions. Rookie coaches Gene Pingatore (Saint Joseph) and Lowell Lucas (Proviso West) make their
tournament debuts and would later go on to be the two winningest coaches in
tournament history. The tournament streak of three state champions is
broken as none of the field of sixteen advances beyond the sectional later
in the year. Results from 1970
TEAMS IN:
Addison-Trail, Hinsdale South, Maine West,
Morton East, York
TEAMS OUT:
Highland Park, Morton West, Oak Park, West
Leyden, Wheaton Central
Saint Joseph coach Gene Pingatore made his debut
in 1970. He would win more
games and more titles than
any other coach in Holiday Tournament history
1971
Lyons Township makes their fourth straight appearance in
the title game and wins their second title in three years to cap off three
straight nailbiters over three consecutive days. The Lions defeat
Proviso East in the quarterfinals 52-50; upend Joliet West 50-49 in the
semifinals; and then defeat Willowbrook 47-45 in the championship game. The rest of the
Final Four is composed of schools that never advanced past the quarterfinal
round in any past Holiday Tournament -- Willowbrook, Joliet West and Proviso West.
These three new kids on the block were so popular that their players
occupied four of the five positions on the All-Tournament Team.
Earlier in the tournament, Elgin
becomes the first team to ever eclipse the century mark in scoring, defeating
Addison-Trail 103-62 in the consolation round.
Results from 1971
TEAMS IN:
Morton West, Oak Park
TEAMS OUT: East Leyden,
Maine West
1972
Marking the first time in the history of the
tournament, all sixteen teams that participated in the previous tournament
returned for the following year. Legendary coach Bill Chesbrough wins
his first and only Proviso West Tournament title, as Elgin -- and the
tournament's first seven-foot player, Jeff Wilkins -- records a 66-62
victory over Proviso East in the title game. Tim Jones scores 23 points in
the championship game for the Maroons and Proviso East's Larry Yates
tallied 22 for the Pirates. Two individual single game
tournament records were established as Morton East's Jim Siemianowski became
the first player to reach the 40-point plateau as he scored 40 points
against Lake Forest in the consolation quarterfinals, and Proviso West's Bill Hurt set
the single game rebounding record with 24 boards in the third place game
against Downers Grove North. Unlike the controversy of 1965, there were no reports of Bill's
girlfriend taking stats.
Results from 1972
TEAMS IN: None
TEAMS OUT: None
1973
York's Kevin Keever broke the one
year old single game scoring mark as the Duke scored 41 against Morton West
in an opening round game. The championship game goes to Lyons Township
as they win their second title in the past three years, 67-63 over Elgin.
Dave Carroll netted 25 points for the Lions. Elgin's Terry Drake scored 26
in a losing cause . Despite losing twice and finishing fourth over the
holidays, Proviso East regroups and captures the state title later in the
season to become the fourth Proviso West Holiday Tournament state champion
-- the first team to do so without winning the Christmas crown.
Results from 1973
TEAMS IN:
None
TEAMS OUT: None
Proviso East and Proviso West met for the first time in the Holiday
Tournament in 1973.
1974
Coach Ralph Miller brings Curie to
the Proviso West Tournament, marking the first Public League team to ever
play in a holiday event outside of Chicago. Overcoming an electrifying
31-point performance by Lyons Township's Derky Robinson (the most points
ever scored by an individual in the title game in a losing cause), Proviso
East defeats the Lions 60-58. Roderick Floyd scored 23 in the finale
for the Pirates. The game marked an incredible 13 year run in
which either Proviso East or Lyons Township would play in the tournament
championship game -- a streak that would finally come to an end the
following year. Results from 1974
TEAMS IN:
Curie, Libertyville, Niles West, Wheeling
TEAMS OUT: Addison-Trail, Lake Forest,
Morton East, York
1975
Wholesale changes to the tournament
field takes place as a record six new teams come on board. Four of
those teams would make Final Four appearances over the next three years.
