Another loaded tournament comes your way from Pekin. This year’s tournament features a mix of great talent combined with great teams. While there are some great prospects in the tournament, they each incorporate their skills into the team game.

The tournament will feature some great talent from northern Illinois. The Freeport Pretzels enter the holiday tournament with their star, junior guard/forward, Willie Veasley. Freeport is currently feeling its team out, trying to find their way in the rugged NIC-9. They are currently 5-3. They know they have not begun to catch mid-season stride and see this showcase as a great time to catch fire. They have recently been troubled by costly turnovers that have had a heavy affect on their losses. The Pretzels are relying on Veasley who averaged 15.5 points per game last year, and Jordan Wakely, a 5-10 senior guard who averaged 9.3 points per game last year.

Moline Brings star junior guard, Paul Bayer to the tournament. Bayer is coming off strong performances against Alleman and Rich South. Against Alleman, he scored 26 points. Then Paul turned around the next night and dropped 24 points on Rich South. Expect Bayer to carry his team throughout the tournament as his stock continues to rise in the class of 2006.

The highest ranked team in the tournament is Westinghouse. They boast a number of early season strong victories over Class A powerhouse, Hales Franciscan. They also feature class of 2005 post prospect, DeAndre Thomas. Thomas is still uncommitted but is being chased by high major colleges. Look for Westinghouse to bounce back with a vengeance after being whooped by Milwaukee reigning state champion, Rufus King.

Central Illinois will be represented the strongest by Peoria Richwoods. Richwoods struggled early. Since regaining stars Bill Cole and Jamar Smith from injury, they have begun to capture the form that they were expected to posses in the preseason. Smith is coming off a strong 22 point performance in their non-conference victory over Champaign Centennial. Bill Cole came up big the night before with 23 points and 10 rebounds in their defeat of Peoria Notre Dame. These two players combined certainly form one of the best high-low tandems in the state. Also keep an eye on Justin Dehm and Demarvis Russell. These two players kept the team afloat while Smith and Cole were out with injury. This year’s tournament should be one to remember.



First Day Tournament Pairings for Monday, December 27, 2004
9:00am Freeport vs. Limestone 10:30am Westinghouse vs. Normal West 12:45am Lake Zurich vs. Peoria Richwoods 2:15pm Rockford Boylan vs. Moline 3:45pm Thornridge vs. St. Francis De Sales 6:30pm Colleyville Heritage, TX vs. Washington 8:00pm Pekin vs. Springfield Lanphier 9:30pm Morton vs. Hersey