North Suburban High School Basketball Report

The HS basketball scene is heating up as we approach the playoffs, so it is time to analyze Chicago suburban high school basketball. Here is something to note:

Many Chicago sports fans will be dissapointed that I am ranking the suburbs instead of the city teams. Please remember that the suburban games are the ones that I watch, so if I were to attempt at ranking the city teams they would be inaccurate. Better to not do something than to do it poorly.

Here is my current Top 5 Rankings of Chicago's Northern Suburbs:

5. North Chicago- North Chicago has been a pretty good team this year. They are in the easier division of their conference, but they still look like a decent basketball team.

4. Warren- Warren's Brandon Paul has shown Chicago why Warren will be a serious contender for the State Finals in Peoria this year. Paul will attend the Univeristy of Illinois.

3. Waukegan- Waukegan was looking like the best team in the area until their loss to Zion. Waukegan's Jereme Richmond shines as one of Lake County's best. Waukegan has a great chance of going down state as well.

2. Lake Forest- LF has been a suprise to many people this year. They have beaten both Warren and Z-B, but they still are not my number one. Lake Forest does have a great chance to go down state this year, but they'll have a lot of competition. They will get to match up against Z-B this Friday. If they win, then they will be my number one.

1. Zion-Benton- Zion, last year's state runner-up, is my favorite in Lake County to go down state. They have a talented basketball team that can pile it on their opponents. They have defeated Waukegan and Warren so far, but have lost to Lake Forest. Z-B plays the Scouts this Friday which is going to be a huge game and will decide who is the best in the NSC. The Zee-Bees are stacked with Lenzelle Smith (Ohio State) and other talented players. Ronald Stewart is one to watch out for. He is a short one and, for that reason, has recieved little attention from colleges, but he will suprise you.

Please note: my favorite high school team is not on this list so I have no bias. This is my opinion of these teams from watching them play in person.

The city teams better watch out, because the Northern Suburnbs are stacked with talent this year. I can almost guarentee that one of those five teams on my list will go down state this year, and it could be any five of them.