Really?
Really.
Starting today and running to Friday, 24 varsity boys basketball teams will converge at
one high school for a chance to win a championship trophy. No, there is not more than
one tournament championship trophy they're playing for, much like how the State Farm
Classic divides its boys' tournament and girls' tournament by classification. All 24 teams
will be competing for the same thing – the 49th Annual Plano Christmas Classic
championship trophy.
Most Christmas tournaments are set up with an equal division of teams such as four, eight
or 16. Plano wanted to break out of what is usual and create something different.
And what is wrong with something different? It's worth a shot.
Plano was able to round up eight more teams to expand its tournament field to 24
(actually nine, counting the filling-in of a void). No other area Christmas tournament has
had more than 16 teams competing, and the folks at Plano are hoping the move will make
its tournament stand out amongst the others.
Expanding to 24 teams is one way to do that.
This year's Plano Christmas Classic – one year away from being a half-century old – will
feature a mix of schools from as small as Newark (with an enrollment of 198) to Yorkville
(1,535). Five schools are Class 1A, another 10 are 2A and the remaining nine are 3A.
In the past decade, the tournament has seen itself change from a chiefly small-school
event to a mix of both small and large. This is because of the changes that are happening
around Plano itself: the enrollment at its schools are rising and the need to be able to
compete against schools of similar size is rising just as much.
Twenty years ago, Plano was just another quiet, small town in northern Illinois. Now it's a
little tougher to tell whether you are leaving Plano and arriving in either Sandwich or
Yorkville. And who knows what would have happened if the people behind the Prairie
Parkway (a proposed interstate bypass around the western suburbs) had their way.
If changes were not made to the tournament, while the world around it was changing,
there would have been more of a lopsided balance between small schools, such as Indian
Creek, and large schools, such as what Plano planned on being.
Although growth has slowed down a little bit, Plano's Christmas Classic isn't stagnating.
Last year's tournament – probably by fate – happened to be one of the more exciting in
recent years. In a field with a mostly 2A-3A mix, a pair of small schools competed for the
48th championship trophy. Rockford Christian (actual enrollment: 379) defeated Newark
(201) for the title. The Royal Lions would go on to finish in third place at that year's IHSA
State Finals, while Newark eventually won the Class 1A state championship with the loss
at Plano's title game being its only blemmish of the season. That alone has brought more
attention to the Christmas Classic.
So its been proven that large schools do not win titles by default based on what the
enrollment is of the school. Sometimes size of a school does not matter when five kids are
playing basketball against another five kids on a wooden floor.
Plano's mix of large and small this year could very well prove that size may not matter. For
the five smallest teams (Forreston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek, Newark and
Somonauk), the Classic gives them a feel for a different kind of competition, one that they
can learn from while trying to win out the rest of its games. For the largest schools, the
Classic gives them a meter of sorts as to how well they are in certain aspects of the game.
Who wins out in the end remains to be seen.
The 49th Annual Plano Christmas Classic starts today with Burlington Central taking on
Lisle at 9 a.m. Another seven games will follow so that 16 of the 24 teams will play on the
first day. Then tomorrow, the top eight seeds will begin play.
Plus, there will be a junior varsity edition of the Classic taking place in Plano's auxillary
gym throughout the week. Forty squads. Eighty-three games. Five days.
*Because of the unique nature of this tournament, it will be covered extensively by
Northern Illinois Sports Beat ... a little more than the tournaments we have done in the
past.
Bill Lidinsky and I will have full game articles on two tournament games on each of the first
four days, with box scores and recaps from the other games on each day. You can check
them out by the start of the following day.
Then on Friday's championship date, we will be covering the consolation title game, the
fifth-place game, third-place game and the tournament championship game. We'll also
have video from the tournament's finale as well.
Our eventual goal is to highlight a particular Christmas tournament each year, and Plano
is the first of many to be featured. Next year's tournament will be announced at a later
date.
In addition, the Northern Illinois Sports Beat Message Board will be open for quick
registration throughout the week: so you can start posting once you register (and no
having to wait for admin approval). We will have a thread on the Christmas Classic
updated throughout the tournament. You are welcome to dicuss anything Christmas
Classic-related in the thread. Not a member of the NISB Message Board? Click HERE to
register.
Twenty-four teams is uncharted territory as far as holiday tournaments are concerned,
and throughout the week we'll see just how well Plano's idea will turn out.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and is excited to meet people
he often doesn't get to see since Plano is in Bill, Brian and Steve's territory. He can be
reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat (at) yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk about what's written
on our Message Boards!
Really.
Starting today and running to Friday, 24 varsity boys basketball teams will converge at
one high school for a chance to win a championship trophy. No, there is not more than
one tournament championship trophy they're playing for, much like how the State Farm
Classic divides its boys' tournament and girls' tournament by classification. All 24 teams
will be competing for the same thing – the 49th Annual Plano Christmas Classic
championship trophy.
Most Christmas tournaments are set up with an equal division of teams such as four, eight
or 16. Plano wanted to break out of what is usual and create something different.
And what is wrong with something different? It's worth a shot.
