Chicago Sports

David Kaplan, an omnipresent voice at NBC Sports Chicago since 2008, will leave the network Dec. 30 after accepting a buyout from parent company NBCUniversal. He announced his decision Thursday on his evening show, “Unfiltered with David Kaplan,” which debuted April 4.

Kaplan was among the NBCU employees who qualified to receive the buyout based on tenure. NBCSCH did not want him to leave, but he said the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“This presents me with a chance to pursue the next chapter of my career,” Kaplan said. “It will also give me a great opportunity to spend more time with my wife, Mindy, and our four sons and their expanding families. I will continue to be very active in the Chicago sports media world.”

“Kap is one of a kind,” said NBCSCH vice president of content John Schippman. “He’s made enormous contributions to our network, and his passion, opinions and love of Chicago’s teams have made him a beloved and respected figure, not just with fans, but also his colleagues. We wish him the best and look forward to seeing what’s next.”

Kaplan, who will turn 62 on Saturday, said he isn’t close to retiring and will continue co-hosting the morning show on ESPN 1000 with Jonathan Hood. He also will continue producing videos for his YouTube channel, which has almost 41,000 subscribers.

Kaplan has two years left on his contract, and NBCSCH’s rights agreement with the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox expires in October 2024. There’s no guarantee the teams will remain with the network, so taking advantage of an attractive buyout is a prudent choice.

NBCU offered buyouts, or voluntary early-retirement opportunities, companywide to employees who are 57 or older and have worked there for at least 10 years. It’s unknown if other NBCSCH employees are accepting the offer, which comes at a time of belt-tightening in media companies amid the country’s economic uncertainty.

Kaplan has hosted countless shows and events at NBCSCH. He hosted Cubs pregame and postgame shows until the team left the network in 2020 to launch Marquee Sports Network. He hosted “SportsTalk Live” before it was canceled in August 2020, he has hosted BetCasts that have aired opposite Bulls games and he has been hosting “Football Aftershow,” the station’s Bears postgame show.

“Unfiltered” and “Football Aftershow” will continue after Kaplan departs. NBCSCH is assessing options to replace him.

Kaplan still will appear on TV as the analyst for the Missouri Valley Conference basketball game of the week. But for the time being, his regular workday will end after his ESPN 1000 morning show, rather than stretch into the evening. Kaplan is known for his endless energy and enthusiasm, so he might need to adjust to the extra downtime.

Not long ago, his days included hosting on ESPN 1000 from 9 a.m. to noon, then hosting “SportsTalk Live” at 6 p.m. and Cubs shoulder programming afterward.

He got his first TV job in 1987. An analyst assigned to do a DePaul basketball game couldn’t make it to Chicago because of a snowstorm. The network carrying the game called Kaplan, who came recommended. Though he had never been on TV before, he assured the network he had. His performance earned him encores.

But those are over on NBCSCH, which continues to feel the effects of its parent company’s struggles to navigate through an evolving media landscape.

“The past 15 years have been an amazing ride filled with so many incredible memories and friendships,” Kaplan said. “I look forward to continuing to forge these relationships as I move into the next phase of my career. There are so many people that I have to thank for allowing me a front-row seat to live out my dream of covering sports on TV in my hometown.

“Stay tuned for my next adventure, wherever and whenever that may be. Thank you for allowing me the privilege to come into your homes every night. You, the amazing Chicago sports fans, make this such an incredible way to make a living.”

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The Bears can’t possibly keep rookie wide receiver Velus Jones on the bench, but that’s where he has been stuck the last two games.

Jones was a third-round pick at a position of great need, and the team drafted him with high expectations that he’d be a playmaker. Instead, he was mostly playing as a return specialist, and he lost that job after fumbling punts against the Giants and Commanders.

But organizations don’t draft players in the third round to play special teams. The Bears need him to make an impact offensively.

“Once he builds consistency, that’ll build some trust,” wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert said. “Once we have trust, he’ll play more.”

That makes it sound like a problem with knowing the playbook.

