Mike Helfgot on boys basketball | A guide to the weekend's best games

Just as I was getting excited about watching 6-foot-7 senior A.J. Avery battle De La Salle's 6-8 juniors Alex Foster and Gavin Schilling on Friday night, word got out that Avery is sidelined again with a wrist injury.

Avery missed virtually all of last season with the injury, but fortunately for him, he was healthy enough in the offseason to draw and accept a scholarship offer from Western Michigan.


He may return later in the season. Teammate Dominique Matthews, a promising sophomore guard, is also expected to miss the De La Salle game.

Penn-bound guard Tony Hicks dropped 38 the other night in St. Rita's season-opening victory over Lake Forest Academy, but the Mustangs will have a hard time beating De La Salle — and living up to their No. 8 ranking — without Avery.

De La Salle-St. Rita may turn out to be a disappointment, but there are plenty of other good games for fans to choose from this weekend.

Here's a look at a few:

FRIDAY

Oswego (2-2) at No. 14 Plainfield East (4-0), 7 p.m.: Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season's first week, Plainfield East knocked off St. Charles North, Downers Grove South and Schaumburg on the way to the St. Charles Thanksgiving title. Led by 6-9 center Brian Bennett and explosive senior guard Deontre Brown, East appears to be the favorite in the underrated Southwest Prairie Conference but by no means a slam dunk. Oswego, with five returning starters and an outstanding coach, could be a contender. As early as it is, this game could turn out to be a deciding factor in the conference race.

Zion-Benton (3-2) at Stevenson (3-1), 7:30 p.m.: Both North Suburban Lake teams had decent showings at round-robin tournaments last week, and while neither may ultimately challenge No. 2 Warren for the league title, each has exciting young players fans will want to see. Zion-Benton is led by 6-4 wing Milik Yarbrough, one of the top-ranked players in Illinois' talented Class of 2014. Stevenson has two of the more unheralded seniors in the area, 6-7 forward Colby Cashaw and 6-0 guard Michael Fleming, and one of the state's best freshmen, 5-11 guard Jalen Brunson. He's the son of former NBA guard and current Bulls assistant coach Rick Brunson.

SATURDAY

No. 16 Downers Grove South (3-1) at Oak Park (3-0), 6 p.m.: A lot of Division I talent in this one. Downers Grove South's Jerron Wilbut is by easily the state's top unsigned senior, and he's flanked by fellow 6-2 guard Jamall Millison. Oak Park is led by Bradley-bound guard Ka'Darryl Bell and 6-6 senior Gabe Levin, who was named MVP of the St. Patrick tournament.

No. 11 New Trier (4-0) at No. 2 Warren (3-0), 7:30 p.m.: Could be the best game of the weekend. Few teams can match the interior strength 6-8 seniors Darius Paul and Nathan Boothe provide Warren, but 6-7 New Trier senior Connor Boehm will do his best. Boehm, a Dartmouth recruit, has played well early and is being supported by a solid group of complementary players.

CPS Shootout at UIC

St. Charles North (1-3) vs. No. 10 Crane (0-0), 1

Gary Bowman (0-1) vs. No. 5 Curie (0-0), 3

No. 15 Homewood-Flossmoor (3-1) vs. No. 6 Morgan Park (1-0), 5

No. 20 Hillcrest (3-1) vs. No. 1 Simeon (0-0), 7

There's intrigue behind all four games for one reason or another, whether it's to get a first look at Crane under coach Chris Head, to see 6-9 sophomore Cliff Alexander of Curie after national analysts anointed him among the country's top prospects over the summer or to watch game one of Simeon's quest to go undefeated. The best game on paper is Morgan Park-H-F, with both teams possessing multiple Division I recruits.