O’Fallon shootout lures top high school hoops talent
The third annual Bank of O’Fallon Shootout is Saturday at O’Fallon High School and organizers are hoping another solid lineup of top talent and top teams will create some basketball magic.
Tickets are $10 per session and available online through the Bank of O’Fallon Shootout website and also at the Bank of O’Fallon dring normal business hours.
“You contract with these teams a lot of times a year in advance and you hope the matchups work out well,” said O’Fallon Assistant Athletic Director Cory Patton. “Right now we’re working on next year and a lot of these teams are already coming back. We don’t want to compare ourselves to other shootouts, but everybody learns from other people.
“It’s heck of a lot of fun and a heck of a lot of work.”
The shootout features the top-ranked Illinois 4A team in Bolingbrook (18-0), the top-ranked 3A team in Morgan Park (15-3), the defending 3A state champion Althoff Crusaders (14-5), plus Illinois recruit Javon Pickett from Belleville East and Whitfield (Mo.) junior scoring sensation Torrence Watson (28.5 ppg, three games with 40 or more points)
One of the most intriguing matchups is traditional Illinois powerhouse Morgan Park vs. St. Louis area heavyweight Webster Groves (13-2). Webster Groves features two of the nation’s top juniors, led by 6-foot-8 Saint Louis University recruit Carte’Are Gordon and Courtney Ramey.
Morgan Park also has one of the top junior prospects in the nation in Ayo Dosunmu.
One thing shootout organizers can’t control is injuries.
Three of the Bank of O’Fallon’s top players, Althoff senior and SLU recruit Jordan Goodwin (shoulder), Peoria Manual guard and Illinois recruit DaMonte Williams (knee) and Loyola-Chicago recruit Christian Negron (knee) from Elgin Larkin.
“Obviously you hate to see kids like that go down but there’s nothing you can do about it,” Patton said. “They’re all great players. We still have one of the best lineups in the state of Illinois with a lot of really, really good talent.”
Norm Sanders: 618-239-2454, @NormSanders
At a glance
This is the schedule for the Feb. 4 Bank of O’Fallon Shootout:
Session 1
- O’Fallon vs. Vianney, 10:30 a.m.
- Bloomington vs. Chicago Marian Catholic, noon
- Whitfield School vs. Peoria Manual, 1:30 p.m.
Session 2
- Champaign Central vs. Elgin Larkin, 4:15 p.m.
- Belleville East vs. Bolingbrook, 5:45 p.m.
- Webster Groves (Mo.) vs. Morgan Park, 7:15 p.m.
- Althoff vs. Evanston, 8:45 p.m.
This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 7:54 PM with the headline "O’Fallon shootout lures top high school hoops talent."