“It’s everything,” Tolbert said. “It’s all-encompassing.

“He’s doing a really good job of that at this point in time, so hopefully he’ll get a chance to see some snaps this weekend.”

Jones has played 43 snaps on offense and has three catches for 24 yards and a touchdown, plus three carries for 41 yards.

He has remained upbeat throughout a turbulent rookie season and is determined to fight his way back onto the game-day roster.

“Just take a lesson from it and let it motivate you,” he said of his benching.

Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said Jones’ hamstring injury in training camp cost him important practice time and preseason game reps. He played just one of the three preseason games and was out the first three regular-season games.

Had Jones been able to work through these issues in meaningless preseason games, perhaps he would’ve been better prepared for the season.

“If it happens in the regular season when the game’s on the line, then it matters more,” Hightower said. “So that’s unfortunate for him, but that’s what you saw play out.

“As a pro, he needs to make it happen in the regular season… When, if, he ever gets a chance again, we’ll see what happens.”

More Claypool?

It has been a quiet first two games for prized wide receiver Chase Claypool since the Bears traded a second-round pick to the Steelers for him. His snap count went from 26 in his debut against the Dolphins to just 19 against the Lions, and he has just three catches for 21 yards.

As he goes into his third game Sunday against the Falcons, the Bears appear to be ready to expand his role.

“We have an even bigger package this week than we’ve had for him in the previous [games],” Tolbert said. “We’ve always had a lot of plays in for him, but it’s just a matter of how the game’s going [and] what plays are called.

“But there’s a big package for him in our game plan. Hopefully we get some of it this week and you will see.”

Key players return

The Bears are dealing with a lengthy injury report this week, but things got a little better Thursday with tight end Cole Kmet (hip), running back David Montgomery (personal) and cornerback Kindle Vildor (ankle) returning to practice. Kmet and Vildor were limited.

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There were plenty of roster-related messes for Bears general manager Ryan Poles to clean up when he took the job in January, but as an offensive line aficionado, that particular problem surely bothered him the most.

Not only was the offensive line in bad shape, but Poles had severely limited resources with which to address it.

He had to trade superstar Khalil Mack just to fortify his draft capital with an extra second-round pick. After the two second-rounders and a third-rounder, he didn’t pick again until late in the fifth. Meanwhile, he was preoccupied with tidying up the salary-cap situation to get the Bears financially healthy by 2023, so free agency wasn’t much help, either.

In the end, Poles assembled a mostly ragtag group with the intent of seeing whether any of them could solidify spots for 2023. With seven games left, none are certain. It’s still plausible that the Bears could open next season with an all-new starting five.

The Bears have been excellent in run blocking, but problematic in pass protection. That issue hasn’t improved much. It’s more that quarterback Justin Fields has learned to account for it and overcome it.

He had an average of 4.07 seconds from snap to throw against the Lions on Sunday, the most by any quarterback this season, but that’s him buying time rather than the offensive line providing it.

Fields has been sacked a league-high 36 times, and the Bears have allowed pressure on 28% of his drop backs — second-worst.

That isn’t going to work in the long term.

Teven Jenkins might have made the most convincing case. Ryan Pace drafted him No. 39 overall in 2021 thinking he’d be the Bears’ left tackle for a decade, but Poles and coach Matt Eberflus thought otherwise and tried him at right tackle.

Impressively, Jenkins changed positions shortly before the season started and adapted well enough to earn the right guard spot. That’s a success story for him and the staff because there was a point in August when this appeared to be a total loss.

Jenkins, by the way, missed practice again Thursday because of a hip injury and seems likely to miss his second game in a row.

Fellow 2021 draft pick Larry Borom started the first seven games at right tackle, then missed time with a concussion. While he was out, veteran Riley Reiff took his job. Borom played only on special teams in his return against the Lions.

Reiff was a free agent until the Bears signed him the day before training camp opened and he turns 34 next month — hardly a prototypical piece of any rebuild.

