The recent news that three different drug makers have developed vaccines that are more than 90 percent effective against the novel coronavirus means the world should be closer to back to normal in 2021.
That should mean the return of the 205 Tip-Off Class for next year's Thanksgiving week.
Even though it feels like much of the world has stood still in 2020, the world of basketball spins on with students advancing in grades and levels.
Here's a look at some of the stars of Tip-Off Classics past and where they will be playing when play finally starts this season:
- Jakob Alamudun was on the Huntington Beach (California) Marina team that visited Rockford in 2018. Jakob will be playing his sophomore year at LeHigh. He averaged 4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 26 games as a freshman.
- Davion Bailey, a 2019 All-Tip-Off first team star for Indianapolis Pike, will be playing at Eastern Arizona Community Collge.
Yahmir Muhammad
Ralph Bissainthe, Hollywood McArthur, is entering his redshirt junior season with Florida Southwest State. Ralph averaged 7.7 points and 3.0 rebounds as a sophomore.- East's Chris Burnell will be back at Kirkwood Community College. Burnell averaged 5.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game as a freshman.
- Xavier Castaneda of Chicago Whitney Young will be a junior for Division 1 South Florida. Castaneda averaged 5.1 points and 1.7 assists as a sophomore.
- East's Sha'den Clanton will be joining Burnell at Kirkwood for his freshman season.
- Tremear Fraley, the 6-8 Chicago Bogan star who second team All-Tip-Off in 2019, will be playing for Missouri State University-West Plans.
- Javon Freeman-Liberty, the star guard of the Chicago Whitney Young team that won the Tip-Off Classic in 2017, is entering his third year as a starter at Valparaiso of the Missouri Valley Conference. Freeman averaged 19 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 2019-2020.
- Ahmoni Jones of Indianapolis Pike will be back at Wabash College for his sophomore year. Jones averaged 7.1 points and 4.9 points for the Division III school.
- Anthony Lynch of Elgin Larkin will be a junior at Lewis University. Lynch scored 7 points for Lewis last season.
Jalen Shaw
Jordan Mattews of Chicago St. Rita is entering his junior season with Loras College. Last season, he averaged 6.9 points and 3.7 rebounds.- Auburn's Yahmir Muhammad will be entering his fourth season with Missouri S&T. Yahmire averaged 4.0 points per game as a sophomore.
- Christian Negron of Elgin Larkin is entering his senior year at Grand Valley State. The 6-7 forward spent his first two seasons at Loyola-Chicago, appearing in 45 games. His junior year, after transferring to GVSU, Negron averaged 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
- East's Sincere Parker, who set single-game and single-season Tip-Off scoring records for the E-Rabs in 2018 will be playing at Moberly Area Community College this season. Parker left Rockford after his junior year to play at Arizona Compass Prep School where he averaged 15 points per game.
- Jalen Shaw, the 6-10 Elgin Larkin star, who is second in all time Tip-Off Classic scoring to Burnell, will be playing for St. Bonaventure as a junior. Shaw transferred to the Bonnies after two years at Triton Community College where he averaged 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds as a sophomore and finished 11th among JUCO players in the nation with 65 blocked shots.
