I've covered high school basketball in Illinois since the 1950s and I'm constantly asked which is the best team I've ever seen. For the last 35 years, the answer has always been the same.

Thornridge 1972. Quinn Buckner, Boyd Batts, Mike Bonczyk, Ernie Dunn, Greg Rose.

If you saw them, you know what I mean. If you didn't, you can't make a valid comparison.

It would be like saying the 1961 Yankees (Mantle, Maris) was the best major league baseball team you ever saw without seeing the 1927 Yankees (Ruth, Gehrig).

In fact, I've never met anyone who saw Ron Ferguson's Thornridge team who ever mentioned another team in the same sentence...not Quincy 1981 or Marshall 1958 or Lyons 1953 or Collinsville 1961 or Evanston 1968 or Peoria Manual 1997 or Thornton 1966 or King 1986 or Proviso East 1991 or Simeon 2007.

Why Thornridge? One statistic is all you need to know. In the course of winning 33 games in a row, the Falcons never allowed an opponent to come within 13 points.

There are other reasons why Thornridge was in a class by itself. The Falcons averaged nearly 90 points per game while allowing opponents barely over 50. Their 1-2-1-1 zone press was the most intimidating and effective pressure defense anyone had ever seen. There was no weak link. Every starter was qujick, could shoot, pass, handle the ball and play suffocatting defense.

In the state finals, Thornridge made a statement for the ages. The Falcons won their last four games by margins of 28, 29, 19 and 35 points. Their 104-69 thrashing of Quincy is the standard by which all other state championship games are measured, like the Bears in Super Bowl XX.

Even the late Jerry Leggett, who coached Quincy's great 1981 squad led by Bruce Douglas and Michael Payne, never questioned Thornridge's brilliance. He saw up them up-close-and-personal while coaching at Rich Central.

And former Peoria Manual coach Dick Van Scyoc never disputed the issue. His team lost to Thornridge three times during the 1971-72 season, including a 71-52 defeat in the state quarterfinals. A member of that team was Wayne McClain, who succeeded Van Scyoc and won three state titles. McClain never argued the point, either.

It makes for an interesting debate. Who was better? Marshall's unbeaten 1958 powerhouse, the first all-black team to win a state title, was led by George Wilson, M.C. Thompson, Steve Thomas and Bobby Jones. And the great Ralph Wells was a mid-year graduate. Collinsville's 1961 team, coach Vergil Fletcher's best, featured Bogie Redmon and Fred Riddle. Most recently, Simeon dominated the state with Derrick Rose and Tim Flowers.

But Thornridge was best of all. If you saw them, you know what I mean.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 7:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

There is nothing like it this side of the state basketball tournament...24 hours of high school football, two days, eight championship games, sitting on the 50-yard-line in front of the television set, enjoying hot turkey sandwiches, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie.

1A: Kudoes to Tuscola coach Stan Wienke for choosing values over ego, then suspending eight players, including some starters, for disciplinary reasons before Friday's state championship game against Galena.

Wienke's son, Michigan-bound quarterback John, may have been the best college prospect (size, great arm) on the field but Galena quarterback/defensive back/kick returner Gavin Kaiser was the MVP.

2A: Westville's Caleb Pratt set a lot of rushing and scoring records this season but Dakota's Curt Daughenbaugh was the MVP in this matchup.

What happened to sportsmanship? What about the Illinois High School Association's "Do the right thing!" and "Do what's right!" mottos? Color commentator Greg Bradshaw, who once quarterbacked Woodstock to a state title, was right. Dakota won the game, but lost some respect.

3A: It wasn't Arkansas/LSU and Luis Alvarado isn't Nick Nasti. But Plano coach Jim Green, who has turned chicken feathers into chicken salad in the last three years, proved he would win without Nasti, last year's all-stater.

4A: The Bloomington Central Catholic/Driscoll game was competitive until the fourth quarter before David Schwabe and Tim Franken took charge.

Here's hoping Schwabe and Franken will get a chance to perform at the next level and here's betting that Driscoll coach Mike Burzawa, who is 41-1 in the last three years, will be invited to build another winning program at a larger school. Maybe New Trier or Evanston?

5A: How does Metamora, a town of only 2,500, continue to produce outstanding high school football teams year after year? And Morris coach George Dergo proved he can build a state contender without his son, John, who was the Sun-Times Player of the Year in 2005.

6A: Is Joliet Catholic the No. 1 team in the state? The Hilltoppers made a good case for themselves with a stout defense, a devastating offensive line and four 1,000-yard producers in their backfield.

7A: In case you haven't noticed, Lake Zurich has quietly emerged as one of the elite programs in the state. Remember the name, coach Bryan Stortz. His teams are 25-3 in the last two years. And his defensive coordinator, Dave Proffitt, has Catholic League roots.

8A: Jordan Tassio may not be highly coveted by college recruiters but he proved he is an outstanding high school player, the Sun-Times Player of the Year, by leading Naperville North to the state title.