Age and salary might work against left guard Cody Whitehair, too. He’s 30, and the Bears would save almost $10 million in salary-cap space if they release him in the offseason.

Left tackle Braxton Jones was a fifth-round pick out of Southern Utah, so anything the Bears get from him is a victory, but they could certainly explore upgrades this offseason at the most vital position on the line.

Poles hoped former Packer Lucas Patrick would lead the line at center, but he broke his thumb at the start of training camp. He has played seven games and is on injured reserve for at least one more week.

Patrick played guard and center when healthy, but by his own admission was a letdown.

“Definitely not my standard,” he said last month. “There are some serious things I have been working on trying to work out kinks… What I was brought in here to do — I haven’t been playing to my standards, point blank.”

If everyone was healthy, the Bears most likely would have Sam Mustipher on the bench, but he has been starting at center most of the season instead.

Other than quarterback, this is Poles’ biggest project. And he might be starting from scratch — or close to it — after the season.

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The Big Ten West has been the butt of a lot of jokes: It’s the Big Ten Worst. The East winner gets a bye before the College Football Playoff. It’s second-division football.

They write themselves.

That’s because Purdue, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota are tied atop the division at 4-3, and Wisconsin is one game back. The potential for a five-way tie at 5-4 is real.

As is the chance that the division winner will be a double-digit underdog to either Michigan or Ohio State in the conference title game.

But as a self-professed sports-media junkie, I wonder whether the parody … sorry, I mean, parity … in an inferior division will hurt the league’s viewership when its new media-rights deal kicks in.

Starting next season, Big Ten games on Saturdays mostly will air in three consecutive windows on Fox, CBS and NBC (although they’ll share CBS’ window for one season with the SEC). On the American football landscape, only the NFL has such an arrangement with broadcast TV networks.

The networks reportedly will pay the Big Ten $8 billion in the seven-year deal, which also includes cable channels FS1 and Big Ten Network and NBC’s streamer, Peacock. The deals also include men’s and women’s basketball and Olympic sports, but let’s be honest: Football is the driving force.

So I wonder: Will the networks get the bang for their buck if the conference remains Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State and everyone else?

The Big Ten’s deal dwarfs that of its chief rival in the marketplace, the SEC, which begins a reported 10-year, $3 billion deal with ESPN in 2024. That’s $1 billion-plus a year for the Big Ten and $300 million for the SEC, which seemingly delivers top games every week and has accounted for five of the eight CFP titles.

But those values have nothing to do with conference success. They have everything to do with conference reach.

“The thing that the SEC fails to remember is, on a purely football level, yeah, everyone’s going to watch the biggest teams, the biggest games, but it is such a secular area,” said Pete Fiutak, publisher of collegefootballnews.com. “The Big Ten is so much more massive when it comes to prestige and academics and alumni base and money.”

Fiutak, who lives in the northern suburbs, appears Tuesdays on The Score’s “Bernstein and Holmes” show, as well as national outlets such as Fox Sports Radio, CBS Sports Radio and SiriusXM. Next year will mark his website’s 25th, quite an accomplishment considering he started it all by himself.

“Just the markets,” he continued. “They’ve got Chicago, they’re getting L.A. with USC and UCLA [in 2024], they have whatever college football exists in New York, they have Philadelphia. All the big markets. What do you have if you’re the SEC? Dallas, Houston, those are top 10; Atlanta. They just don’t have the TV markets.”

Fiutak said that begs the question of why the SEC hasn’t pursued the Pac-12’s Arizona State, which would bring the Phoenix market, ranked 11th in the country, and perhaps Arizona. If the Big Ten is heading west, why shouldn’t the SEC? Of course, the Big Ten might beat the SEC to the state, or maybe it’ll head for the Seattle market, ranked 12th, which would bring Washington and perhaps Oregon.

“You’re just trying to acquire massive amounts of people that you can sell for your TV and media rights,” Fiutak said.

It’ll be interesting to follow the Big Ten’s viewership next season, before its migration west. There are sure to be matchups scheduled for windows that will raise eyebrows. But according to Fiutak, the networks won’t mind.

