Michael O'Brien's Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Nov. 30, 2025

The first week of the basketball season brought three major results: Loyola winning at New Trier, Benet losing at St. Ignatius and Cary-Grove upsetting Waukegan.

The Ramblers’ big win in Wilmette was the least surprising of the three games overall, but it was impressive that they pulled it off without Sam Golden, one of the best players on the team. Golden missed the game with an injury but returned for Loyola’s win against Lake Zurich on Saturday.

Trey Williams (17 points) and Charles Ellis (16 points) led the Ramblers but the key to the victory was holding New Trier’s Christopher Kirkpatrick, a preseason All-State pick, to five points.

St. Ignatius’ 69-65 against visiting Benet on Sunday says a lot more about the Wolfpack than the defending Class 4A state champs. Benet is going to be fine. Jayden Wright was excellent in the defeat and 7-0 senior Colin Stack made one move where he covered about 12 feet with one step and dunked the ball.

"[Stack] is fantastic,” St. Ignatius coach Matt Monroe said. “He’s a matchup nightmare becuase of his size and skill. He just knows how to play.”

Stack had 14 points and five rebounds in the game. He was 7 of 7 shooting in the post with four dunks. But St. Ignatius limited him to just four points in the second half.

“We increased the pressure on the ball handlers, trying to make those post entries a little harder,” Monroe said. “We took a few of our matchups off the ball and sagged more into the paint to help. We did that more in the second half and it was helpful. They did a nice job of team guarding Stack.”

Chris Bolte, St. Ignatius’ 6-5 Yale-bound senior, was expected to be one of the best players in the area this season. He had 14 points and seven rebounds in the win.

But the Wolfpack’s backcourt of senior Napoleon Harris IV and sophomore Amir Tucker was a revelation. Harris scored 14 and Tucker had 18 points. He scored 26 in a win against Yorkville Christian earlier int he week.

“Amir is really hard worker,” Monroe said. “He trains a ton on his own and always puts in the extra time. So the success he is having is no surprise.”

St. Ignatius shot 12 of 23 from three-point range in the 69-65 win.

“Just about everyone on the team is an effective outside shooter,” Monroe said. “But the fist three games we didn’t shoot that well. We scored in different ways, which was encouraging. We were just waiting for a breakout game from beyond the arc. We expect to be a really strong outside shooting team all year.

Waukegan’s loss to Cary-Grove was the biggest surprise of the opening week. The Trojans are clearly a team to keep an eye on this season. The Bulldogs drop to No. 15. Waukegan beat Barrington earlier in the week and returned the core of a team that nearly knocked off Warren in the sectional last season.

With no teams dropping out, there wasn’t room for any new teams, which is unusual after the first week of the season.

Leo, Thornwood, Homewood-Flossmoor, Lyons, Lockport, Hersey and Palatine all started the season off strong and are right outside the Super. 25.

Super 25 high school basketball rankings for Nov. 30, 2025With record and last week’s ranking

1. DePaul Prep (4-0) 1Rashaun Porter is dominating

2. Warren (1-0) 3Faces Curie Saturday

3. Marist (3-0) 4Earning rave reviews

4. Kankakee (0-0) 5One to watch at CEC

5. Loyola (4-0) 12Impressed a man short

6. Bolingbrook (2-0) 6Challenging week ahead

7. St. Ignatius (4-0) 22Amir Tucker has arrived

8. Benet (3-1) 2Lost at St. Ignatius

9. Curie (0-0) 9Opens at Crane Thursday

10. New Trier (3-1) 8Lost to Loyola

11. Fremd (3-0) 11Smashed Romeoville

12. Evanston (3-0) 13Faces Fremd Monday

13. Lincoln Park (3-0) 14Survived vs. Downers South

14. Oswego East (3-0) 19Strong start for Mason Lockett

15. Waukegan (3-1) 7Lost to Cary-Grove

16. Glenbard East (3-0) 21More than Michael Nee

17. Simeon (3-0) 10Handled Manley

18. Kenwood (1-0) 16Hosts Farragut Tuesday

19. Young (3-0) 18Faces Kenwood at CEC

20. Barrington (3-1) 17Lost to Waukegan

21. Neuqua Valley (2-1) 15Lost to Oswego East

22. Kaneland (1-0) 20Faces West Aurora Saturday

23. St. Laurence (4-0) 23Handled Richards

24. Geneva (3-0) 24Smooth start

25. Deerfield (4-0) 25Beat McHenry