The ninth annual When Sides Collide Shootout at Glenbard East once again provided a platform for many of the state’s top players and best teams on Saturday. Here are few instant takeaways from the event.
Exposure for top teams, players
The real purpose of a shootout of this nature is to get a win for all involved –– the players, the coaches, the teams and the fans.
Saturday’s When Sides Collide Shootout provided that.
There were large crowds throughout the day, including a nearly full gym for the Bloom-Evanston showdown and the Rolling Meadows-Fenwick clash featuring junior stars Max Christie and Bryce Hopkins.
In this day where high school basketball gyms typically aren’t nearly as packed as 15, 20 or 30 years ago, it’s great to see this type of excitement surrounding the sport. The fact the majority of the fans weren’t even from any of the respective schools –– the abundance were casual fans and the basketball diehards with no affiliations –– shows the pull these teams and players had.
The three final games were also televised live by Comcast, so there were a ton of eyes on the teams and players in this event.
There was also a strong contingent of college coaches in attendance, even with the busy slate of college basketball games that took place on Saturday. Northwestern came in fully loaded as the entire coaching staff –– Chris Collins and his three assistants –– sat courtside in their pursuit of Christie while also taking in the Simeon-Notre Dame game.
There was a strong media contingent, and Purdue’s Matt Painter, Southern Illinois’ Bryan Mullins and Valparaiso’s Matt Lottich were head coaches that took in action along with several Division I assistant coaches.
Evanston-Bloom lived up to the hype
On last week’s No Shot Clock podcast, which I co-host with Michael O’Brien of the Chicago Sun-Times, I discussed in the “Two Takes” segment –– with full disclosure (I am the organizer of the matchups for When Sides Collide) –– that the Bloom-Evanston game was the one matchup I was most looking forward to this season.
It doesn’t happen very often but, boy, was I prophetic with that one.
The Bloom-Evanston game, which you can read about in Michael O’Brien’s game story in the Sun-Times, was everything you could ask for in a high school basketball game. When you combine the environment, the television cameras and how these two teams went at it for 32 minutes, it was prep hoops basketball at its best.
Bloom put on a show with its high-flying act of thunderous, jaw-dropping dunks and blocked shots. Evanston answered with gutsy big shot after big shot from the three-point line –– a blistering 13 of 27 from beyond the arc. But it was more than just the dunks, the threes and individual highlights that certainly revved up the crowd.
The matchup was fueled by the athleticism, speed and quickness these two teams play with. The game was played at a crowd-pleasing pace –– fast, up-and-down and constant pressure on opposing defenses –– yet it wasn’t an out-of-control pace or tempo. The stakes were high and these teams answered by playing some extremely high-level basketball in Evanston’s thrilling 81-79 win.
Yes, Simeon is back and a big threat
The Simeon team that left the floor Saturday night following its win over Notre Dame is one dangerous team, a much more dangerous team than a week, three weeks or two months ago.
The Wolverines, who were fresh off beating Morgan Park earlier in the week in their annual rivalry showdown, played its best basketball in knocking off what many consider to be the favorite in Class 3A. Notre Dame had ripped off 14 straight wins and came in with a sparkling 21-2 record, including wins over Bogan, Morgan Park, DePaul Prep, Marian Catholic, Glenbrook South and Fenwick.
But coach Robert Smith’s team, which includes so many players who are really getting their first true taste of high-level varsity basketball, may be turning the corner.
Jeremiah Williams, the star transfer from St. Laurence, looks more at ease and comfortable in recent weeks. He’s elevated both his play and production. This is still a team that will be led by junior guard Ahamad Bynum and the highly-versatile Williams, but the impact of others in Saturday’s win showed why Simeon is much better than its 15-8 record would indicate and is the chief reason for optimism.
Phillip Holmes, a 6-7 junior big man, and 6-5 junior Dylan Ingram continue to take a big step forward and are playing with more consistency as this season plays out. They both provided big minutes and impacted the game –– Holmes as a big man presence around the basket and Ingram with his crafty skill at his size. Both were in double figures once again and really give this team a different dimension when they play at that level.
Max Christie, Bryce Hopkins didn’t disappoint
The Max Christie-Bryce Hopkins matchup was the best individual showcase of two players matched up against one another in this event since 2014. That’s when Stevenson’s Jalen Brunson and Marian Catholic’s Tyler Ulis went toe-to-toe in front of a packed house.
Brunson scored 32 points on 9-of-15 shooting in leading Stevenson to the win, holding off Marian Catholic and Ulis, who scored 18 points in the fourth quarter en route to 23 points in the game.
So often the headline talent can flame out in a game like this. These are, after all, high school kids whose individual games and psyche are not fully developed. But Hopkins and Christie delivered.
Hopkins led Fenwick to a 69-56 win by pumping in 37 points and hauling in 14 rebounds. Christie impressed with 31 points, six rebounds and four blocks.
Hopkins does things from a physical perspective with his 6-6 frame that’s nearly impossible to defend at the high school level. Plus, the keen basketball observer will notice his hands are as good as you will find in basketball. When you add the skill level he possesses with his handle and passing, Hopkins is quite the weapon.
Christie knocked down five three-pointers and showcased an all-around game that included not only the handful of three-pointers but pull-ups and creative drives to the basket.
Simply put, these are two of the elite players not only in the state but the country, and they both showcased their all-around talents to the masses.
Junior stars shine
The two biggest individual names playing in the When Sides Collide were Christie and Hopkins. But the junior talent in the event was staggering when you consider five of the top six City/Suburban Hoops Report’s junior prospects –– Christie, Hopkins, Bynum and Notre Dame’s Louis Lesmond and Anthony Sayles –– all played in the final three games.
Plus, there were the performances of several other juniors, including Notre Dame’s Troy D’Amico, Evanston’s Blake Peters, Jaylin Gibson and Isaiah Holden and Simeon’s contingent of up-and-coming juniors.
D’Amico, the 6-6 stretch 4-man who led Notre Dame with 20 points in the loss to Simeon, is among the top dozen prospects in the junior class. The Evanston trio of Peters, Gibson and Holden dazzled in the win over Bloom. Those three combined for 69 of Evanston’s 81 points.
Peters is known for his shooting. He’s one of the elite shooters in Illinois and is on a record-breaking pace in state history. Peters buried six three-pointers in the win and has been such a key piece of Evanston’s success the past three seasons.
But when Gibson is shooting the way he did on Saturday, which included a trio of three-pointers himself, the 6-3 junior enhances his stock considerably as a prospect and makes the Wildkits that much more dangerous and tougher to defend.
When Sides Collide’s best sophomore: Trey Pettigrew
Fenwick’s Trey Pettigrew is really good. He was by far the best sophomore in the gym in the When Sides Collide Shootout on Saturday. And he’s been among the City/Suburban Hoops Report’s top half dozen prospects in the Class of 2022 for over a year.
There is a smoothness to his game and a scoring acumen that has been established at an early age. He was both impressive and productive as a freshman last year. Now he’s taken his game to another level in just his second varsity season.
Hopkins is very capable of putting a team on his back and carrying it. But when you add a bonafide scoring weapon in Pettigrew to the mix, the sky is the limit if these two can play off of one another at a high level down the stretch.