“On a weekly basis, no, the matchups aren’t going to be as sexy as the SEC at the very top,” he said, “but there’s just so many more Big Ten fans nationally than there are for the average SEC team.”

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In the rear of the Blackhawks’ charter plane flying back from Los Angeles to Chicago on Sunday, coach Luke Richardson and associate general manager Jeff Greenberg talked numbers.

They’d decided during training camp they’d wait a month into the regular season before having that discussion. While Greenberg and the Hawks’ beefed-up analytics team continue building a full-fledged information-processing system, Richardson wanted some time to install his own on-ice systems and accumulate a significant sample size.

But after 14 games, the first analytics summit convened. The primary focus? Blue-line turnovers.

“I put in a few areas that I wanted [more data on], and I let them see if they could find a couple of areas,” Richardson said. “I asked them to look into…turnovers at both blue lines. What does it lead to? Does it lead to prime-‘A’ chances? How many times does that happen? Or does it put us in [the] ‘D’-zone for a long period of time?

“That’s definitely one area we’re looking at. We’ll see what else they come up with. Probably within the next week, I’ll have numbers. [We’re] finally getting there. But we didn’t want to do it just to do it and throw all these numbers [around]… We wanted to find areas that are going to be meaningful. We might have to move around every month on that, depending how we’re growing or faltering as a team.”

During Richardson’s first year as a Senators assistant in 2009-10, he actually tracked blue-line turnovers by hand.

Technology has since advanced far past that point. The Hawks should be able to calculate the success rate of different types, speeds and angles of passes across and around the blue lines, the frequency of scoring chances created or conceded based on the success or failure of those passes, and so on and so forth.

While awaiting the findings, though, Richardson theorized that the Hawks are particularly struggling in that regard.

And he’s probably right. The NHL doesn’t make detailed turnover data publicly available, but the Hawks’ awful available numbers — last in shot attempts and scoring chances per game; second-to-last in shots on goal per game — are probably affected by the turnovers.

“It hasn’t been a problem every game or all game; it’s just certain times of the game, and it puts in a bit of a tailspin defensively,” he said. “We just don’t want to do that. We want to spend that energy on attacking and trying to create more offense.

“In certain games, we’ve had trouble getting to the net. Sometimes it’s not necessarily because of our offensive zone play — [that has] been pretty good. It’s just…because of not getting pucks out of our ‘D’-zone and not getting them in at the offensive blue line.”

Richardson received more anecdotal evidence Wednesday supporting his hypothesis.

The Blues’ first goal in their 5-2 win at the United Center came after Max Domi pulled up about 20 feet into the offensive zone — instead of skating deeper toward the crease — and attempted a speculative, somewhat backward cross-ice pass that missed its target (Patrick Kane) and jumpstarted a Blues counterattack.

“[Domi] should be shooting more, driving the puck more,” Richardson said. “That [pass] puts us in a back-checking position where we’re outnumbered and scrambling. They get a lucky bounce on it, but it is…turning pucks over at the blue line, right? That’s a killer.”

From a thousand-foot perspective, meanwhile, it is exciting to see the Hawks’ newly intensified focus on analytics under GM Kyle Davidson starting to trickle into their day-to-day operations.

It’ll take some time to catch up to (and potentially pass) the league’s other 31 teams in terms of analytics investment, but conversations like Richardson and Greenberg’s on Sunday exemplify the organization’s shifting approach.

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The Bears could be looking to sign a Pro Bowl OL in the offseason

The Chicago Bears’ offensive line will need to be improved for the passing game to work. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and quarterback Justin Fields have done a great job moving the ball down the field the past few weeks without good pass protection. Fields has done it with his legs. The Bears might be interested in signing a Pro Bowl offensive lineman in free agency to help the passing attack.