Prep Bowl: Catholic League dominaton of the all-city series only confirms what CPS football officials J.W. Smith, Roy Curry, Mickey Pruitt and Calvin Davis have been saying for years. The CPS has more and better athletes but the Catholic schools have more and better coaches.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

A reader e-mailed to complain about what he contrused as politics in the selection of the Sun-Times All-Chicago Area football team.

"It is obvious that the best players are not recognized for their hard work and statistics," he said.

"Jonathan Ridgner of Morgan Park, in my opinion, should have been on this prestigious list of players. You cannot let players down. You know how important it is for students to be recognized for their hard work.

"The numbers speak for themselves: 62 tackles, 18 assists, 6 sacks. Please don't discourage this young student. He must be recognized."

In response, and with all due respect, Ridgner was recognized. He was named to the Sun-Times All-Public League team. No other Chicago newspaper selects one.

Ridgner was considered for the All-Area team but it was judged that there were at least three linebackers--Mount Carmel's Steve Filer, Joliet Catholic's Nick Clancy and Downers Grove South's Jared Culver--who gave better performances during the 2007 season.

The selection of all-state and all-area teams has evolved into a political football over the years. College recruiters don't take them as seriously as parents and athletes do.

For the Sun-Times, and the Daily News before it, the all-area team is a way of recognizing high school youngsters for their achievement during the past season. Selections are based on performance, not college recruiting.

Statistics play a role, of course, but you don't pick a team based on who passed for the most yards, who rushed for the most yards, who scored the most touchdowns, who made the most tackles, who made the most interceptions and who is committed to the University of Illinois or to Notre Dame.

For example, Ridgner was credited with 62 solo tackles and 18 assists. But many linebackers were credited with more than 100 tackles. And most didn't receive as much recognition as Ridgner.

I still recall parents who have ranted: "You didn't pick my son for the All-Area team. You have cost him a college scholarship."

Horse feathers. College coaches don't offer scholarships on the basis of whether a player is named to an all-area team or now. Some juniors already have been offered scholarships. Colleges based their recruiting on size and speed and how they project an athlete in two of three years, not his press clippings.

And how about the 5-8, 175-pound defensive lineman who was named the MVP of his conference and was named to the Sun-Times All-Area team? What college offered him a scholarship?

The Sun-Times team is the most objective of all. It selects worthy underclassmen (some conferences pick only seniors), doesn't cater to any university programs, doesn't dismiss players who won't qualify academically for a Division I scholarship and doesn't bastardize its selections to fit in players who never or rarely played a position.

Still, picking a 25-man squad with one quarterback (do you know how many conferences annually single out a quarterback as its No. 1 player?) and two running backs and three linebackers and four defensive backs isn't easy. Criticism comes with the territory. We've learned to live with it.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Every once in a while, I read something or see something or become aware of something or somebody e-mails or calls to criticize something I have written and, because I feel the complaint is unfair or unjustified or just plain dead wrong, I just have to respond with a rant. You know the feeling, right?

Well, it happened this morning. I watched the Lloyd Carr press conference live on Monday morning on ESPN and I was anxious to see how the media would report it.

I have been a card-carrying member of the media for more than 40 years but in recent years I have become a critic because I feel, in many cases, newspapers and television and radio try to create the news from a subjective standpoint rather than report it objectively.

In other words, they have an agenda. To attract readers and viewers and listeners in an increasingly competitive media market, they believe they msut stir up controversy, pitting one side against another. If there isn't a fight, start one. If there isn't an argument, make one.

So it is with the Lloyd Carr retirement or the Lloyd Carr/Michigan/Les Miles/LSU story.

One Chicago newspaper, which sent its top college reporter to cover the Carr press conference, completely ignored or overlooked (choose one) what Carr insisted was the only reason why he chose to make his announcement after the final regular season game against Ohio State instead of after the anticipated bowl game next month.

Carr said he was concerned about Michigan's recruiting. If he waited for another month before announcing his retirement, recruiting would be in turmoil. Recruits, even the ones who already have committed to Michigan, would be left out in the cold, not knowing which direction the program is going and who they would be playing for. Under those circumstances, rival schools would be targeting those athletes like hunters in deer season.

Now they know what is going on in Ann Arbor. Athletic director Bill Martin already is searching for a successor and likely will have somebody in place before Michigan's bowl game. If he chooses to wait in the hope that Les Miles will be available and willing to take the job, that's his decision. Nobody can blame Carr. By announcing his retirement on Monday, Carr, always a class act, allowed the university to move forward.

But that wasn't the kind of story the media wanted to talk about.

Knowing that, I think Lloyd Carr, never a media favorite, enjoyed tweaking them as he walked out the door.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It didn't figure. East St. Louis, the program with the great tradition that dates to Wirt Downing, Fred Cameron and Bob Shannon, was bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic than Wheaton Warrenville South. So how in the name of Red Grange's galloping ghost did the Tigers derail the Flyers 26-0 last Saturday in a Class 7A semifinal game in Wheaton?

Because WW South knows how to win under any circumstances. That's why coach Ron Muhitch's team has won 27 games in a row. That's why the Tigers will be favored to win their second state title in a row and sixth since 1992 when they meet Lake Zurich Saturday night in Champaign.

