CHICAGO – One of the season’s top high school hoops events is on tap Friday and Saturday when the third Chicago Elite Classic is held at the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion.
Nine prep teams from within and near Chicago, as well as teams from California, Utah, Texas, Tennessee and New York, will participate in the seven-game slate.
The event was inaugurated in 2012 under the direction of Chicago’s Simeon and Whitney Young high schools.
Three games will be played on Friday: 6 p.m., Oak Park (IL) Fenwick vs. Oak Park River Forest; 7:30, Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo Union vs. Westchester (IL) St. Joseph; 9, Chicago Whitney Young vs. Memphis (TN) Southwind.
Saturday’s action begins at 4:30 in the afternoon, with Plainfield (IL) East vs. Country Club Hills (IL) Hillcrest, followed by Chicago Bogan and Highland (UT) Lone Peak at 6; Chicago St. Rita and New York City Christ the King at 7:30 and Chicago Simeon and Lancaster (TX) at 9.
Some of the individual standouts participating include St. Joseph’s Big Ten Conference-bound guards in Glynn Watson (Nebraska) and Jordan Ash (Northwester); another future Big Ten player for Plainfield in 6-foot-5 Aaron Jordan (Illinois); Vanderbilt signee Joseph Toye of Whitney Young; future Massachusetts guard Luwane Piper (Bogan); Kentucky signee Charles Matthews (St. Rita) and one of the best big men in the national class of 2015 in 6-9 Elijah Thomas of Lancaster (who signed with Texas A&M last month).
Simeon has three seniors who signed with Big Ten schools last month: Isaiah Moss (Iowa), D.J. Williams (Illinois) and Edward Morrow (Nebraska).
Underclass standouts include juniors Frank Jackson (Lone Peak), Nick Rakocevic (St. Joseph), Skyler Nash (Whitney Young) and Rawle Akins (Christ the King); sophomores Billy Preston (Redondo) and Christian Popoola Jr. (Lone Peak); and freshman Marquise Brown (Simeon).
Tickets are available at participating schools, Ticketmaster and the University of Illinois-Chicago box office.
The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 South Racine.
Be sure to check my Twitter account — @FrankieBur – and website for updates and rundowns
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