IHSA Class 2A State Finals preview
Schedule and Information At Carver Areana, Peoria, Ill. Friday’s semifinals Orr vs. Corliss, 5:30 p.m. 3-point shootout Nashville vs. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, 7:30 p.m. Championship Saturday Third-place game, 5:30 p.m. Championship game, (approximately) 7:30 p.m. Tickets: $10 general admission TV: NBC…
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Schedule and Information
At Carver Areana, Peoria, Ill.
Friday’s semifinals
Orr vs. Corliss, 5:30 p.m.
3-point shootout
Nashville vs. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley, 7:30 p.m.
Championship Saturday
Third-place game, 5:30 p.m.
Championship game, (approximately) 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $10 general admission
TV: NBC Sports Chicago
Stream: NFHS Newtwork
Broadcast team: Dave Bernhard (Play by Play), Mark Lindo (Analyst) and Kate Constable (Sideline reporter)
Teams
Orr (23-11)
Projected starters
0 Greg Outlaw (2019, G, 6-4) – 13 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 apg, shooting 45.2/38.6/70.7
1 Michael Taylor (2019, G, 6-1) – 5.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 apg, shooting 53.0/1-3/45.5
5 Sherif Kenney (2019, F, 6-5) – 12.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.4 apg, shooting 48.8/39.3/72.4
11 Terry Williams III (2019, G, 6-1) – 11.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, shooting 44.4/38.0/78.0
22 Tujauntee Williams (2019, G, 6-6) – 13.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, shooting 57.7/3-15/55.1
Louis Adams is 180-48 in his 10th season, including a one-year stop at Englewood (24-4). This season, Orr has challenged itself like the traditional Chicago powers by going out of state to play in premier tournaments and shootouts. That schedule will pay off now as the Spartans look to 3-peat as Class 2A champions.
Key to watch: Orr’s ability to force turnovers with its press and get transition baskets is the key to its title defense.
Corliss (20-8)
Projected starters
1 Dhashon Dyson (2019, G, 6-1) – 19.3 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, shooting 48.7/37.4/75.2
2 Leondre Townsen (2019, F, 6-6) – 14.6 ppg 4.3 rpg, 4 apg, shooting 51.0/29.0/58.8
4 Mark Lewis Jr. (2019, G, 5-10) – 6.6 ppg, 2 rpg, 3.2 apg, shooting 38.8/44.9/83.9
22 Joseph Doyle (2019, C, 6-10) – 6.4 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 9.3 apg, shooting 47.8/0-1/66.7
25 Jadon Williams (2020, G, 6-2) – 6.9 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.4 apg, shooting 57.4/2-7/53.7
Harvey Jones is 49-15 in his third season at Corliss, which makes its first state finals berth in program history. It’s remarkable that the Trojans didn’t get to Peoria with now-Iowa State freshman George Conditt. But Corliss has strong guard play and a triple-double threat with Joseph Doyle.
Key to watch: Corliss will have to control the pace against Orr, which beat the Trojans 78-61 in the Chicago Public League playoffs, if it wants to play for the championship.
Nashville (34-2)
Projected starters
3 Tristen Hercules (2020, G, 5-10) – 4.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.6 apg, shooting 41.7/31.0/76.9
10 Kelton Harre (2019, G, 5-11) – 4.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, shooting 54.2/38.1/83.3
11 Bryson Bultman (2019, G, 6-5) – 14.6 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, shooting 57.2/38.0/68.5
25 Carson Parker (2020, G, 6-5) – 14.6 ppg, 6 rpg, 1.3 apg, shooting 55.5/34.0/72.5
42 Tanner Bergmann (2019, C, 6-6) – 3.3 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.2 apg, shooting 45.3/24.1/23.1
Wayne Harre is 57-10 in his second season as the Nashville boys coach. He was 412-77 in 15 seasons as the Nashville girls basketball coach, winning the 2013 Class 2A state championship. His Hornets girls teams finished third in 2009 and 2010, and fourth in 2011. Harre will attempt to become the first coach to win a state championship in boys and girls basketball.
The Hornets average 52.9 points per game and its only two losses were scoring 28 and 29 points in consecutive games. Better yet, they’ve allowed a team to score 50 just once (beating DuQuoin 67-52) and under 40 points 30 times.
Key to watch: If there’s a team that could grind out a win, it’s Nashville. They play defense at an elite level but will have to execute on every offensive opportunity to hang with Orr or Corliss.
Gibson City-Mevlin-Sibley (32-2)
Projected starters
2 Caleb Bleich (2019, F, 5-11) – 6.2 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.5 apg, shooting 45.0/34.0/66.0
3 Ryland Holt (2019, F, 6-5) – 14.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, shooting 52.6/30.2/72.8
4 Ben Freehill (2019, G, 6-1) – 5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, shooting 33.7/29.1/64.7
11 Connor Birky (2019, G, 6-1) – 12.6 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.1 apg, shooting 46.7/43.0/79.1
21 Bryce Barnes (2019, G, 6-2) – 14.1 ppg, 7 rpg, 3.9 apg, shooting 45.3/33.7/65.9
Ryan Tompkins is 253-238 in 17 years as GCMS coach. The Falcons started 1-2 before rattling off 31 wins in a row. Minnesota State-Mankato recruit Ryland Holt was one of several teammates that are back-to-back Class 2A undefeated (28-0) state football champions. Barnes will play football at the University of Illinois. Freehill will be a preferred walk-on at Oklahoma State as a kicker.
Key to watch: Perhaps more than any team to step on the Carver Arena floor, GC-M-S knows how to play together. The group touts 13 football players and have gone 85-6 in basketball and football the last two seasons. They’ve been through enough adversity to know how to handle, but this is breaking new grounds and it’ll be interesting to see how they handle it on the hardwood.