When it comes to summer high school basketball, it's nearly impossible to formulate preseason predictions based on actual results.
Wins and losses during June are certainly a helpful stat. But summer shootouts also feature missing players and coaches, the integration of new players and sets, and some events that feature games played in back-to-back hours.
Even with all of those changes from a normal high school basketball setting, it's hard not to be thoroughly impressed with what Curie did this weekend to win the annual Riverside-Brookfield Shootout.
The Condors not only won the best high school shootout in the Chicagoland area during the month of June, but they also did so by beating the two teams who played for a Class 4A state championship last season: Whitney Young and Simeon. And Curie beat those two city titans in completely dominating fashion.
Tournament Co-MVPs Trevon Martin and Tyree Martin returned as experienced seniors on the interior as the 6-foot-8 duo looked confident and comfortable playing with some new perimeter options. Both brothers finished on the interior, defended the rim and hit the glass as not a lot of teams can match Curie's size on the interior.
The question marks for Curie entering the 2017-18 season appeared to be how the team was going to replace the core perimeter group of seniors who left. Battle-tested state champions like Allante Pickens, Elijah Joiner and Terry Smith all graduated.
The addition of valuable transfers like seniors Maurice Commander (Marist) and Jayden Gasby (Urban Prep Englewood) along with talented junior Marquise Walker (St. Joseph) has helped replenish a surprisingly deep Curie perimeter group.
Commander and Gasby both appeared very comfortable getting clean looks and playing with big men like the Martin twins, while Walker also had flashes of strong play as he continues to play up to health after an ankle injury limited his spring.
It's still a long way until the high school season tips during the week of Thanksgiving, but if there was one major takeaway from this weekend, it's that Curie should not be slept on when it comes to the city and state title race this season.
DON'T SLEEP ON SIMEON AND WHITNEY YOUNG
Even though Simeon and Whitney Young were both blown out by Curie this weekend, it really isn't much to worry about for either program.
The defending champion Dolphins once again looked strong in making the championship game behind a senior perimeter group of Xavier Castanada, Javon Freeman and Justin Boyd as they'll continue to be a major force next season.
Whitney Young might have been missing a few pieces while running out of gas at R-B, but it would be silly not to include them in any sort of title discussion with the pieces they have returning from last season.
As for Simeon, replacing former senior point guard Evan Gilyard will be tough, but the Wolverines have reloaded with a transfer of their own as they bring in a Division I prospect in guard Zion Young.
The 6-foot-3 Young is an athletic and powerful guard who should help give Simeon a bruising finisher who can also take smaller perimeter players into the mid post. Young should be a nice compliment to point guard KeJuan Clements and shooting guard Kezo Brown on the perimeter while also easing the offensive pressure on senior wing Talen Horton-Tucker.
Simeon didn't have Brown this weekend, but they should be in good shape for next season once they figure out how to properly use Young among their many talented pieces.
OTHER IMPRESSIONS FROM R-B
-- Hillcrest will have a lot of talented players on its roster next season as they gave Whitney Young all they could handle in the quarterfinals. Seniors Jalen Hughes and Robert Harvey can compete with any backcourt in the state and junior Isaac Stanbeck can be a monster at times. The Hawks have a lot to like heading into next season.
-- DePaul Prep is hoping to be a major Catholic League and Class 2A contender after some promising results last season. Junior Perry Cowan Jr. and sophomore Elliott Seiger are both very talented perimeter options while sophomore Lance Mosley has some upside as well. The key for the Rams will be making sure that junior Pavle Pantovic has more help on the interior.
-- Staying in the Catholic League, Fenwick has a potential star in sophomore D.J. Steward and some emerging threats in guards Damari Nixon and AJ Nixon. Rugged, jack-of-all-trades guard Billy Bruce is another experienced returner who can rebound or knock down shots. Much like DePaul Prep, consistent interior play will be a key for Fenwick's ceiling.
-- Geneva has a new head coach in Scott Hennig, but the Vikings get back junior point guard Jack McDonald and junior Mitch Mascari who looked very comfortable as a perimeter threat. As one of the best pure three-point shooters in attendance, Mascari went for 30 points in a loss to Joliet West.
-- Joliet West lost most of its senior core from last season, but senior wing returns Eddie Creal as an All-Area candidate. Creal's explosive athleticism and ability to attack the basket could lead to a big senior season. Senior guard Michael Smith was also impressive in a win over Geneva.
-- Kenwood didn't finish as they might have liked but they have time and talent to figure things out. Junior guards Antonio Reeves and Elijah Stewart both had some solid outings this weekend.
-- Coming off of a sectional appearance in Class 4A, Larkin looked like a top 25 candidate as senior big man Jalen Shaw is one of the area's better post players and senior guard Anthony Lynch is an ultra-aggressive bucket getter. I'd love to see those two play in more high ball screen scenarios. The Royals have a chance to be really good once again.
-- Loyola Academy struggled at times while missing some key pieces but rallied to win the fourth-place bracket. The best freshman in the event this weekend was 6-foot-6 guard Patrick Baldwin, the son of the Northwestern assistant by the same name.
-- The loss of point guard Chase Adams to Orr will certainly sting for Marian Catholic, but junior guard Malik Tidwell is a potent scorer while 6-foot-5 forward Chris White has the length and athleticism to be a factor on both ends of the floor.
-- St. Joseph was another team who made a strong run this weekend as seniors Jalen Boyd and Joffari Brown had some big games.