Brad Spielberger with Pro Football Focus wrote about the top ten free agents for 2023. Spielberger names Packers offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins as one of the best free agents expected to be available in the upcoming free agency period. They made the case that the Bears would likely be in the hunt to sign Jenkins:

The Chicago Bears with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy coming over from Green Bay this past offseason could not be a more ideal fit for his services, and they happen to have roughly $125 million in projected 2023 cap space at their disposal. If the Packers don’t work out an extension or place the tag on Jenkins, expect them to throw a literal bag at one of the league’s most versatile offensive linemen.

Jenkins would be a horrible signing for the Bears

The Bears will probably be aggressive in the free agency market for an offensive lineman. General manager Ryan Poles traded for wide receiver Chase Claypool knowing the pool for that position in free agency was bad. The Bears can skip that position in free agency and look for defense and offensive line help.

Jenkins isn’t a guy the Bears should consider. The 2020 Pro Bowl lineman sustained an ACL injury during the 2021 season. Before the injury, Jenkins took the place of All-Pro lineman David Bakhtiari and did well. Jenkins earned an 82.1 overall grade (the same grade for pass blocking) from Pro Football Focus in 2021.

However, Jenkins has not been the same since returning in 2022. He’s graded 67.7 overall for this season. Jenkins has been credited with giving up three sacks, 12 hurries, and 16 pressures. His pass-blocking grade is 59.4. He struggled mightily against the Cowboys in Week 10. In recent weeks, Jenkins’ poor play at tackle had the Packers coaching staff switch him over to left guard. He’s still not playing well at guard.

Besides the poor play, Jenkins is still marked as questionable to play pretty much week-to-week with teammate Bakhtiari. One doesn’t know how serious his knee injury is and if it will affect him in the future with the Bears. But he’s not going to the Pro Bowl this season and likely won’t return to one soon.

The Bears need a sure tackle

The Bears have plenty of options on the offensive line for their interior positions. The Bears need to pay a serious coin for only a Pro Bowl-worthy offensive lineman that can secure the left tackle position in pass blocking. (Potentially less money for a right-side tackle if rookie Braxton Jones can’t pass protect on the right either.)

Jenkins isn’t a sure thing to be a left tackle again. And he might not be able to stay healthy. The Bears have seen what happens this season when you have an offensive line unit full of guards who go down with injuries. The passing game suffers.

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It has been now four years since the Chicago Bears finished the regular season with a winning record, however, the signs in 2022 suggest the franchise has made huge progress.

Here are three reasons to be optimistic about the rest of the season and the short-term future.

Bears Proving Competitive

Chicago has recorded victories over the San Francisco 49ers (week one), Houston Texans (week three), and New England Patriots (week seven) in 2022. The latter was an impressive 33-14 success against a team who were having a lot of success at the time.

Final. pic.twitter.com/6Nz9bK1bAM

— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 13, 2022

The Bears have also been on the wrong end of some close scorelines, as their defeats to the New York Giants, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Commanders, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions were all by one score. The game against the Lions finished 31-30 towards Detroit in a high-scoring game at Soldier Field.

 

In the two defeats where Chicago have been well beaten in the opening 10 weeks of the season, they put up 29 points against the Dallas Cowboys, which has one of the best defenses in the league, while at Lambeau Field, Aaron Rodgers once again produced his best against the Bears, as he often has throughout his career.

Chicago is +10000 underdogs to win the Super Bowl this season, but if you are optimistic about their chances, you may be able to pick up a free bet to use on the sport’s showcase event in some states across the United States. For example, betting becomes available on Ohio sports betting apps from January 1, 2023, so interest in the NFL is likely to increase in that market, not just with Cleveland Browns, who play there, but also with the Bears, as they are a team that is improving in the power rankings with each week.

If you think the Vince Lombardi Trophy may be a step too far for Chicago this season, the playoffs are something that can’t be ruled out. With six teams from each conference now making it through to the postseason, it could be a great opportunity for Matt Eberflus’ side to book their place among the best teams in the league.

