Henricksen: Weekend forecast

A solid opening week with the picks (6-1) leads us into this weekend forecast, with the Simeon-Morgan Park showdown tipping things off Thursday night.

Here is a closer look at the top games of the weekend and some picks to go with it. And there are some awfully difficult picks to make this week.

■ Simeon at Morgan Park • Thursday

Here. We. Go.

An always tantalizing matchup as the city’s best rivalry, featuring two elite programs, takes center stage. But it’s a bit of a role reversal as Simeon is the one with multiple guards on the floor with scoring ability and featuring an offensive juggernaut of a team.

Senior Evan Gilyard and juniors Talen Horton-Tucker and Kezo Brown have been game-changing thus far this season in their own way. Along the way the Wolverines have put up 73, 78, 89 and 86 points in four wins.

While Morgan Park does have the state’s best and most dynamic junior, guard Ayo Dosunmu, it’s the the size and length of 6-8 Lenell Henry, 6-8 Tamell Pearson and 6-7 Melo Burrell that must produce and make things difficult for Simeon. I’ll take Simeon’s host of guards in this first matchup between these two powers.

Hoops Report pick: Simeon 63, Morgan Park 57

■ De La Salle at Fenwick • Friday

Maybe you thought Fenwick might be 7-0 heading into this Catholic League tilt. But did anyone guess De La Salle would be too? The Meteors are led by veteran senior point guard Stone Parker (14 ppg), who is one of four senior starters. Will Norman and Aeris Jackson are two other double-digit scorers for the surprising Meteors.

Fenwick, though, is unbeaten and only getting better after getting its football players back into basketball mode and on the same page. Jacob Keller, Jamal Nixon and the Friars are too much for De La Salle.

Hoops Report pick: Fenwick 66, De La Salle 55

■ Bloom at Homewood-Flossmoor • Friday

A south suburban clash of two ranked teams with a whole bunch of perimeter players to go at one another.

These two met in the championship game at Thanksgiving, with H-F pulling out a 60-55 win in Chicago Heights. H-F’s Jeffrey Boyd, one of the real underrated players in the Chicago area, took over in that one scoring 19 of his 25 points in the second half.

Bloom has an overlooked player of its own in senior Jalen Lee, an active scoring 6-3 wing.

While Bloom has a chance to avenge its only loss of the season, H-F is playing at home and with a recent loss still fresh in its head. The Vikings get the edge and win a last-possession game.

Hoops Report pick: H-F 63, Bloom 61

■ Benet at Conant • Saturday

Prior to the start of the season I would have given Conant a substantial edge in this December game. But three-plus weeks of live game action can alter things. Now Benet is unbeaten, ranked and favored.

Here is a chance for Conant to notch its first signature win of the season after falling to both Evanston and Fremd in its two high-profile games. This is the type of game that can re-ignite the Cougars, who came into the season with big expectations. And Conant could use a momentum-building win heading into the York Holiday Tournament. The offense, however, simply has not clicked yet for the Cougars and has at times really struggled.

Benet has been Benet –– solid, disciplined and effective in all that it does. This begins a rugged stretch for the Redwings as they face Conant and Fenwick prior to heading to a loaded Pontiac field over the holidays.

The Redwings are due to get clipped at some point, so why not here? It’s on the road and against a quality team with size. But the trust in Conant isn’t quite there yet. Benet finds a way to grind out a nail-biter.

Hoops Report pick: Benet 43, Conant 41

■ Fremd at Notre Dame • Saturday

After crushing every team in its path and then knocking off Conant last weekend, Fremd has been one of the most impressive teams in the early part of the season. The senior-dominated Vikings are playing with cohesion and trust, which a team can ride a long way.

All of Notre Dame’s pieces haven’t seemed to come together just yet, but coach Tom Les has enormous size and length to create problems and mismatches.

From a stylistic standpoint this one might not be pretty, but it’s a game bound to go down to the wire. Notre Dame will be on its home floor and comes away with a résumé-building win over a Fremd team bound for a 20-plus win season.

Hoops Report pick: Notre Dame 44, Fremd 42

■ St. Charles North at West Aurora • Saturday

These two will both head to Pontiac for the holidays but first will duke it out in this non-conference pre-holiday tune-up.

St. Charles North has been one of the real nice surprises in the early season. Coach Tom Poulin’s team is a buzzer-beating loss away from being a perfect 7-0. A stingy defense –– the North Stars have held four of its opponents to fewer than 50 points –– and dependable play from senior guard Anthony Delisi and 6-5 post man Kyle King has been the key.

Since it’s blowout loss to Naperville North, West Aurora has responded well, winning five games in a row. The Blackhawks, led by talented junior Camron Donatlan, secured a tough road win over York last weekend and gets another quality non-conference victory here.

Hoops Report pick: West Aurora 54, St. Charles North 50

■ Prospect at Stevenson • Saturday

Coach Pat Ambrose’s Stevenson team is unbeaten and has crushed every opponent, using some early-season stifling defense. Plus, Indiana-bound Justin Smith is a difference-maker, while Willie Herenton has provided an offensive lift of late.

But with the trio of scoring guard Frankie Mack, 6-6 Matt Szuba and junior guard David Swedura, Prospect is the most dangerous team the Patriots have faced this season.

Hoops Report pick: Stevenson 62, Prospect 55

■ Downers Grove South at Downers Grove North • Saturday

It was South that could be found in all the preseason rankings, yet it’s North with the perfect 7-0 record. The Downers North start to the season should not be too surprising –– the Trojans were No. 33 in the Hoops Report’s preseason Top 65 –– but it’s still a team that’s under the radar.

Coach Jim Thomas has a blend of veterans and balance to go with size and length with a host of 6-4 and 6-5 players. That mix should be enough to knock off T.J. Clifford, shooter Denis Alibegovic and rival DGS at home.

Hoops Report pick: Downers North 55, Downers South 51