Boys Basketball: New teams announced to Proviso West holiday tourney

Updated: January 12, 2012 9:39PM

The Proviso West Holiday Tournament has announced a partial list of the teams that will participate in its expanded 32-team format for next year. Eight of the 16 new teams are being released at this time.

Downers South, Glenbard East, Maine South, Nazareth, Oswego, St, Charles East, Stevenson and Wheaton Academy all will enter the field starting in 2012.

“The new teams that we have brought in have the perfect balance of programs with recent state series success, varied geographical representation and individual underclass players that are high on the radar,” Proviso West Holiday Tournament Executive Director Joe Spagnolo said in a press release.

These teams join the 16 schools that played in this year’s event: Benet, Brooks, Fenwick, Glenbrook North, Hillcrest, Hinsdale Central, Homewood-Flossmoor, Morgan Park, Morton, New Trier, Proviso East, Proviso West, Rockford Auburn, St. Joseph, St. Patrick and Von Steuben.

Next year’s tournament will be played over six days and will feature three days where games are played simultaneously on two adjacent facilities, where spectators can watch both games for a single admission price. The event will begin on Saturday, December 22, run from December 26-29 and finish on the afternoon of December 31.

“We still have a couple of spots open by design, to see who else wants to be part of this true basketball festival,” Spagnolo said.

The remainder of the field will be announced at a later date.

Proviso East defeated New Trier in the 2011 title game in December.

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