Top Thanksgiving Tournaments In Illinois

November 13, 2009

5:30 P.M. CST

To be perfectly honest, we are getting a bit tired of the endless saturation of internet reports and newspaper stories regarding the Fall signing period.  The bottom line is that it is vintage overanalysis, with most of the reported information being stuff that everyone (and we do mean EVERYONE!) who follows recruiting knew about as early as a year ago, especially with respect to 2010 prospects from the state of Illinois. In fact, Hoop Scoop editor and publisher Clark Francis said it best recently on his web site at www.hoopscooponline.com when on the opening day of the Fall signing period he stated that "Today is the first day that high school seniors can sign a binding National Letter of Intent with a four-year Division I school or university and it's kind of ironic that this is the time when the mainstream media starts paying attention to recruiting, but very little new actually happens." We couldn't agree more!

Now with that out of the way, we focus instead on the start of the high school basketball season in Illinois which is just around the corner. With that in mind, we take a closer look at some of the top Thanksgiving tournaments which will mark the beginning of the prep hoops season.

St. Charles Thanksgiving Tournament
Dates: November 23-25, 27-28
Location: St. Charles East High School--St. Charles, IL
Top Teams: St. Joseph, Proviso East, East Aurora, Hales Franciscan

From an in-state standpoint, this is as deep a Thanksgiving tournament as any in the state from top to bottom. Top individual talent includes the St. Joseph back court trio of 6'1 senior DeAndre McCamey, 6'0 senior Wayne Simon and 6'2 junior and University Of Wyoming commit Cameron Harvey; 6'0 sophomore guard Keith Carter at Proviso East; 5'10 junior guard Ryan Boatright at East Aurora; and 6'0 senior guard and Tennessee State signee Patrick Miller at Hales Franciscan.

Chicago Heights Classic VI
Dates: November 23-25, 27-28
Location: Bloom Township High School--Chicago Heights, IL Marian Catholic High School--Chicago Heights, IL
Top Teams: Homewood-Flossmoor, Hillcrest, Rich East, Bloom

The format is a bit different this year, but there is still plenty of top talent on hand. Tournament play will now consist of a five game round-robin, with games being played November 23-25 at Bloom and November 27-28 at Marian Catholic. Top players include a plethora of underclass sensations at Homewood-Flossmoor such as 6'5 sophomore forward Delvon Rencher, 6'6 sophomore forward Tim Williams, 6'4 junior swing man Julian Lewis and 6'0 sophomore guard Tyrone Sherman; 6'3 senior guard Kayshaune McKinney at Rich East; and 6'4 senior guard and Kent State signee Eric Gaines as well as 5'8 point guard Julius Brown at Hillcrest.

Eaton Corporation Thanksgiving Tournament
Dates: November 23, 25, 27-28
Location: Lincoln High School--Lincoln, IL
Top Teams: Champaign Centennial, Lincoln, Belleville Althoff, Cahokia

Despite the fact that the teams have changed somewhat in comparison with a year ago, this tournament still sports a strong field. There is plenty of individual talent on hand as well, featuring 6'3 senior forward and Drake University signee Rayvonte Rice, 6'8 senior center and Eastern Kentucky University signee Jeff Johnson and 6'7 junior forward Chris Piper from Champaign Centennial; 6'5 senior forward and Bucknell University signee Ben Brackney and 6'0 junior guard Jordan Nelson from Lincoln; and 6'8 senior center and Austin Peay University signee Joe Harms and 6'6 senior forward Carson Sonnenberg from Belleville Althoff. Cahokia replaces East St. Louis and has lots of young talent.  

Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament
Dates: November 23-25, 27-28
Location: Lane Tech High School--Chicago
Top Teams: Mt. Carmel, Zion-Benton, Oak Park, Niles Notre Dame

The talent pool at this tournament may be down a bit in comparison with the past couple of years, but there is still enough to make it well worth watching. The feature attraction will be on the final night when Mt. Carmel with 6'0 guard and University Of Illinois commit Tracy Abrams do battle against Zion-Benton and 6'4 guard and Ohio State signee Lenzelle Smith. In addition to Abrams and Smith, other top individual talent includes 6'2 junior guard Adonis Filer and 5'9 sophomore guard Malcolm Hill-Bey from Mt. Carmel; 6'8 senior forward and Rollins College signee Jeff Dirkin from Oak Park and 6'4 junior forward Quintin Chievous from Niles Notre Dame.

Tom McGovern Thanksgiving Classic
Dates: November 23-25, 27-28
Location: St. Rita High School--Chicago
Top Teams: St. Ignatius, Morgan Park, Lincoln Park, Laporte (La Lumiere) IN

Three strong city teams at the top make this an attractrive tournament to cover as always. Top players include 6'9 junior center and University Of Illinois commit Nnanna Egwu from St. Ignatius; 6'5 junior forward Wayne Blackshear and 6'4 junior forward Deshawn Greer from Morgan Park; and the Lincoln Park trio of 6'7 senior forward Mike Gabriel, 6'3 senior guard Greg Tucker and 6'0 senior guard DeMarko Nash.

Team Soy Capital Decatur Turkey Tournament
Dates: November 24-25, 27-28
Location: Stephen Decatur Middle School--Decatur, IL
Top Teams: Thornton, Springfield Lanphier, Decatur Eisenhower, Peoria Central, Bolingbrook

As has become customary at this tournament, a very strong field overall with no weak sisters. Lots of individual talent on display as well including one of the best back court duos in the state in 6'0 senior Reggie Smith and 5'9 junior Jay Parker from Thornton; 5'10 senior guard and Drake University signee Karl Madison; 5'10 sophomore guard Antonio "Bobo" Drummond and 6'5 junior forward Travis Kellum from Peoria Central; 6'3 senior guard Jarod Oldham from Decatur Eisenhower; and 6'1 senior guard Antoine Cox from Bolingbrook.

State Farm Tournament Of Champions
Dates: November 24-28
Location: Washington High School--Washington, IL
Top In-State Teams: De LaSalle, Brehm Prep, Lake Forest Academy, Peoria Notre Dame, O'Fallon, Springfield, Champaign Central, Bartonville Limestone

Tournament coordinator Shawn Powell has done it once again, as he has assembled another outstanding field at this year's State Farm Tournament Of Champions featuring top teams and players from across the nation. It is also one of the few tournaments playing on Thanksgiving Day. The list of top players is far too numerous to include here, so for that as well as all other pertinent information including game matchups and starting times, we encourage everyone to visit the tournament web site at www.sftofc.org

Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to high school basketball and recruiting in Illinois.