Here is a look the Class 4A field and all that is has to offer this weekend in Champaign.
Team to beat
After knocking off top-ranked Curie in the super-sectional, Homewood-Flossmoor emerges as the favorite in Champaign. The Vikings are loaded with talent, starting with the duo of Gianni Cobb and 6-5 junior Bryce Heard who transferred in this season. They combine for 32 points a game.
H-F can score points in bunches, shows peskiness defensively and have four players all capable of popping off for 15-20 points in any given game.
The Vikings are also well prepared. Coach Jamere Dismukes’ team has now beaten Thornton twice, taken down Bloom and Rich in the south suburbs, and knocked off highly-ranked Bolingbrook, Downers Grove North, DePaul Prep, Brother Rice and Curie. No one can match the résumé of the Vikings.
Best story
Palatine is the fresh face in Champaign.
Once a plucky underdog team no high-seed or favorite wanted to face, the Pirates are now among the final four teams left standing in Class 4A — and two wins from winning a state championship. After winning just their third sectional in program history, coach Eric Millstone’s program is making its first trip to the IHSA State Finals.
This is that team. Even with a bonafide big-named player in all-area performer Connor May, it’s that team where the sum is greater than its parts. It’s that team with great senior leadership and a will to win. It’s the team that has come together at the right time and is playing by far its best basketball.
X-factors to watch
Palatine’s zone
If a team wants to beat the red-hot Pirates, it must figure out a way to navigate the zone defense that has really caused problems for opponents. Coach Eric Millstone implemented the zone three years ago, so this group has been accustomed to it and comfortable in it.
The state semifinal matchup, in particular, could be tricky for a Normal team that doesn’t exactly shoot real well from the perimeter and leans heavily on its size inside. How Normal adjusts and handles it will determine which team is playing in Saturday’s state championship.
New Trier’s shooting
First, don’t underestimate New Trier’s man-to-man defense. They have the length and switching capability to make things difficult, and it’s a part of this team that has been overlooked. But when this team is clicking on all cylinders, it’s the Trevians shooting prowess that sets them apart.
There are few teams that are able to put as many bonafide shooters on the perimeter at once and space the floor as New Trier does. Ian Brown, Danny Houlihan and Christopher Kirkpatrick have all made 75-plus three-pointers and Colby Smith has knocked down 44.
Normal’s size
The enormous size Normal brings to the table isn’t, well, very normal — not at the high school level. Every starter is 6-4 or taller. There is Jaheem Webber, who is a mammoth space-eating 6-10, and 6-8 Noah Cleveland inside. Nico Newsome is a 6-6 wing, while 6-4 Braylon Roman has size and length you don’t typically find at the point guard position. Off the bench, coach Dave Witzig adds 6-10 Kobe Walker, who has shown flashes down the stretch of the season.
H-F’s individual talent
Whether anyone likes it or not, the formula over the years in winning state titles in the state’s biggest class has been top-tier talent and transfers. H-F has both.
Specifically, the must-have talent is having multiple Division I players on the roster. The Vikings have Gianni Cobb, who has committed to Columbia, and a pair of juniors in Bryce Heard and Jayden Tyler who are legitimate Division I prospects in the junior class.
Players to watch
Gianni Cobb, Homewood-Flossmoor
He’s bounced around, beginning his career at Bloom, transferring to Perspectives-Leadership, and then finding a home at H-F where he’s absolutely flourished as a senior. Cobb is averaging 15.1 points. There is no denying his big-play capabilities as a scoring point guard and the energy he brings to this team. The Columbia-bound Cobb hits needed shots in key moments, wants the ball at crunch time and plays with a great deal of confidence.
Bryce Heard, Homewood-Flossmoor
The big-bodied wing has been a name since he entered high school as a freshman at Kenwood. He transferred to prep school giant Montverde in Florida for his sophomore year before returning to H-F this year. Though it all, the 6-5 junior remains among the top 10 prospects in the class and leads the Vikings in scoring at 16.9 points a game and adding 6.2 rebounds.
