Head coach Don Houston has done a great job of assembling the best prospects in the south Suburban area. Players like Senior shooting guard Aa’Reyon Munir-Jones, and St. Rita transfer Center Darrion Boyd ‘’DB’’ is sure to make  impact players  for this young squad. Both exhibit great leadership qualities and are great all around the floor. The Hawks also have another great player in junior point guard Bryce Tillery ‘’Diggy’’, this kid can ball, he has great vision and is very team oriented, but can also shoot the lights out on any given night. Also he has great Basketball IQ always looking to make the smartest decisions to put his team in the best position to win games. Be sure to follow these next two seasons for the young guard, he’s going to do great things for this program.

The Hillcrest basketball team is already  off to a great start with a nearly perfect record and Chicago Heights Classic Championship trophy under their belt. Posting wins against highly touted teams like Bloom 61-68 and Marian Catholic 51-49. Both were great games, I loved watching the hawks comeback from behind Bloom to get the dub. The Marian game was quite the nail bitter with both teams going back and forth, luckily the team was able to edge out the Spartans for the Championship trophy. Senior guard Aa’Reyon Munir Jones told me that it was just another business trip and that there was no doubt in his mind that they would take home the trophy that night. Fun Fact that was the Hawks first win against the Spartans in nearly ten years. Wow what a night that was!

It seems like the sky’s the limit for this young team. That’s right young, this year’s team is made up of mostly underclassmen with only 4 senior players on its roster. Did I mention sophomore guard Isaiah Greene. This kid is a real threat on the court, another young guard who can not only shoot the lights out, but has great defense as well. This team’s future looks bright, they’re already ranked in the top 10 in the Chicagoland area, by Chicago Sun Times Newspaper. This is no small feat with nationally ranked teams like Glenbard West being ranked just a few spots above them.

I’ve had the opportunity to speak to a number of players as well as coaching staff. The Hawks are confident they can make a state championship run this year as they should be. From what I’ve seen so far they might not be too far off from that statement. They’ve already taken down highly ranked teams like Bloom and Marian Catholic High School. They’re already ranked first in their conference as they haven’t lost an in conference game yet. Hillcrest has been known as a “basketball” school for quite some time now, with its 2010-11 squad winning the 3A state championship win, and multiple winning seasons from that point on, with last year’s team going an outstanding 13-0.iIts great to see this team carry on the legacy of the program.

Games have been selling out this year and it’s all thanks to the teams amazing start. If you’re in the area be sure to catch a home game, The atmosphere of the crowd is ecstatic, especially with the blue crew. They’re basically the teams personal hype man. They do their job well cheering the team on through thick and thin, and putting the opposing team in a state of panic. To cap things off I just wanna say that I’m excited to see where this season goes!