City/Suburban Hoops Report: Upstate Eight Conference gets big boost heading into this season

There weren’t monumental shakeups with conference realignments across the area, though the Public League is still sorting out where it’s headed. But there have been several subtle shifts that will affect the landscape of conferences and a few programs.

The Southwest Suburban Conference is now one after its two divisions dissolved. Bolingbrook changed leagues. West Aurora returned to a familiar home. And Riverside-Brookfield is on the move — again.

With basketball season now a little over a month away, here are a few takeaways on the conference changes around the Chicago area:

Upstate Eight Conference

This league has been stripped, revamped and transformed over the years. This season will see another significant change, but it’s a change that should boost basketball in the conference.

The league welcomes four members: West Aurora, Riverside-Brookfield, Elmwood Park and Ridgewood.

This is the third time West Aurora, a charter member of the league since 1963, has been in the UEC. The Blackhawks instantly become the biggest name and program in a league that has really struggled in recent years.

The addition of Riverside-Brookfield is also a big plus. The Bulldogs have won 20 or more games 11 times since 2010 and have captured six regional titles and a sectional championship.

West Aurora and Riverside-Brookfield instantly become the favorites in the conference’s two divisions.

The UEC West will have West Aurora, South Elgin, Larkin, Elgin, Streamwood, Bartlett and East Aurora. The East will consist of Riverside-Brookfield, Ridgewood, Fenton, Glenbard East, Glenbard South, West Chicago and Elmwood Park.

Southwest Prairie Conference

The loss of a tradition-rich program like West Aurora is offset by the addition of perennial power Bolingbrook.

Bolingbrook, which has made three trips to the state finals since 2015, is built to win again. The roster is full of talent, including one of the state’s very best in sophomore guard Davion Thompson.

The Raiders will go from battling Homewood-Flossmoor for conference supremacy to facing Oswego East, Oswego, Yorkville, Minooka and Plainfield North in the Southwest Prairie West.

Southwest Suburban Conference

The Blue and Red divisions of the Southwest Suburban are gone. Starting this season, the Southwest Suburban Conference, which formed in 2005, will feature nine teams playing each other twice in an 18-game schedule.

The bad news is the league lost a basketball power in Bolingbrook, leaving Homewood-Flossmoor as the overwhelming favorite.

East Suburban Catholic Conference

The league has its geographic challenges — member schools reside in four counties, and the trek from Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights to Carmel in Mundelein is 66 miles — but the continuity of schools has been relatively solid over the years.

But there is a significant change in scheduling in comparison to the past couple of years.

The ESCC will go from playing a double round-robin, where each team plays everyone twice, to a single round-robin. That’s just eight conference games on a schedule with 31 potential dates.

It also means highly ranked Marist and Benet, the two league favorites, will meet just one time in a December clash.