Run Game Working Well

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What many thought would be a rebuilding year for the Bears has been exactly that. The team has struggled to close out games and is in many ways, still learning how to win. While the playoffs are a long shot for this years Bears team, the elevated play of Justin Fields has given the team and every fan something to watch and be excited for the future. Fields has emerged as not only the bears best playmaker, but as one of the NFL’s most talented athletes, recently setting the single game rushing record for a quarterback at 178 yards. 

To celebrate this accomplishment and the great sophomore season Fields is having, FOCO recently released a pair of Justin Fields Bighead Bobbleheads. They depict the Bears quarterback in an action pose ready to juke another defender. His name is displayed in front with the Bears logo on the center of the base.

The standard version features Fields in the Bears home jersey and is limited to 222 units. The variant version features him in the Bears white jersey and is limited to just 72 pieces making it highly collectible. Both versions retail for $55 and stand at nearly 10in tall making these the ideal addition to any collection or fancave. Like the rest of FOCO’s collectibles, these are handcrafted and hand painted so no two will be exactly the same. Don’t wait to add the Justin Fields Bighead Bobbleheads to your collection now!

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

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Robert Smith took over the Simeon program in 2005. Since then, the Wolverines have finished the season in the state championship game seven times. Simeon won six of those games.

There were no state title games in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID. So Smith’s teams have played for the state title seven out of a possible 16 times. That’s an astonishing rate of success.

But the Wolverines fell short last season, collapsing in the final five minutes of the Class 3A semifinals against Metamora.

“That whole weekend was terrible for the team,” Smith said. “We went down there to win the whole thing and we didn’t accomplish that.”

Class 3A is loaded with strong teams, most of the starters from last season’s Final Four teams are back, including all five starters from the defending champs, Sacred Heart-Griffin. But top-ranked Simeon is primed to make a return trip to Champaign.

1. Simeon: Three college-bound senior guards, Jalen Griffith, Kaiden Space and Sam Lewis, spearhead an attack highlighted by the multi-talented 6-9 Rubin twins, Wes and Miles. The experienced Wolverines have a chip on their shoulder after last season’s upset loss in the state semifinals.

“Personally, I feel like the effort of the team just cleared out,” Wes Rubin said. “It’s been in my head as a revenge thing. We are locked in and we won’t let that happen again.”

2. St. Rita: The top three juniors in the state are now all on the same team. The Mustangs have Illinois recruit Morez Johnson, James Brown and Lemont transfer Nojus Indrusaitis, who will add some serious scoring power. Highly-regarded sophomore Melvin Bell is out with an injury until the second half of the season but junior James Worthington-White, who played as a freshman at Zion-Benton, has transferred from Indiana and experienced senior Nashawn Holmes has arrived from Homewood-Flossmoor.

3. Kenwood: Coach Mike Irvin probably has the most future college players in the state. There’s a lot of youth and some transfers to work in, but senior guard Darrin “Dai Dai” Ames, one of the area’s most dependable and dynamic players, will provide a solid foundation.

4. Joliet West: Michigan State recruit Jeremy Fears Jr. is back. His brother, sophomore Jeremiah Fears Jr., has grown to 6-1 and is expected to prove he’s one of the elite players in the country this season. Matthew Moore, a 6-9 senior, has transferred in from Hillcrest and will need to provide the Tigers a finisher under the basket.

5. Young: Do not overlook the Dolphins. The senior trio of Princeton recruit Dalen Davis, Citadel recruit Marcus Pigram and athletic wing Daniel Johnson are as experienced as any group in the state. Intriguing sophomore Antonio Munoz should open some eyes this season.

6. Curie: There isn’t a superstar on the squad, but everyone returns for coach Mike Oliver. Junior guard Carlos Harris could take things to another level this season. Jeremy Harrington is one of the area’s most productive players.

7. Rolling Meadows: Minnesota recruit Cameron Christie is one of the state’s top scorers and he’s surrounded by experience and size. This should be one of the best teams in school history.

8. Brother Rice: All the key players are back but there’s a new coach as veteran Conte Stamas steps in for Bobby Frasor. Ahmad Henderson, Khalil Ross and Nick Niego lead the way.

