When high school basketball fans think back to the 1980s, programs like Quincy, Providence St. Mel, East St. Louis Lincoln and the arrival of city powers King and Simeon are easy to think back on.
The 1990s brought us memorable basketball giants in Peoria Manual and Thornton, a few steamrolling Proviso East teams and the continued dominance of King.
The first 10 years of the 2000s included Glenbrook North, Peoria High and the beginning of a Simeon juggernaut.
Earlier this year we broke down the decade’s best teams and best players. Now, with every season of the past decade complete, it’s time to look at the Chicago area programs who won the most.
This list is comprised of the 50 winningest programs over the past 10 years, starting with the 2010-11 season and concluding with the 2019-20 season. Every team in every class throughout the Chicago area will be broken down in a variety of ways. But total wins, with winning percentage used as tie-breaker, determined the rankings.
We present No. 24 Aurora Christian today and will add one program a day going forward.
Decade’s biggest storyline: This past season Aurora Christian made it to the State Finals for the first time since finishing second in the state in Class A in 1995. Behind the play of guards Taaj Davis, Danny New and Daniel Walker, the Eagles beat Hope Academy to win the sectional championship and walloped No. 1 ranked Indian Creek in the super-sectional.
The Eagles were 25-6 and set to play Madison in the Class 1A state semifinals when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted and put a halt to the season.
Underrated highlight: The weekend Taaj Davis put together last season was one of the most eye-opening individual performances of the decade. Davis scored 112 points in two games on back-to-back nights — a school record 58 points in a win over Bishop McNamara on Friday night and 54 points in a double overtime win over Chicago Christian on Saturday night. The 58-point performance came in just three quarters of action.
Player of the Decade: Jake Wolfe (2018)
All-Decade Team: Jake Wolfe (2018), Taaj Davis (2020), Jonathan Harrell (2014), Dean Danos (2012) and Jaeshon Thomas (2021)
Other decade highlights:
-The decade produced seven regional championships and three sectional titles.
-The Eagles capped off the decade with six straight 20-plus win seasons.
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