Holiday Tournament Wrap-Ups - At McDipper

Holiday Tournament Wrap-Ups - At McDipper
(Rich South High School)
Hales 68 – Rich South 51    *Title
Thornton 58 – Bolingbrook 56    *3rd Place

A good event, certainly not the slew of division one talent the south-suburban locals were so accustom to critiquing nightly.  Standing room only crowds no longer exist, but what makes “The Dipper” so authentic is its cast of colorful characters on-hand, a dynamite atmosphere fills the place with a resonating aura.  The hospitality room has a strong spread, it grades out at a 5 star, the room is often the happening spot between sessions for tourney officials, college coaches, participating coaches, scouts and just the plain old miscellaneous Joe Blows.  Hales Franciscan was the marque attraction this year a team assembled with athleticism, perimeter shooting and a physical style in the paint anchored by shot-blockers; their collection of athletes attempt to dunk everything in transition which makes them entertaining to watch.  Hales seems to be the early favorite to win a 2A Title, they are an exciting group led by rising senior forward Johnny Fox, a rugged athletic banger with an effective offensive game, he’s also a punishing rebounder.  The OVC and Horizon Leagues have started to notice his play while junior forward Ansar Muhammad has started to create some buzz for himself with several electric dunks in traffic within the last few weeks.  Bolingbrook six foot three combo guard Brodric Thomas demonstrated once again he is legit. He is one of the top 10 seniors available, his value continues to climb.  Another senior who’s operating under-the-radar is 6-2 swingman Jesse Young a high-jumping lefty who scores in bundles along the baseline, he too could be a late division one signee, this kid is a potential game changer.  Leo’s Darias Oliver was 1 or 2 in tournament scoring, Oliver a junior forward will amass several scoring records before he’s done at the south-side school.  Rich-South’s duel of point-guard Dedrick Shannon and six foot four banger Jeremy Ruffin surprised everyone by pushing their way to the title game.  Shannon’s play earned him some interest from D1 schools while Ruffin draws small college looks.  Seton Academy’s wiry scoring guard RaShaad Williams had observers excited about the sophomore’s upside potential.  “The astounding fact to this over-all venue is the talented core of young players Marion Catholic has in their stable for the next several years.  Freshman guards Chase Adams and Brandon Hurt will spearhead the back-court for the next 4 years, they have plenty of depth on the back-line with promising six foot seven junior Myles Howard who was selected to the all-tournament team, six foot five sophomore Austin Richie has shown the ability to score in double figures consistently.  Warren Allen another 6-5 sophomore plays strong in the paint, provides some inside muscle with scoring and rebounding.  6-7 sophomore forward T.J. Smith considered by many the best prospect on Marian’s roster will return to action late February after injuring his knee late in the summer.  Count Marion Catholic in with Whitney Young, Belleville Althoff and Curie as having some of the finest young talent in the state.  “The Dipper” will be a strong event in-terms of talent on-hand the next few years.