Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Feb. 28, 2021

Corliss, Hersey and unbeaten Richards join the rankings.

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Feb. 28, 2021
Simeon’s Ahamad Bynum (3) and Curie’s Phillip Berryhill (15) get ready for an inbounds play.

Simeon’s Ahamad Bynum (3) and Curie’s Phillip Berryhill (15) get ready for an inbounds play.

Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Evanston’s tremendous success the last few seasons came without a big man. The Wildkits generally played a starting lineup with no player taller than 6-1.

That’s over. Evanston has added two talented big men this season, and they made a major impact in a 68-54 victory Saturday against Glenbrook South in Glenview.

Ola Ajiboye, a 6-7 senior who transferred from Von Steuben, had six blocks and six rebounds. Prince Adams, a 6-5 sophomore, added five rebounds and two blocks off the bench.

‘‘Defense is what I do best,’’ Ajiboye said. ‘‘I like to do the dirty work and use my length. Blocks are my specialty.’’

The winner of the Central Suburban League South will receive an invitation to the season-ending Chipotle Classic eight-team tournament. Evanston (9-1, 5-1) and Glenbrook South (11-1, 4-1) are the two best teams in the conference. The Titans won Friday in Evanston, so the teams split.

Wildkits coach Mike Ellis said that if the teams tie, Evanston — which received the original invitation before deciding to let the conference winner get the bid — will compete in the tournament.

New to the Super 25

Corliss (6-0): Coach Harvey Jones has changed everything for the Trojans. They’ve been one of the best programs in the area since he took over in 2017.

Jones is one of several Public League coaches who plays it close to the vest. He doesn’t pump his team up in the preseason or complain about rankings. Corliss just goes out and wins its way in. That’s exactly what happened last week. The Trojans dominated Clark on Saturday.

Hersey (10-2): High-scoring senior Ethan Roberts is one of the best stories of the season. The Huskies have lost only to Glenbrook South and Rolling Meadows.

Richards (6-0): Bulldogs senior Anthony Taylor hasn’t received much attention yet, but he’s one of the most dynamic scorers in the area. He has scored more than 21 points in every game this season and had 37 points and 11 rebounds Thursday against Evergreen Park.

Dropping out

Downers Grove North (6-1): It was a one-week stay for the Trojans, who lost to York.

Lake Forest (8-3): The Scouts lost to St. Patrick and Mundelein. There’s no shame in that because those are two really good teams, but they are out for now. Sophomore Asa Thomas was excellent against the Shamrocks.

Thornton (2-2): Starting guard Sean Burress has to sit out another few days. He played in Indiana for a few months. The Wildcats should be much improved when he’s back. They lost to Young and Kankakee last week.

The week ahead

There’s a tremendous amount of basketball this week now that the Public League and all of the suburbs are in full swing. These two teams have especially challenging weeks:

DePaul Prep: It’s possible the Rams are ranked a little too low right now. We should find out this week. They host Loyola on Monday and Mount Carmel on Wednesday and play at Fenwick on Friday.

Kenwood: JJ Taylor is a revelation. The sophomore is probably posting the best numbers in the area, but he hasn’t faced any top-tier competition yet. That will change this week. The Broncos play at Simeon on Tuesday and host Curie on Thursday.

With record and last week’s ranking

1. Simeon (1-0) 1

Isaiah Barnes started strong

2. Young (6-0) 3

Dominated Homewood-Flossmoor

3. Mundelein (10-1) 4

Unbeaten with Scottie Ebube

4. Notre Dame (11-1) 5

Unbeaten with Anthony Sayles

5. DePaul Prep (6-0) 6

Huge week ahead

6. Evanston (9-1) 2

Not small anymore

7. Curie (0-1) 8

Challenged Simeon without Owens

8. Hillcrest (7-0) 7

Julius Rollins is back

9. Glenbrook South (11-1) 9

Split with Evanston

10. Glenbard West (9-0) 10

Won without Braden Huff

11. Rolling Meadows (10-0) 12

State’s best-ever brother duo?

12. DeKalb (13-0) 21

Dominated Indian Creek

13. Brother Rice (8-0) 23

Beat Fenwick

14. Homewood-Flossmoor (7-1) 14

Stumbled vs. Young

15. Kankakee (5-0) 19

Unselfish and hard-working

16. Fenwick (8-2) 11

Lost to Brother Rice

17. Kenwood (5-0) 20

JJ Taylor has arrived

18. Corliss (5-0) NR

Beat Clark

19. Hersey (10-2) NR

Ethan Roberts can play

20. Barrington (8-1) 24

Junior Will Grudzinksi fills it up

21. Bolingbrook (7-2) 25

Winning without Kai Evans

22. Clark (1-1) 17

Won at North Lawndale

23. St. Patrick (5-2) 15

Upset by Marian Catholic

24. North Lawndale (0-1) 13

Lost to Clark

25. Richards (6-0) NR

Anthony Taylor is a force

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