Proviso West makes their first championship game appearance and upends
eventual state champion Morgan Park 52-51 in the finale. Steve
McCuiston scores 17 for the winners. The Panthers
starting five plays the entire 32 minutes with no substitutions. In the
championship quarterfinals first time participant Zion-Benton shocked
Proviso East 82-67 to advance to the Final Four behind Zee Bees star Rob
Judson who scored 41 points. Pirates coach Glenn Whittenberg left a
note on the blackboard after the game remind the next coach to guard Judson,
since the Pirates were unable to do so in only their third quarterfinal loss
in their first 13 years of tournament play. Earlier in the day, Morton East's Don Strumillo
would set the single game scoring mark with a 50 point consolation
quarterfinal performance against Rolling Meadows. Fenwick's Neil
Bresnahan would tie the single game rebounding mark with 24 boards against
Wheeling. Results from 1975
TEAMS IN:
Fenwick, Kenwood, Morgan Park, Morton East,
Rolling Meadows, Zion-Benton
TEAMS OUT: Elgin, Hinsdale South, Morton
West, Oak Park, Riverside-Brookfield, Willowbrook
Steve McCuiston was
Proviso West's first All-State basketball player
1976
Proviso East defeats Proviso West
56-47 in the first ever championship game meeting of the two district
rivals. The Pirates are led by Michael Thomas (21) and Desmond Rouse
(19). Steve Biagini scores 18 for the Panthers. Officials Tony Sacco and Tony Tortorello retire from active
officiating after working a combined twenty-two Proviso West championship games
between the two of them. Kenwood defeats Saint Joseph 98-83 in the
third place game and establishes the team record for points scored in a
tournament with 322. The fourth place finish by the Chargers is their
first ever Final Four showing. Results
from 1976
TEAMS IN:
Argo, Hales Franciscan
TEAMS OUT: Downers North, Joliet West
1977
Despite playing in only two
games, Westinghouse's Mark Aguirre is named Tournament Valuable Player. The
Warriors bow out in the quarterfinals 66-65 to Saint Joseph (back then it
was a loss in the second round and you went home), despite Aguirre's
35-point performance. An
All-West suburbs Final Four sees Saint Joseph advanced to their first title
game with a 59-51 semi-final victory over Proviso West and Fenwick make
their only title game appearance by beating Proviso East 81-80 on Jim Trauth's bucket at the buzzer. Junior Isiah
Thomas scores 35 points in the championship game for Saint Joseph, to offset
Fenwick's Brian "Sonny" Liston's 25 points, as the Chargers win their first
ever Holiday Tournament title.
Results from 1977
TEAMS IN:
Amundsen, Elgin Larkin, Westinghouse
TEAMS OUT: Curie, Hales Franciscan,
Rolling Meadows
In 2000 Isiah Thomas was selected as the #1 player in Holiday Tournament
history
1978
Saint Joseph almost didn't get a
chance to defend their crown as they relied on last second heroics from Isiah
Thomas, who drove to the basket in the final seconds and calmly sunk the game
winning free throw to give the
Chargers a 64-63 quarterfinal victory over New Trier West. The
Chargers 12-point semifinal win over Morgan Park the next day was a bit
easier. Thomas, the Tournament Most Valuable Player, scored 27 points and dished out 10 assists in the championship game
against the Glenn Rivers-led Proviso East Pirates, as Saint Joseph wins
88-72. The Chargers become the first team to win back-to-back tournament
titles since Proviso East (1963-64), as the game is witnessed by an
estimated 4400 spectators as every imaginable seating location and standing
space is occupied. A record eighteen players that participated in
the 1978 Christmas Classic would later go on to play college basketball at
the Division I level. (Click here to see
where those 18 players went on to college) The tournament also established the all-time mark
for total attendance in the 18 year history of the event.
Results from 1978
TEAMS IN:
Barrington, Benet Academy, Martin Luther King, New
Trier West
TEAMS OUT: Amundsen, Kenwood, Niles West,
Wheeling
1979
Proviso East defeats New Trier West
75-59 in the title game, as all five of the Pirates starters tally in double
digits. Ricky Wilson is the high point man for East with 19. The
Cowboys' Tom Franz leads all scorers with 24. Glenn Rivers becomes the tournament's third straight Most Valuable
Player to later go on and have a stellar professional career, joining the
lies of Mark Aguirre and Isiah Thomas. "Doc" also
becomes the first tournament star to be selected to three consecutive
All-Tournament Teams. Proviso East scores a record 343 points in their four
games. Barrington's Tim Millay establishes the tournament single game
assist mark with 14 against Morgan Park in the opening round nightcap.
Morgan Park defeats Westinghouse 60-59 for the Consolation title -- marking
the first time two Public League opponents met in the Proviso West
Tournament. It also starts three decades of Public League domination,
as teams from Chicago would play for a trophy every year to the present, and
they would take home hardware in 28 of the next 29 years.
Results from 1979
TEAMS IN:
None
TEAMS OUT: None
Doc Rivers coached the
Boston Celtics to the
2008 NBA championship