Hinton getting lots of attention
No. 1
Curie’s Ramean Hinton was playing for more than just a sectional championship and a trip to Peoria last week before the coronavirus pandemic wiped out the IHSA state tournament.
The 6-4 senior wing was playing for his college future.
Hinton signed in the fall with Southeast Missouri State, but coach Rick Ray and his staff were let go after a 7-24 season.
Hinton was granted his release from his commitment earlier this week, and since then, plenty of schools have already reached out, including Iowa State, Illinois, Kansas State, Colorado State, New Mexico, Tulsa, Valparaiso and Southern Illinois, among others.
Hinton’s commitment to SEMO was regarded as a major surprise, considering the type of talent he would bring to the Ohio Valley Conference school. The Curie star is a steal at the mid-major level.
Now after a stellar senior season in which he averaged 17 points and eight rebounds and had many big shots and moments, Hinton, a top-10 talent in the Class of 2020 in Illinois, is back on the board.
Hinton plays with boundless energy and exudes a competitive spirit few can match. That has been his calling card throughout his career. But Hinton’s skill level, particularly his perimeter jumper and consistency with it, has made a significant jump.
Hinton very well could win over a higher level program’s staff with how he plays the game — and his sudden availability. He just wishes he would have had three or four more games in March to show it.
No. 2
March Madness was cut short, thus a true Cinderella story was unable to develop in the state tournament.
However, was East Aurora on its way to being that team?
The area powerhouses and top-seeded teams advanced to the majority of sectional finals last week. That left ninth-seeded East Aurora with an opportunity as the lowestseeded team playing in a title game to play the role of Cinderella.
East Aurora was set to face Joliet West as a big underdog, but the Tomcats had the quickness and athleticism to match up with the No. 1 seed and, more importantly, an abundance of momentum and belief.
Fresh off beating rival West Aurora in the sectional semifinal, and having already knocked off No. 2 seed Bolingbrook in the regional, this team was flying high — even after not being talked about all season long.
Just another what if in this sad, unthinkable ending to a season.
No. 3
The lost postseason left teams with many lost opportunities.
Stevenson coach Pat Ambrose lost the once-in-a-lifetime chance to finish out a terrific season coaching his two sons, senior Matthew Ambrose and junior Evan Ambrose. The Patriots were set to play Mundelein in the sectional final.
Loyola, Notre Dame, Hinsdale South and Cary-Grove all were alive but lost the chance to add to their record-setting win totals.
There were several teams who were on the verge of making program history with their first sectional title, including Mundelein and St. Charles North in Class 4A. In Class 3A, the winner of the Hampshire-Wauconda sectional final would have claimed its first sectional championship.