It’s close, but Simeon still No. 1
Simeon’s loss Saturday to St. Louis Vashon doesn’t look all that bad on paper. Vashon doesn’t have a great record, but it has played a rugged schedule and beaten some excellent teams.
I was able to catch the fourth quarter of the game on NFHS after getting home from Metea Valley against Conant. The Wolverines didn’t look great, sort of folding at the end. I had a much more difficult time keeping them in the top spot this week than I did last week.
But Benet just hasn’t been tested as thoroughly as Simeon. The Redwings don’t have one of the tougher schedules in the area, partly because the East Suburban Catholic is a bit down and likely because no one expected them to be this good. Benet faced Joliet West and Simeon at Pontiac and had a home game against Kenwood. That just isn’t enough regular, high-level tests for me to justify ranking the Redwings over Simeon at this point, especially with the head-to-head loss. Benet hasn’t played a true road game against a top-10-caliber team.
But, boy, was I close to elevating Benet to No. 1 this week anyway. We will find out an awful lot about Simeon in the next few days. Can the Wolverines send coach Robert Smith out with another city title?
Movement
Loyola dropped out of the Super 25 this week after losing to De La Salle in three overtimes. Yorkville joins for the first time this season. The Foxes are very solid, and the Southwest Prairie has proved to be even better than expected this season.
Championship Week
Chicago Public Schools merits kudos for its upcoming City Basketball Championship Week.
After years of scheduling incompetence, CPS has turned a corner. The Public League will host 11 conference-tournament championship games this week at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena and DePaul’s McGrath-Phillips Arena. The schedule was released on a dedicated website last week. Tickets are available, and media requests have been accepted.
It’s an amazing turnaround. There were years in which the location of the Public League semifinals was unknown 24 hours before game time.
‘‘We have expanded our city basketball championships to include all of our girls and boys divisions (Blue, White, Green and Red) playing their title games at two legendary Chicago arenas,’’ CPS sports director David Rosengard said. ‘‘Our goal is to give CPL studentathletes and coaches the opportunity to play meaningful games at college venues, creating lasting memories.’’
The girls and boys Red Division title games will be played Saturday at Credit Union 1 Arena. Both will be televised live on WCIU-TV (Ch. 26). Mayor Lori Lightfoot is expected to provide analysis on the girls game again this season.
For more information about Championship Week, go to www.cpsathletics.com/2023-basketballchampionship-week-headquarters.