The Kankakee Holiday Tournament begins its seventh decade of basketball and from the looks of things the tournament may be able to provide one of its most competitive tournaments ever as it reaches that milestone.

Some talented teams are in both the Class 1A/2A Tournament and the Class 3A/4A Tournament and the teams that emerge with titles will certainly have earned those honors.

For the first time in three years, a team will be returning to defend its Class 3A/Class 4A title. Chicago Hope knocked off Champaign Centennial in an exciting title game last year. That loss would be Centennial's only misstep of the year and the team went on to win the Class 3A title.

Hope is looking to defend the title this year but enters the tournament as a total wildcard. The Eagles had put together a 2-1 record through their first two games, but several key players graduated from last year's championship team. But Coach Gary Tate will certainly be capable of making another run to the title provided he's found a capable replacement for last year's sharpshooting guard Derrick Hill, who graduated.

Hope will open the tournament against Andrew, a team that has already experienced a number of close games and have had some go in its favor and others that have not.

Kevin Werr is one of Andrew's more consistent players while guard Drew Howe is also a sound player for the T-Bolts.

Another team that appears poised to make a run at the title is Peoria Woodruff. The Warriors dropped their season opener to Galesburg , but ripped off six wins in a row after that loss, earning a tournament title at Galesburg in the process.

Sadly, for Woodruff this year's KHT will be the school's last chance to capture a Christmas Tournament title as the school will be closed at the end of this school year, but the Warriors are certainly hoping to leave an impression in their final run and appear to have the weapons to do it.

Flashy guard Deontray Dorsey and big man Tylander Amos are both averaging well over 20 points per game as the Warriors potent offensive attack was averaging over 70 points per game through the Warriors first seven games.

Woodruff will open the tournament against a newcomer to the field, Chicago Robeson. Robeson replaced Champaign Centennial in the field. Very much like Hope, Robeson enters as a mystery. The Tigers didn't play in a Thanksgiving Tournament and had dropped the first two games of their regular season, but more often that not Robeson holds its own in one of the more difficult divisions of the Chicago Public League.

The host school will try to return to prominence in this tournament and is off to a good start in the early portion of the season. Kankakee jumped out to a 3-1 start this season behind the solid play of guard Michael Wright. Veteran guard Terrell Brooks is also primed for a breakout in his third appearance in the Kankakee Holiday Tournament.

Kankakee will open the tournament against Chicago Carver. Carver has proven to be a dangerous team in the KHT and despite a 3-4 record in the early going. The Challengers dropped all four of its games in its Thanksgiving Tournament but regrouped to pick up three wins in its regular season slate. Carver is a young team, but the Challengers have rarely have not brought a solid team to Kankakee .

Illiana Christian is hoping to continue its strong season. The Vikings are 5-0 out of the gate led by the strong performances of Jordan Brink. Brink was the MVP at the Seneca Thanksgiving Tournament and the Vikings are a deep team with some size that should cause problems for opponents in the tournament.

Bradley-Bourbonnais will be Illiana Christian's opening round foe. The Boilermakers have struggled offensively early in the season, but the team has played very solid defense and has been competitive in each of its game. Senior guard Zach Wadley is the team's leading scorer.

The Class 1A/2A tournament appears to be as deep in quality teams as ever.

St. Anne is chasing its fourth consecutive Kankakee Holiday Tournament title, if the Cardinals can achieve that feat they would be just the third team in the 60 years of Kankakee Holiday tournament play to win four consecutive titles joining Chicago Leo (mid-80's) and Kankakee (mid-90's).

The Cardinals, just two years removed from a Class 1A State Championship, however, have struggled out of the gate and have only recently added the services of the team's leading scorer and last year's 1A/2A MVP Javonta Davis.

Other than that, St. Anne's roster has a number of inexperienced players and if the Cardinals are going to make a serious run at a fourth straight title they will need to mature quickly.

The Cardinals open the tournament against Peotone, who has gotten off to a soild start this season. Peotone is led by big man Nic Romanchik and the solid perimeter shooting of Trent McConkey.

Herscher looks to be the favorite in the field. The Tigers have lost just once in their first six games and possess a deep and talented roster that has proven difficult for opponents to defend.

Senior Mike Krygowski is a talented leader while fellow classmate Alex Petkunas has demonstrated an impressive outside shooting touch. Additionally, sophomore twins Jordan and Justin Ruckman are quickly emerging as big time threats.

The Tigers will open with the Morgan Park Warriors. Morgan Park is 2-5 overall, but the Class 1A took on the challenge of playing in a large school tournament for Thanksgiving. Morgan Park was one of three teams in the Class 1A/2A field that earned a regional title last season.

Another quarterfinal matchup features a pair of undefeated teams in Deer Creek-Mackinaw and Watseka.

Deer Creek is a balanced team that has taken out several quality opponents in the early going as they defeated a perennial powerhouse Peoria Christian in the title game of its Thanksgiving Tournament. Watseka, on the other hand, sped out to three early wins behind strong individual efforts of Marcel Maiden and Sawyer Harris. Both teams play strong defense and should provide a compelling first round game.

Rounding out the opening round matchups will be Momence and Manteno. The Redskins got off to a slow start after a season-opening loss to Herscher but has battled back with back-to-back wins after that loss. Guard David Clayton is averaging over 20 points per game and provides leadership for a very young team.

Manteno is the lone new entrant in the 1A/2A field as the Panthers took the place of Chicago (CICS-Longwood) in the field. The Panthers will add more local flavor to the tournament and appear to be bringing a strong contender for the title as well as Manteno has jumped out to a 5-1 start with a balanced offensive attack led by Brandon Ringler and Ryan Liss.

Note: Records current as of December 10.

Class 1A/2A KHT Preview