Junior stars set to square off
No. 1
Max Christie vs. Bryce Hopkins. Yes, Rolling Meadows will face Fenwick at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the When Sides Collide Shootout at Glenbard East, but all eyes will be on the top two junior prospects in Illinois.
Christie is a consensus top-20 prospect in the country in the Class of 2021. Hopkins, who has committed to Louisville, is among the top 70 players in the country — and that might be too low for a player with the game and credentials he has.
Many high-major programs are courting Christie, including virtually the entire Big Ten, Duke, Virginia and Gonzaga, but he has put recruiting on the back burner during the high school season. More visits will come later this year.
Christie, a 6-6 guard who already has scored 1,467 points in his career, is doing it all. He’s averaging 25 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks for a 12-victory team.
Hopkins is putting up whopping numbers. The multifaceted 6-6 forward, who can bully opponents with his strength or finesse them with his skill, is averaging 23.7 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
No. 2
Lake Park’s loss to Geneva this past weekend might not have resonated much outside the DuKane Conference. But the significance of Geneva’s victory is this: The most advantageous road to Peoria in March is through the DeKalb Supersectional.
In addition, the Addison Trail Sectional that feeds into DeKalb is as winnable as the western-suburban sectional has been. There isn’t a ranked team in the sectional, and Benet, which has won that sectional three of the last six years, has dropped to Class 3A this season.
The favorite at Addison Trail remains Lake Park, with Naperville Central, Glenbard West, Glenbard East, Wheaton North and Wheaton South all lingering in what is the weakest Class 4A sectional in the area.
That sectional winner will meet the Dundee-Crown Sectional winner in the DeKalb Supersectional. Cary-Grove, St. Charles North, DeKalb, Huntley and Rockford Jefferson will be duking it out in the up-for-grabs Dundee-Crown Sectional.
No. 3
Bolingbrook’s Darius Burford is on a hot streak. The senior guard has been dazzling all season, averaging 24.7 points, but he has turned it up a notch this month.
The Elon recruit scored 102 points in three games last week, including 38 in a victory against Marian Catholic. He is averaging 29.2 points in the five games he has played in 2020.