With the 2025 portion of the 2025-26 season nearly completed, boys basketball teams in the area are beginning to figure out exactly what kind of team they have. Who plays well together, which style of play suits them best and other questions have either been answered or are well on their way to being answered.

There are few teams that have an established 1-2 punch as strong as Plainfield East’s guard duo of junior KJ Miller and senior Alijah Little. Miller averaged 21 points and 4.8 rebounds a game during the Hinsdale Central Holiday Classic and was named All-Tournament, while Little averaged 15 points a contest.

Bengals coach Kenwar Sarkaria enjoys having both players to rely on.

“I kind of equate it to having an elite starter and an elite closer in baseball,” Sarkaria said. “KJ starts things off and does a bit of everything for us, then when the game is on the line and things are right, that’s when we go to Alijah.

“The two of them work very well together. KJ sees the floor so well that he is able to get the ball to his teammates in good positions to score. And, late in the game is when Alijah wants the ball.”

STRONG RUNS

Herald-News area teams were spread out for tournaments during the holidays, and several had success. Joliet Catholic, for example, took second place in the State Farm Holiday Classic Small School Boys Tournament. Plainfield Central entered the Elgin Holiday Tournament with a 3-7 record, but went 2-2 in tourney play, winning their final two games to head into 2026 with some momentum. Morris entered the Plano Christmas Classic with one win and the 15th seed in the 16-team tournament, but went 2-2 to take 11th place.

At the prestigious Pontiac Holiday Tournament, billed as the oldest holiday tournament in the country, both Joliet West and Lockport won their opening-round games, but lost in the second round. Joliet West lost to Homewood-Flossmoor in the consolation bracket, but Lockport picked up a win over Peoria Manual and played H-F for fifth place. In the Kankakee Holiday Tournament Large School Bracket, Lincoln-Way Central advanced to the championship game before falling to the host school in a tight, 54-50 decision. The Knights finished the 2025 portion of their schedule with a 10-3 record.

Bolingbrook took its act to Hawaii and the Raiders did themselves proud at the Iolani Classic. They took fourth in the 16-team event that featured teams from all around the country, and sophomore guard Brady Pettigrew won the Slam Dunk Contest.

THE LITTLE GUYS

Aside from Joliet Catholic and Peotone playing in the Kankakee Holiday Tournament, the bulk of the smaller (Classes 1A and 2A) teams in the area took part in the Seneca Shipyard Showdown.

Wilmington had the best showing at the 16-team event, taking fifth place, while Dwight finished seventh and Seneca took eighth. Coal City, meanwhile, took the title in the consolation bracket, topping Reed-Custer in the consolation title game. Gardner-South Wilmington finished fourth in the consolation bracket.

For the tournament, Reed-Custer’s Matt Kuban was fourth in points scored with 73, while Wilmington’s Brysen Meents was fifth with 72, Dwight’s Joey Starks was sixth with 71 and Wilmington’s Ryan Kettman was seventh with 65. Seneca’s Brayden Simek was third in 3-pointers made with 12, while Meents and Reed-Custer’s Kaiden Klein each had eight.