SJO sets two dates for marquee events during 2019-2020 season

Two staples on the St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball schedule are already set for the upcoming season.

SJO will host the Toyota of Danville Classic over four days in early December before the third annual Christie Clinic SJO Shootout takes place the second Saturday of January.

The Toyota of Danville Classic is set for Dec. 3, 4, 6 and 7, with 15 games on tap at the six-team tournament. Along with SJO, Cissna Park, Georgetown-Ridge Farm, La Salette, Schlarman and Watseka are slated to play in this year’s event.

“This is gaining steam and it looks like we will be up to eight teams in 2020, possibly 10,” SJO athletic director Justin Franzen said. “We will then be back to two pools instead of a round-robin format.”

The round-robin format will still be in place for the 2019 tournament, though, with three games on Dec. 3, 4 and 6 before six games are slated for Dec. 7. SJO will play Georgetown-Ridge Farm at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 3, La Salette at 8 p.m. on Dec. 4 and Cissna Park at 8 p.m. on Dec. 6 before playing Schlarman (11:30 a.m.) and Watseka (7 p.m.) on Dec. 7.

All teams except SJO, Cissna Park and Schlarman are new to the Toyota of Danville Classic this year. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, La Salette and Watseka replace Chicago CICS Longwood, Oakwood and Westville from last year’s tournament.

For the Christie Clinic SJO Shootout, matchups won’t be determined until the fall, Franzen said, but the one-day event on Jan. 11, 2020, will have 14 teams this year instead of 12 teams like it did in its first two years. Of the 14 schools, six are either in Class 1A or 2A, while eight are from Class 3A or 4A.

Also, all junior varsity and varsity games will take place at SJO High School. In the past, the JV games had taken place at St. Joseph Middle School.
SJO, Cissna Park, Farmington, La Salette, Monticello and Pleasant Plains are the 1A/2A schools slated to take part, while Champaign Central, Crete-Monee, Danville, Kankakee, Mahomet-Seymour, Maine South, Normal Community and Rich Central are the 3A/4A programs scheduled to compete in the shootout.

2019 Toyota of Danville Classic schedule
(All games at St. Joseph-Ogden High School)
Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019
Game 1: Cissna Park vs. La Salette, 5 p.m.
Game 2: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 6:30 p.m.
Game 3: Schlarman vs. Watseka, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019
Game 4: Cissna Park vs. Watseka, 5 p.m.
Game 5: Schlarman vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 6:30 p.m.
Game 6: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. La Salette, 8 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 6, 2019
Game 7: La Salette vs. Schlarman, 5 p.m.
Game 8: Georgetown-Ridge Farm vs. Watseka, 6:30 p.m.
Game 9: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Cissna Park, 8 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019
Game 10: Cissna Park vs. Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 10 a.m.
Game 11: St. Joseph-Ogden vs. Schlarman, 11:30 a.m.
Game 12: La Salette vs. Watseka, 1 p.m.
Game 13: Schlarman vs. Cissna Park, 4 p.m.
Game 14: Georgetown-Ridge Farm vs. La Salette, 5:30 p.m.
Game 15: Watseka vs. St. Joseph-Ogden, 7 p.m.