Intrigue awaits Tri-Cities area teams next 2 weeks

For the prep boys basketball fan who has everything...

A potential rematch of 2009 regional finalists at Elgin.

Underclassmen against the world at East Aurora.

A two-time Jacobs runner-up hungry for more.

A traditional power trying to right its ship at Pontiac.

Actually, every local team can find intrigue and challenge at 2009 holiday tournaments.

"We use this tournament to kind of come together, to really move forward as far as cleaning up some of the mistakes we've made early in the season," said St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin, whose North Stars have finished second at Jacobs two straight years.

"Really, we use it as a time to come together on and off the court."

No team could use more of that right now, at least on the court, than West Aurora. The Blackhawks, 1-5 entering Friday's game at Wheaton North, hope to regroup at the 79th annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament. West Aurora opens Dec. 28 against Waukegan and Illinois recruit Jereme Richmond.

"I think right now we do have some potential," said Blackhawks coach Gordie Kerkman. "But we're not playing very good as a team. We're in too much of a hurry."

Lack of rebounding and shot selection have burned West Aurora, which is led by forwards Derrick Johnson and Tyrone Carey averaging 10.5 and 10.2 points, respectively. Still, West Aurora's first three losses were by 8 total points.

In 2008 Pontiac proved to be a springboard. The Blackhawks entered with a record of 2-3, won the consolation title and finished 20-8 on the year.

"That tournament has been good for us," Kerkman said.

It's unsure how good the 44th East Aurora Tournament will be for young Aurora Christian.

Sophomore starters Nick Marema, Josh Haugen and C.J. Schutt and freshman point guard Ryan Suttle lead the Eagles into their Tomcat debut against the likes of Peoria Central, Marshall and King.

"Judging by who we have to play it's going to be very, very tough for us to match up athletically," Eagles coach Steve Hanson said. "It'll be a huge challenge for our guys just because we're so young. But it is what it is right now. We can whine and complain about who we have to play or we can show up and give it our best shot."

At its own Class 4A regional last year, Batavia gave Neuqua Valley one of its toughest games, 74-69, in a supersectional run. If both teams win their Dec. 21 opener at the 35th annual Elgin Holiday Tournament, Batavia can exact some revenge in the second round. The Bulldogs beat Wheaton North for the 2007 Elgin title.

Coach Jim Roberts, 5-2 entering Friday's scrum at Geneva, likes the production from most everybody: top scorer Ricky Clopton, Adam LeTourneau, Levi Maxey, Elliott Vaughn, Jesse Coffey and Cole Gardner and Sam Shump off the bench.

Roberts said success at Elgin takes guts. It starts with first-round foe Rolling Meadows.

"You're going to get knocked on your backside, but you've got to persevere through it," Roberts said. "It won't take long to find out. From what I understand about Rolling Meadows, they're a very physically 'grind-it-out' kind of team."

That also describes Geneva. The Vikings pass the ball seven times before shooting, the 2-2-1 zone holds teams to 44 points a game and 36 percent field goal shooting, and coach Phil Ralston thinks his press is working better than last year when they won the ancient Chuck Dayton Tournament at DeKalb.

He's got a potent quartet of forwards Dan Trimble and Brandon Beitzel, guards Nolan Block and Scott Wendt, who has put up games of 25 and 21 points. In a pool with Huntley, Rockford East and Wilmington it'll take more efforts like last season's 47-44 title win over Chicago Vocational, which also returns, loaded.

"For us to be able to repeat and win that tournament is going to be monumental," Ralston said. "But we take that the same way we approach any kind of tournament - take one game at a time, play the best we can and try to put ourselves in position to play for a championship next Saturday."

St. Charles North's been in position the last two years, falling last season to tourney host Jacobs, 89-70. The North Stars got tourney-like preparation Thursday from York before they enter Jacobs pool play against St. Edward, Wauconda and Prairie Ridge.

"We're learning about ourselves, learning about our roles, applying what we're learning in practice into games," Poulin said.

He's learning that the Stars have strong inside presence with Josh Mikes, Kyle Nelson and, back from football, 6-foot-7, 260-pound Ryan Brown. Poulin's also learned his team needs to handle the ball and shoot better. It's coming.

"The two losses we had the past weekend (to Rockford Jefferson and Bartlett) helped us improve more than the two wins we had (over Streamwood and Elgin) two weekends ago," Poulin said.

Unlike St. Charles North at Jacobs, St. Charles East has never reached the title game at York, where the Saints tip off Dec. 26 against No. 3 seed Brother Rice. The best St. Charles East has done is go 3-1 to win the 2007 consolation championship.

The 36th Jack Tosh Tournament features toughies like Maine South, Lyons Township and Riverside-Brookfield, but the Saints - a year removed from the 0-11 start of 2008 - offer nice balance from Jess Striedl, Zach Burns, Kendall Stephens, Charlie Fisher, Spencer Motley and Drew Vazquez, all averaging between 8-10 points, coach Brian Clodi said.

"We definitely don't have the star player who can rip the nets," Clodi said, "but they're definitely playing to their strengths."

Clodi said St. Charles East is "hanging around" in games. Kaneland, which makes its holiday debut at Plano after going 2-1 at Marengo last year, could do better than that. Defending Plano champion Seneca seems to be down, and the Knights should rest comfortably among a field that includes 2008 runner-up Putnam County, Hinckley-Big Rock and Spring Valley Hall.

"I'd like to think we can be pretty competitive in it," Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. "But right now we're just kind of getting through games."

A player like Holy Cross commit Dave Dudzinski, averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds for the 5-2 Knights, can put you over the top. Johnson seeks a consistent secondary scorer from a capable group that includes Ryley Bailey, Chaon Denlinger and Donavan Williams.

"Every game's been kind of an adventure for us," Johnson said.

Holiday adventures continue at Waubonsie Valley, the only tourney that features two local teams, Marmion and Aurora Central Catholic. Naperville North, 6-1 going into Friday, is the favorite.

Whenever ACC's Joey Guth has the ball, however, anything can happen. The senior guard hasn't scored less than 18 points and had 41 against Aurora Christian. He's averaging 55 percent from 3-point range.

"He's playing some of the best basketball I've seen since I've been here," said Chargers six-year coach Nate Drye, 3-1 in both the last two seasons at Waubonsie's Matt Laurich Classic.

While greater scoring contribution from the frontcourt is what Drye seeks, that's what Marmion has in the form of senior Mark Peters. The 6-foot-6 forward has a "multipurpose" game, coach Rashon Burno said, which saw him averaging nearly 17 points in a recent stretch.

The early portion of the Cadets' 4-4 record has been achieved without its full roster. Guards Nick Scoliere (ankle) and Tyler Hlavac (mono) were absent until Dec. 6. Since then Marmion has gone 3-0 while "flying under the radar," said Burno, whose best record at Waubonsie was 2-2 in 2007.

"I think we can surprise some teams. But we're a work in progress," said Burno, who could be speaking for every other coach in the area.