High School Basketball
Podcast
No Shot Clock
Here are many of the expected top teams for next season and the players, based on their summer play, who are rising and set to thrive in bigger roles.
The seniors took advantage of the two weekends in June and elevated the class.
Jurors convicted Raekwon Drake of second-degree murder, rejecting a more serious first-degree murder charge after the defense said Drake ‘was acting under a sudden and intense passion due to being seriously provoked.’
Martin, Phillips’ coach for the past two years, claims Chicago Public Schools has never paid him and he has never been officially cleared to coach by CPS.
The 21st annual event is where basketball coaches at all levels, fans, media, insiders and movers and shakers of the sport congregate for a few days while watching high school basketball.
The pup, named “Chase,” featured prominently in opening statements by prosecutors and the defense on Tuesday because of his outsize role in a fatal shooting three years ago in Pilsen.
Waltz committed to Miami (Ohio) on Wednesday.
Teams that perform well and look the part of a very good team in June generally do put together successful seasons six months later.
A look at the top players in the state’s Class of 2025 and a big notebook of thoughts from this past weekend’s shootout at Riverside-Brookfield.
The list is a combination of obscure players on the recruiting front who raised their stock and others who have received attention — and even offers — but should have a whole lot more.
“He was girls basketball,” Nazareth coach Ed Stritzel said. “I know there were shootouts before him, but you talk about Chicago basketball, and it was Dave Yates. He loved it. He loved promoting the game.”
Two Illinois products impacted in a big way, more than any other freshmen and did so at the highest level in the Big Ten: Minnesota’s Cameron Christie and Iowa’s Owen Freeman.
A 35-second shot clock arrives in 2026, while the third place and semifinal games are changing days and times.
“It’s a 50-50 world,” said Gaters, who won 10 state titles at Marshall. “There’s always some people arguing. … You’re always going to have the naysayers.”
“The expectations are high from Day One, and I’m just excited to just experience something different outside of the Chicago Public League,” Morgan said.
There was a legit battle for the top spot between two Big Ten-bound big men: Thornton’s Morez Johnson and Peoria Richwoods’ Lathan Sommerville.
Lockett has grown to a legit 6-4 and is a big playmaker with poise and an impressive all-around tool kit.
A look at how the locals performed at the EYBYL, Under Armour and Adidas competitions.