Elgin-area teams eye success at Jacobs

Participants in the Jacobs Holiday Tournament are hereby encouraged to get plenty of rest over the next few days.

When Crystal Lake South and Barrington tip off the tournament at 9 a.m. Saturday it will mark the beginning of a whirlwind event that will see all 16 teams in the field play five games in a stretch of six days.

The high volume of action is part of the draw at Jacobs, which will host what is shaping up to once again be a wide-open tournament filled with teams that employ an array of different styles.

"I think the tournament gets a little better every year," Jacobs coach Jim Hinkle said. "I would say at least half the field has a legitimate goal of winning the championship."

Among that group with a realistic shot of claiming the tournament's title are the host Golden Eagles, Bartlett, St. Charles North and tourney newcomer Huntley.

The North Stars are no stranger to success in Algonquin, having made the championship game of the Jacobs Tournament three years in a row. They have yet to win the title.

North coach Tom Poulin says that over the past few years his teams have used the tournament as a chance to grow closer as a group. A boost in team chemistry could go a long way for the Stars, who despite being loaded with talent have stumbled to a 3-5 start against some stiff competition.

Senior Josh Mikes is averaging 16 points and sophomore Quinten Payne is chipping in with 15.5 points per game to pace a balanced North attack.

"The more games we play the better we're going to get," Poulin said. "I look for this team to play at a higher level of basketball each time they step on the court."

Nothing will come easy for the Stars, who are in a pool with fellow title hopefuls Crystal Lake South and Barrington. North lost to Barrington in the tourney championship game last year.

Bartlett is another squad hoping to find its footing at the tournament. It has been an up-and-down start for the Hawks, who are 5-4 despite returning only a few contributors from last year's sectional championship team.

Sophomore Lance Whitaker has taken on a leading role for Bartlett and is averaging 18.1 points per game. The Hawks figure to contend with Crystal Lake Central for the top spot in Pool II.

"Jacobs does such a great job running that tournament and that's why we love going back there," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "We love the competition we face out there. Our sectional is out in the Fox Valley and Rockford world, so the more of those teams that we get to see the better off we are come postseason time."

St. Edward and Cary-Grove round out the rest of Pool II. Junior Michael Ellis averages 23.8 points for the Green Wave (3-3), which figures to face a tough road as one of the smallest schools in the field at Jacobs.

Huntley (5-1) has been one of the biggest surprises to start the season and hopes to be a factor at Jacobs. The Red Raiders look forward to a shorter trip during the holidays after spending the past few years at the DeKalb Tournament.

They join Chicago Tilden and Chicago Hope as the three newcomers this year at Jacobs.

Senior Tyler Brunschon and juniors Troy Miller and Justin Frederick all average over 11 points per game for the Raiders, who figure to contend with Zion-Benton for the top spot in Pool III. Huntley senior starter Dylan Neukirch could also be cleared to play as soon as next week after missing the team's first six games with a broken hand.

"I'm hoping we can keep improving and that we'll get Dylan back here sometime soon and be even more powerful," Huntley coach Marty Manning said.

Jacobs had a scare when senior Nick Hofman went out in the first quarter of Tuesday's game against Barrington with an injury in the same left knee that underwent ACL surgery during last basketball season. Hinkle said an MRI revealed no serious damage and that Hofman is day-to-day going ahead.

Having Hofman, the top scoring threat for the Eagles, will be key if the host team plans on winning the tournament title for the fourth time in five years. Jacobs and Mundelein figure to be the teams to beat in Pool I.

If anything, the Eagles are just happy to be busy. Including Friday night's contest against Johnsburg, Jacobs (3-2) will play six games in seven days.

"After our Thanksgiving tournament we had 14 days off," Hinkle said. "We're anxious to play more games. We've practiced enough."

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