Daily Chronicle boys basketball playoff preview: 5 things to know heading into the IHSA postseason

The boys basketball postseason tips off locally Monday with Indian Creek, Hiawatha and Genoa-Kingston opening with first-round regional games before the semifinals Wednesday.

Here are five things to keep an eye on as the postseason gets underway.

We’re No. 1 (and No. 2)

Sycamore, DeKalb and Kaneland pulled down No. 1 seeds in their subsectionals, while Hinckley-Big Rock earned a No. 2 seed. It’s creating a lot of high expectations, as each team is the highest seed in its regional.

Kaneland and DeKalb won regional titles last year, while Hinckley-Big Rock last won a regional in 2022. Sycamore is looking for its first regional championship since 2017.

If the seeds hold, all four should reach the sectional round.

On the road again - again

Just like on the girls side, most of the local teams have long journeys ahead of them from a literal standpoint, none more than DeKalb.

For the Barbs, heading to Machesney Park for the Class 4A Harlem Regional is the tip of the iceberg. Should the Barbs survive Harlem and then one of another pair of Rockford-area schools (Auburn or Hononegah), they have a 93-mile trek for the Class 4A Waukegan Sectional.

Sycamore has a 41-mile ride of almost an hour for the Class 3A Woodstock North Regional, facing either Harvard or the hosts in the first round and with a win will face Belvidere North or Belvidere in the finals. The Spartans' sectional is much closer, however, heading to Rochelle should they escape Woodstock North.

If Genoa-Kingston wins its home play-in game against North Boone, it’ll also have a trip to Rockford for the Class 2A Rockford Christian Regional. Hiawatha has a 51-mile drive to Amboy for not only its play-in game against the Clippers but the regional, as well, should it pull off the upset.

Teams poised for sectional success

With their high seeds, Kaneland, DeKalb, Sycamore and Hinckley-Big Rock have a chance to do something none of the four teams has done in decades: win a sectional.

Should any of the four reach a supersectional, it would become the first area team to make it that far since Indian Creek in 2020.

According to IHSA records, Sycamore never has won a sectional tournament. Hinckley-Big Rock last won one in 1984, Kaneland in 1982 and DeKalb in 1968.

Stars ready to shine

It speaks to some of the talent in the area that two of the best big men are going to college in different sports.

DeKalb junior center Davon Grant has committed to Illinois for football, and Hinckley-Big Rock senior post Martin Ledbetter heads to Wabash Valley College for baseball. Grant passed the 1,000-point mark this season, while Ledbetter hit 2,000 career points this month.

It’s not just Grant for the Barbs, as Sean Reynolds is having another standout season. The two-time Daily Chronicle Boys Basketball Player of the Year won MVP honors at the Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic, scored a career-high 32 points in a game this season and became the program’s career scoring leader.

And just like with Grant and Reynolds, the Royals have an effective inside-out punch with Ledbetter and Max Hintzsche, who can score from multiple levels and has been an explosive option when teams key on Ledbetter.

Kaneland has a lot of height with the 6-foot-7 Freddy Hassan and the 6-9 Jeffrey Hassan. But Marshawn Cocroft has been an invaluable asset at guard for the Knights as well.

Sycamore may be without leading scorer Isaiah Feuerbach, who has missed some time with a tweaked knee. His status is unknown. But the Spartans won three of their first four games without him, and the lone loss was against one-loss Kaneland in overtime.

Unique Shaw has stepped up his scoring for the Spartans, and on any given night they’re getting standout performances from players such as Josiah Mitchell, Jakob Shipley, Michael Chami, Carter York and Xander Lewis.

Tipping it off

Hiawatha, Indian Creek and Genoa-Kingston get the postseason started Monday. The No. 11 Hawks are in an eight-team regional and play a quarterfinal against No. 9 Amboy, the winner getting most likely No. 2 Annawan.

IC is in the seven-team Class 1A Indian Creek Regional, so it opens Monday with No. 13 Mooseheart and likely will face No. 5 Aurora Christian. The winner most likely will face No. 1 seed Yorkville Christian.

No. 7 Genoa-Kingston opens with No. 8 North Boone at home, a team it beat 62-44 in Poplar Grove this season, and will look for Hayden Hodgson and Marcus Johnson to continue their hot streaks.