No. 5
School: Stevenson
2018-19 record: 27-6 (12-2 North Suburban)
Postseason results: Lost to Evanston in Class 4A Supersectionals.
Players to watch: Senior Matthew Ambrose is a quality scorer and perimeter threat who can play on or off the ball. Ambrose is committed to Division II Indianapolis. Matthew's younger brother, Evan, is a talented junior floor general. Senior forwards John Ittounas and RJ Holmes are both returning starters and productive players who will likely be scholarship basketball players at the college level as well.
Why they're in the power rankings: You'll notice that none of Stevenson's core is heading to a Division I program. That doesn't hinder the Patriots from winning a lot of games. Coming very close to making it to Peoria last season, Stevenson returns four starters and has one of the area's best coaches in Pat Ambrose. The Patriots are cohesive and have a number of weapons who can hurt you.
Did you know? Although Stevenson (and Pat Ambrose's coaching tenure) is mostly associated with Jalen Brunson, Connor Cashaw and the group that made three straight trips to Peoria earlier this decade (2013-15), the Patriots also won fourth in Class AA in 2007. Similar to Stevenson's 2019-20 team, that 2007 Patriots squad didn't have Division I studs and was a well-balanced team that counted on multiple scorers.