For the second time, a Waltonville Spartan has won player of the week. This time, it is senior Gage Peterson winning our Joe’s Pizza & Pasta Player of the Week for January 19-24.

The Pinckneyville Shootout has some really intriguing matchups coming up this Saturday, January 31st, but in my opinion, the most must see game on the schedule is Centralia vs Waltonville.

Some championships were finished this week, while others were postponed after a winter storm rolled through the area. Heavy snow and some ice caused several start times and schedules to get moved around as well. We’ll break down the new rankings, the tournament champions, and the tournaments that were pushed back.

The holiday tournaments shook up the Ballin4God rankings, and several teams felt the impact. Pinckneyville took the biggest fall, slipping out of the rankings entirely after sitting at 7–6 and receiving votes previously. Marion also dropped, sliding to #5 after going 1–4 in its last five games as the competition stiffened over the break.

For the third straight season, it’s Goreville and Waltonville playing for the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament championship.

With Week One of high school boys basketball being wrapped up, we will release our second poll of the season. The top three teams remain the same, but many teams still haven't played their first game yet so expect to see some big changes still to come.

This year’s preseason field has a strong balance of returning talent across all classes, and we’re excited for what should be an electric basketball season in Southern Illinois.