The college basketball season tipped off last week with four national powerhouses and the top four teams in the rankings –– Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke –– colliding in a Madison Square Garden doubleheader in New York City.
The 2019-2020 high school basketball season will tip off with its own high-profile showdown. Young and Morgan Park, two city and state powers, will meet on the opening night of the season.
Young and Morgan Park, two teams that will be ranked among the top five in preseason rankings, will play Monday, Nov. 25 at St. Xavier University at 7:30 p.m.
In addition to two programs that have played in a combined nine state championship games and won seven total titles since 2009, the state’s top two seniors and Player of the Year candidates will square off.
Duke recruit D.J. Steward of Young and Morgan Park’s Adam Miller, one of the top uncommitted prospects in the country, are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, among Class of 2020 prospects in Illinois. Both are also ranked among the top 30 prospects in the country.
Top programs in the city have regularly started off the year with a bang by playing their season opener in the high-profile Chicago Elite Classic. But that’s following Thanksgiving Tournament week.
The genesis of a match up of this magnitude began when Young coach Tyrone Slaughter sought to find an opening night match up that would bring attention to the sport.
“We’ve been talking about it over the years, to do something that emulates what we’ve seen in college,” Slaughter said. “When I brought it up with Nick [Irvin], he was equally excited about it. I think it’s a positive, a chance to bring a little shock to the start of the high school basketball season.”
These two powerhouses don’t regularly meet as they play in different Chicago Public League basketball conferences, though they could potentially play in the city playoffs in February.
Chambana Classic brings star power to Illinois
While it involves highly-regarded prep schools from across the country, this weekend’s inaugural Chambana Classic in Champaign has some local interest.
Champaign Centennial High School will host a pair of games featuring nationally ranked teams and players.
The headliner is Prolific Prep out of California. The No. 4 ranked team in the country will face St. Louis Christian Friday night at 8 p.m. at Centennial.
Prolific Prep features a few players of intrigue, including star guard Nimari Burnett.
The 6-4 senior guard began his high school career at Morgan Park after an attention-grabbing grammar school career at Beasley. As a freshman, Burnett was among the top three players in Illinois in a star-studded class that, at the time, included Fenwick’s D.J. Steward, who is now at Young, and Peoria Manual’s Adam Miller, who is now at Morgan Park.
Throughout his freshman season Burnett had a penchant for making big shots for a team that went on to win a Class 3A state championship. Burnett drained three three-pointers in overtime of the state championship game win over Fenwick and Steward. He finished the game with 24 points and six three-pointers.
Three months after winning that state championship he was off to California.
Burnett is currently a five-star recruit and among the top 25 players in the country. His recruitment is down to Alabama, Michigan, Oregon and Texas Tech.
Prolific Prep also features 6-6 senior guard Jalen Green, one of the top five players in the country in the Class of 2020, and 6-10 Coleman Hawkins, a senior 4-man who will play this weekend in what will be his future basketball home. Hawkins will sign with coach Brad Underwood and Illinois this week.
The Saturday game tips at 6 p.m. and will feature a Prolific Prep-Aspire Academy matchup. Aspire Academy out of Kentucky is led by Gethro Muscadin, a 6-10 Kansas commit.