9. Mount Carmel: This is the season the Caravan has been building towards. Denver recruit DeAndre Craig is a load and the Ciaravino brothers, Angelo and Anthony, gained valuable experience last year. H-F transfer Tre Marks, a 6-6 junior, is a big addition.

10. St. Ignatius: Richard Barron returns and 6-8 Jackson Kotecki is much improved. Kendall Gill’s son, sophomore Phoenix Gill, should emerge as a standout.

11. Bolingbrook: This group is well-suited to Rob Brost’s fast and furious style. Mekhi Cooper can fly and score. Donaven Younger, Keon Alexander and transfer Aries Hull provide nice mobile size.

12. Glenbrook North: Senior Ryan Cohen is one of the area’s top scorers and the junior class is very strong, led by dynamic point guard Josh Fridman and 6-7 Pat Schaller.

13. Bloom: The Blazing Trojans lack star power, but are deep and intriguing with breakout candidate Jordan Brown, 6-7 Michael Garner and 6-6 senior Jayden Watson, a transfer from Brother Rice.

14. Oswego East: Versatile 6-5 senior Mekhi Lowery leads the way and 6-6 Ryan Johnson is back. Two transfer guards, Bryce Shoto from Plainfield Central and Jehvion Starwood from Yorkville Christian, will be major factors.

15. Benet: The trio of Brady Kunka, Niko Abusara and Brayden Fagbemi will anchor a strong group for coach Gene Heidkamp. Abusara, a 6-4 senior, emerged last season and Fagbemi, who played sparingly last season, was a breakout player this summer.

16. Hillcrest: The Hawks were hit hard by transfers but plenty of talent remains. Akron recruit Darrion Baker, a 6-8 senior, returns with 6-3 Quentin Heady and point guard Bryce Tillery.

17. Marian Catholic: The ceiling is high for the Spartans. Cal-Poly recruit Quentin Jones is an athletic, blossoming 6-4 wing that headlines a veteran group. Dependable senior point guard Tre Davis returns and 6-7 junior James Bullock flashed impressive potential last season.

18. West Aurora: The Blackhawks are back. Junior Josh Pickett and sophomore Terrence Smith are emerging stars and the additions of junior Jordan Brooks and CJ Savage should set coach Brian Johnson up for a nice two-year run.

19. New Trier: Cornell recruit Jake Fiegen is one of the area’s top shooters and 6-9 Tyler Van Gorp has taken a major step forward since last season. Sophomore Colby Smith, junior Logan Feller and senior Evan Kanellos will take on major roles.

20. Evanston: Prince Adams, a 6-7 senior, returns to anchor the post. The Wildkits were bolstered by Stevenson transfer Josh Thomas, a 6-5 senior with proven scoring ability and St. Viator transfer Hunter Duncan, a solid point guard.

21. Lyons: Niklas Polonowski exploded onto the scene this summer and the 6-6 Penn recruit has a solid group around him including seniors Jackson Niego and Graham Smith and 6-5 Brady Chambers.

22. Lake Forest: Clemson recruit Asa Thomas is one of the state’s top players and is joined in the backcourt by dependable 6-3 senior Anthony Mordini.

23. Romeoville: Guards Meyoh Swansey and Troy Cicero Jr. opened eyes over the offseason and should give the Spartans an edge in most games. Size could be an issue but Joliet West transfer Aaron Brown will add some muscle in the post.

24. Hyde Park: New coach Jerrel Oliver has a dependable foundation with senior guards Cam Williford and Da’marion Morris. Homewood-Flossmoor transfer Jurrell Baldwin, a 6-6 junior, should make an impact on both ends of the floor.

25. Perspectives-Leadership: Promoted to the Red-South/Central and ready to make a splash. Junior guard Tim Handy returns and is joined by a slew of prominent transfers including Jakeem Cole (Leo), Jarrod Gee Jr. (Rich), Gianni and Kamarion Cobb (Bloom) and 6-6 Kenric Mosby (Simeon).

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