Plano was able to round up eight more teams to expand its tournament field to 24
(actually nine, counting the filling-in of a void). No other area Christmas tournament has
had more than 16 teams competing, and the folks at Plano are hoping the move will make
its tournament stand out amongst the others.
Expanding to 24 teams is one way to do that.
This year's Plano Christmas Classic – one year away from being a half-century old – will
feature a mix of schools from as small as Newark (with an enrollment of 198) to Yorkville
(1,535). Five schools are Class 1A, another 10 are 2A and the remaining nine are 3A.
In the past decade, the tournament has seen itself change from a chiefly small-school
event to a mix of both small and large. This is because of the changes that are happening
around Plano itself: the enrollment at its schools are rising and the need to be able to
compete against schools of similar size is rising just as much.
Twenty years ago, Plano was just another quiet, small town in northern Illinois. Now it's a
little tougher to tell whether you are leaving Plano and arriving in either Sandwich or
Yorkville. And who knows what would have happened if the people behind the Prairie
Parkway (a proposed interstate bypass around the western suburbs) had their way.
If changes were not made to the tournament, while the world around it was changing,
there would have been more of a lopsided balance between small schools, such as Indian
Creek, and large schools, such as what Plano planned on being.
Although growth has slowed down a little bit, Plano's Christmas Classic isn't stagnating.
Last year's tournament – probably by fate – happened to be one of the more exciting in
recent years. In a field with a mostly 2A-3A mix, a pair of small schools competed for the
48th championship trophy. Rockford Christian (actual enrollment: 379) defeated Newark
(201) for the title. The Royal Lions would go on to finish in third place at that year's IHSA
State Finals, while Newark eventually won the Class 1A state championship with the loss
at Plano's title game being its only blemmish of the season. That alone has brought more
attention to the Christmas Classic.
So its been proven that large schools do not win titles by default based on what the
enrollment is of the school. Sometimes size of a school does not matter when five kids are
playing basketball against another five kids on a wooden floor.
Plano's mix of large and small this year could very well prove that size may not matter. For
the five smallest teams (Forreston, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek, Newark and
Somonauk), the Classic gives them a feel for a different kind of competition, one that they
can learn from while trying to win out the rest of its games. For the largest schools, the
Classic gives them a meter of sorts as to how well they are in certain aspects of the game.
Who wins out in the end remains to be seen.
The 49th Annual Plano Christmas Classic starts today with Burlington Central taking on
Lisle at 9 a.m. Another seven games will follow so that 16 of the 24 teams will play on the
first day. Then tomorrow, the top eight seeds will begin play.
Plus, there will be a junior varsity edition of the Classic taking place in Plano's auxillary
gym throughout the week. Forty squads. Eighty-three games. Five days.
*Because of the unique nature of this tournament, it will be covered extensively by
Northern Illinois Sports Beat ... a little more than the tournaments we have done in the
past.
Bill Lidinsky and I will have full game articles on two tournament games on each of the first
four days, with box scores and recaps from the other games on each day. You can check
them out by the start of the following day.
Then on Friday's championship date, we will be covering the consolation title game, the
fifth-place game, third-place game and the tournament championship game. We'll also
have video from the tournament's finale as well.
Our eventual goal is to highlight a particular Christmas tournament each year, and Plano
is the first of many to be featured. Next year's tournament will be announced at a later
date.
In addition, the Northern Illinois Sports Beat Message Board will be open for quick
registration throughout the week: so you can start posting once you register (and no
having to wait for admin approval). We will have a thread on the Christmas Classic
updated throughout the tournament. You are welcome to dicuss anything Christmas
Classic-related in the thread. Not a member of the NISB Message Board? Click HERE to
register.
Twenty-four teams is uncharted territory as far as holiday tournaments are concerned,
and throughout the week we'll see just how well Plano's idea will turn out.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and is excited to meet people
he often doesn't get to see since Plano is in Bill, Brian and Steve's territory. He can be
reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat (at) yahoo (dot) com. --- Talk about what's written
on our Message Boards!
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Not Your “Plain Ol'”
Christmas Classic
Christmas Classic
Twenty-four teams? Plano creates something different ...
49th Annual Plano
Christmas Classic
Seeds:
1. Rockford Christian
2. Yorkville
3. Kaneland
4. Aurora Christian
5. Belvidere
6. Streator
7. Ottawa
8. Princeton
9. Hinckley-Big Rock
10. Seneca
11. Burlington Central
12. Mendota
13. Forreston
14. Morris
15. Genoa-Kingston
16. Plano
17. Somonauk
18. Newark
19. Sandwich
20. Wilmington
21. Indian Creek
22. Lisle
23. Coal City
24. Dixon
Christmas Classic
Seeds:
1. Rockford Christian
2. Yorkville
3. Kaneland
4. Aurora Christian
5. Belvidere
6. Streator
7. Ottawa
8. Princeton
9. Hinckley-Big Rock
10. Seneca
11. Burlington Central
12. Mendota
13. Forreston
14. Morris
15. Genoa-Kingston
16. Plano
17. Somonauk
18. Newark
19. Sandwich
20. Wilmington
21. Indian Creek
22. Lisle
23. Coal City
24. Dixon