South suburban teams live up to hype in opening week

The south suburbs were expected to be loaded. And south suburban teams flexed some muscle over the course of the Thanksgiving tournament week.

Thornton’s win over Bolingbrook shouldn’t be a shocker. Both teams were ranked in the preseason. Nonetheless, the Wildcats went 3-0 in Decatur with an eye-opening 76-60 win over Bolingbrook, a traditional power that was going for its fourth straight Decatur Turkey Tournament title.

Promising 6-3 junior Brandon Hall may be in the process of taking the next step in his development. The talented and athletic junior was named tournament MVP.

Thornton coach Tai Streets is cautious, knowing it’s very early and there is plenty of work to be done. But he is excited about his team’s approach and mindset.

“We have a long way to go, and we aren’t anywhere close to where we want to be,” says Streets. “But what I do know is that these guys are always going to compete. They are focused, engaged and ready. They have that ‘do whatever it takes to win’ in them.”

Powers light up Chicago Heights

The state’s toughest Thanksgiving tournament was won by the state’s top-ranked team. No surprise. Bloom is 4-0 with wins over a pair of south suburban powers who were both ranked in the preseason top 10 –– Hillcrest and Marian Catholic.

Yes, Bloom escaped a rugged tournament unscathed. Both Homewood-Flossmoor and Marian Catholic were tested and came out 3-1. But there was going to be one powerhouse with two losses no matter what happened in the opening week of the Chicago Heights Classic.

Hillcrest heads into December with a 2-2 record. The Hawks lost to both Bloom and H-F, though coach Don Houston’s team opened the season without Mar’Keise Irving. He may be a star football prospect and high-level recruit at running back, but he’s also the heart and soul of this junior-dominated Hillcrest basketball team. Irving’s absence was felt.

But the story surrounding Bloom is the play of unsigned senior Christian Shumate.

The senior group of Keshawn Williams (Tulsa), Martice Mitchell (Minnesota), Donovan Newby (Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and Dante Maddox (Cal-State Fullerton) have all secured their Division I destinations. They are well established stars who have been talked about and pumped up for the past two years.

Shumate, however, was the star of the weekend’s biggest game. In front of a sold out crowd at Marian Catholic, Bloom beat Marian Catholic in the title game of the Chicago Heights Classic.

Shumate was electric. All he did was record a triple-double with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Shumate, a transfer from Plainfield East, is ranked among the top 25 seniors in the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s Class of 2020 rankings, but he’s still uncommitted and wide open on the recruiting front.

Why doesn’t he have a surplus of low-major and low-major plus interest and offers?

The pure, raw talent of Shumate hasn’t always led to high-level production –– at least not consistently. And there are college coaches who believe Shumate was a player without a position.

The belief was Shumate was an undersized 4-man or a wing without enough skill. But when the ultra-athletic 6-5 Shumate plays with a continuously running motor and is relentless is utilizing his above-the-rim athleticism, it’s a little easier to look past any shortcomings.

This is a Division I player who performed like one on a huge matchup and on a big stage.

South Suburban upstarts off to hot starts

In addition to Thornton’s run to a Decatur Turkey Tournament title and the back-and-forth battle that took place in Chicago Heights between Bloom, Marian Catholic, Homewood-Flosssmoor and Hillcrest, two other south suburban teams have jumped out of the gate quickly.

Both Oak Forest and Oak Lawn, two teams with big expectations and unprecedented preseason rankings, head into December with 4-0 records.

While neither Oak Forest or Oak Lawn received tests from ranked teams, ironically their regular-season measuring sticks may be identical. Oak Lawn plays Hillcrest this Friday while Oak Forest wraps up the season with Hillcrest in February.