By Bobby Narang
York High School head basketball coach Mike Dunn is ready for another stab at winning the prestigious Jack Tosh Holiday Classic this season.
The 32-team tournament is one of the top events of the holiday season in the State and features two games played at the same time along with some of the elite teams and players from Chicagoland. Last season, Glenbard West dominated the field to win the tournament championship en route to the program’s first Class 4A State championship.
Dunn said the 2022 version is filled with teams from throughout the northern Illinois area, with Glenbrook South, Waubonsie Valley, Glenbard North, and Yorkville, the new entries this season.
The five-day tournament will announce pairings by the middle of this week. The tournament will start Monday, Dec. 26.
“We’re excited because it’s going to be a great tournament,” Dunn said. “I think it’s one of the best, maybe from top to bottom, in the State. It’s extremely well-run tournament, and it’s a special thing to be a part of.
“The tradition of it, from former athletic director Jack Tosh. It brings out great crowds and great basketball fans and has competitive games all day long. It was hard to seed because we have a lot of conference opponents and we’re trying to stay away from them playing each other. It’s also a special time, right after Christmas. We’re all looking forward to it.”
The tournament prints out box scores following each game, which allows fans to watch every game via a YouTube Channel.
York junior guard AJ Levine, one of three returnees for the Dukes this season, said the Jack Tosh represents a special team of the season for the program.
“I’m definitely excited to play in the Tosh this year, so is the whole team,” Levine said. “There’s a lot of great competition and we believe we can compete with any team. Last year we didn’t have the greatest showing at our own tournament, but I think this year we can step it up a lot and be a contender for the championship.”
Levine, junior forward Braden Richardson, and junior Brendan Molis are the key returnees for the Dukes, who have won four of their first nine games this season. Levine is leading the team in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game. Richardson is averaging 6.3 points and 4.5 rebounds.
“We’ve won two of our last three games, and that includes a one-point loss to Downers Grove North,” Dunn said. “We have eight juniors, but three of them played up as sophomores. We have a lot of inexperience, but each game I’ve been very impressed with the kids. They’ve been working extremely hard learning our system on the run. We play in one of the best conferences in the West Suburban Silver. There’s a lot of senior-dominated team.
“AJ Levine has been playing really well and improved a lot from last year. Braden Richardson is playing well and Brendan Molis has really come on strong in the last two weeks. I’m really excited where we’re at. We have to continue to improve. The schedule doesn’t get any easier.”