Class 4A
First is the Hinsdale Central SuperSectional which will have the winners of the Lyons and Neuqua Valley Sectionals face off for the right to go downstate.
Hinsdale (Central) Super-Sectional
Lyons Sectional
This Sectional is made up of four Regionals: Marist, Argo, Mt. Carmel and Oak Lawn. In the Sectional semis, the winners of the Marist and Argo Regionals would face off, followed by the winners of the Mt. Carmel and Oak Lawn Regionals.
Top 8 seeds: Lyons, Mount Carmel, Bogan, Simeon, Vocational, Morgan Park, Hyde Park, Brother Rice
This is the Sectional of all Sectionals, as it features three highly ranked teams, Morgan Park, Lyons and Mount Carmel. Now with those three teams, you would think that they make up a tough Sectional, but wait until you see the rest of the top teams...Simeon, Vocational, Hyde Park, Bogan have ALL been ranked this year. Even the ninth-seeded team in the Sectional, Julian, is one to fear. But when all is said and done, I think Mount Carmel, behind Tracy Abrams and Adonis Filer, moves on.
What makes this Sectional crazy is the possibility of some amazing Regional Finals. We could see Bogan vs. Morgan Park, Vocational vs. Simeon, Lyons vs. Brother Rice/Julian and Mount Carmel vs. Hyde Park.
Lyons: Up until a couple weeks ago, Lyons was the lone unbeaten team. Could that late-season loss to Oak Park might have been exactly what the Lions needed? Dan Lalonde is finally healthy and that might be scary for future Lyons opponents. Even without their superstar, the Lions continued to roll behind the outstanding play of Nick Zeisloft and Nick Burt.
Mount Carmel: The Caravan started out kinda rough without their star Abrams, who was out with an ankle injury, this year. But if anything the time without him made the team stronger as a whole because it gave players such as Filer and Billy Clark and Jon Gac a chance to grow as players. Now Abrams is fully healthy and ready to lead his team downstate. He has been dominant as of late and with that the Caravan might be tough to stop. Competing in the tough Catholic League, where two other teams from the conference are also in the top 5 teams in the areas, making it three total.
Bogan: This has to be probably the biggest surprise in the Sectional, if not one of the biggest surprises in the entire area. It could be said that the Bengals overachieved this year, but they also are very talented. They are led by Rico Richardson and Darius Golston. The Bengals played in one of the toughest conferences this year, as they have already faced teams like Morgan Park, Simeon and Vocational, all teams that happen to be a part of the Lyons Sectional as well. A Regional final vs. Morgan Park looms should Bogan win its first game.
Simeon: Compared to recent years, one could say that this year is a "down year" for the Wolverines. One thing that all Simeon fans can look forward to is the emergence and future of freshman star Jabari Parker. But Simeon isn't all about Parker. They have some excellent depth and that is led by Dayton-bound Brandon Spearman, who has not lived up to the high expectations placed upon him after a breakthrough summer. A potential Regional final against Vocational, who has beaten the Wolverines twice so far, is on the horizon.
Vocational: Despite having two of the top players in the Public League (guard Hollis Hill and forward Aaron Johnson), the 2009-2010 season has been an up-and-down one for the Cavaliers. Vocational will have had the longest layoff of any of the teams in the Sectional, as their last game was at the beginning of February. Vocational will be looking to pick up their third victory over Simeon if both teams advance to the Regional final.
Morgan Park: Wayne Blackshear. What else is there to say? Blackshear has been a BEAST this year. But it isn't just Wayne that has been huge for the Mustangs. A freshman, Markee Williams, has shown that he has some amazing talent and Morgan Park is not a one man team. The team is coming off of a Public League tournament championship, so to see whether they can continue their hot streak will be fun to see. Billy Garrett Jr. is also a major contributor for a team that may face off against Bogan in a Regional final.
Hyde Park: Hyde Park is led by star guard Fabyon Harris. They rode him to a spot late into the Public League playoffs and will look to get back on track. A tough potential match-up with Mount Carmel looms in the Regional final, hosted by the Caravan.