Heard can beat teams in a number of ways. Whether it’s his size and physicality in getting to the basket, the pull-up jumper or his overall versatility, you pick your poison with him. He could take advantage of New Trier as he could face less congestion around the basket.
Connor May, Palatine
He may not be the flashiest player, but the 6-7 May has provided steady, consistent productivity throughout his career. With over 1,000 career points and a near double-double each night out, the numbers prove it. In the last four postseason wins, May has been a monster. He’s averaged 22.5 points and 11 rebounds a game since the regional championship and added a last-second shot for the win in the supsersectional.
May’s big-man versatility helps make the Pirates go. He can step out and bury a three. He can demand attention on the block. When he draws attention, he’s a willing passer. And he always seems to be around the ball. May is an absolute Division III steal for Washington University in St. Louis.
Christopher Kirkpatrick, New Trier
New Trier is about as balanced as they come, but there is no denying the emergence of Kirkpatrick, a skilled 6-3 point guard, over the course of the season has elevated this team. He leads the Trevians with 13.6 points a game.
He’s been on a tear in the postseason. He scored 43 points in two regional wins. He scored New Trier’s final 10 points and finished with 16 in the thrilling sectional win over Glenbrook North. And he had 22 more in beating Glenbard North in the supersectional.
Kirkpatrick has size for the position, the capability to knock down a variety of shots and has improved as a playmaker over the course of the season. Plus, he was the sectional hero, drilling a game-winning three at the buzzer to beat Glenbrook North in the sectional title game.
Braylon Roman, Normal
The best uncommitted senior in Illinois. Roman is a point guard with terrific size for the position to go with a smoothness and sneaky athleticism. He can be a matchup nightmare due to his physical attributes and growing assertiveness.
The talent and upside are through the roof as he continues to improve his game and mindset as a player. He doesn’t put up huge numbers, but he’s Normal’s leading scorer and playmaker with 11.7 points a game.
Jaheem Webber, Normal
A legitimate back-to-the-basket big man at 6-10 who has signed with Wright State, Webber has been very pivotal of late. He scored the game-winning basket — a buzzer-beating dunk — to beat Quincy in the sectional championship. He then took advantage of Downers North’s height disadvantage and scored 22 points in the lopsided super-sectional win Monday night.
The blossoming star
Jayden Tyler, Homewood-Flossmoor
Due to the nature and makeup of Homewood-Flossmoor, the team’s 1-2 punch — Cobb and Heard — have received the most notoriety.
While that tandem has gobbled up plenty of attention, the Vikings boast an unheralded star in Tyler.
Tyler’s time is coming. Maybe it’s here? While vastly overlooked, the junior guard has been among the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top prospects in the class since last spring. He added college interest and mid-major offers this past summer and fall. He then went out and scored 18 big points in the come-from-behind supersectional win over Curie, showcasing a variety of ways to beat a defense.
Tyler has unselfishly played his role to perfection. He doesn’t force things. He’s blessed with shooting range beyond the three-point line and an ability get by defenders, especially in the open floor.
Overlooked players to watch
Noah Cleveland, Normal
Cleveland is a physical specimen. He’s a 6-8 big man with bounce off the floor and so many tools to work with. He can score, rebound, block a shot and poses problems with his size. He averages 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.
Logan Feller, New Trier
The numbers won’t jump out at you. He’s the third leading scorer at eight points a game. But the 6-3 senior does so much for the Trevians. A capable scorer and master of the little things, Feller’s real value is the toughness he exudes as the team’s best defender.
Tommy Elter, Palatine
Palatine’s Swiss Army knife. The 6-3 guard sets the tone with his non-stop motor and the competitive spirit he plays with at both ends of the floor. Elter, the quarterback on last fall’s state playoff football team, averages seven points and 6.5 assists a game while guarding just about anyone.
IHSA basketball state final previews