Muhitch, like his mentor John Thorne before him, built his program on speed, not size or great athletes or Division I recruits. WW South's off-season conditioning program is based on developing quickness at all positions, especially on defense. And the philosphy pays off in the playoffs.

"We knew (East St. Louis) had great individual talent and a big-play offense," said linebacker Mark La Belle. "We had to play to our advantage--speed and discipline."

The Tigers have demonstrated that speed and discipline in the last two weeks, shutting out two very big and very athletic teams in Morgan Park and East St. Louis.

East St. Louis' top player, 6-6, 260-pound lineman Brandon Harold, has been offered by Illinois, Arkansas and Kansas. And Ohio State and Michigan are expressing interest.

But WW South neutralized Harold with tackles Will Matte (6-3, 271), who earned a spot on the Sun-Times All-Chicago Area team and is committed to Indiana, and Nathan Williams (6-2, 260).

Meanwhile, WW South's defense made another statement, completely shutting down an East St. Louis offesne that had averaged 39 points per game while winning its last 11 games in a row.

La Belle, linebacking mates Sam Burke and Pat Dansdille, ends Phil Traynor and Jeff Schuman and interior linemen Mike Riss and Matt Egan stifled East St. Louis' zone running attack, which featured a pair of 1,000-yard rushers. And defensive backs Garrett Cook, Tom Marsh, Pat Kelly and Matt Glawe contained the Flyers' swift wide receivers.

"It's an emerging story, our defense," said Muhitch after his Tigers had recorded their third shutout in four playoff games. "They were unheralded at the beginning of the season, even by our staff. How will they do? Now they are playing on a good level."

Matte is the only Division I prospect on the roster. Riss is a 5-8, 162-pound junior. La Belle, the leading tackler and the valedictorian of his senior class, is a 6-1, 197-pounder. Traynor, a 6-1, 191-pounder, leads the team with 10 sacks.

"Defense gets you to the Big Dance in Champaign," Muhitch said. "Our kids see the plays, swarm to the ball and make plays. They expect to create turnovers and they get them. It's a total team effort, not one or two guys."

Posted by Taylor Bell at 10:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

When I saw Simeon's Derrick Rose play in the Class AA finals as a junior, my first reaction was he was being overhyped by the media and Public League publicity hounds who always believe the best players and teams are produced in the city.

My argument? If you are one of the top five players in the country, as Rose was being projected to be, how can you score only nine points in the state championship game, in the most important game of your life, against a team you are supposed to dominate? Isn't this the time when a truly great player steps up and takes charge?

Well, his hype machine responded, he did just that. He took the ball and drove the length of the court and made the game-winning shot in overtime to beat Peoria Richwoods 31-29. No, that's not a misprint, 31-29.

Yes, Rose made the winning shot. But, I argued, the game should never have come to that if he was the dominant player he is supposed to be. Overtime with Peoria Richwoods? Can you imagine, I said, if heavily favored Simeon had lost, would the city ever overcome the embarrassment? Would it be Boise State beating Oklahoma or Appalachian State beating Michigan or Navy beating Notre Dame?

But I have become enlightened. Or, rather, I choose to believe that Derrick Rose became enlightened. He realized--credit his new coach, Memphis' John Calipari, for delivering the message loud and clear--that he has to be the dominant player on the floor, no plays off, no checking out the cheerleaders or counting the crowd or posing for the television camera.

He showed that kind of serious attitude as a senior as Simeon dominated the Class AA tournament. And he hasn't blinked an eye since he put on a Memphis uniform, despite all the high-fiving by college basketball's top cheerleader, Dick Vitale. Good for him.

Is he one of the top five players ever to come out of the Public League? In a class with Cazzie Russell, George Wilson, Kevin Garnett and Mark Aguirre? Better than Jamie Brandon, Marcus Liberty, Nick Anderson, Rickey Green, Tommy Hawkins, Paxton Lumpkin, Rich Bradshaw, Eddie Johnson, Ronnie Fields, Russell Cross, Billy Harris, Deon Thomas and Rashard Griffith?

Yes.

Does he rate a spot on Illinois' all-time top five with Garnett, Wilson, Russell and Isiah Thomas? Yes. Move over, Quinn Buckner. Make room for Derrick Rose.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 4:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I suppose there were some raised eyebrows on Friday morning when high school football fans picked up their copy of the Sun-Times and were informed that Jordan Tassio of Naperville North had been selected as the Player of the Year in the Chicago area.

Not Steve Filer of Mount Carmel or Tommie Thomas of Richards or David Schwabe of Driscoll.

That was the short list. After 12 weeks, they had emerged as the finalists. Filer, the Lawless Award winner as the best player in the Catholic League. Thomas, who passed and ran for more than 2,000 yards. And Schwabe, who passed and ran for more than 2,000 yards--and was in position to set a state record for interceptions in a career.

Why Tassio?

As a quarterback, he didn't run and pass for as much yardage as Thomas or Schwabe. And he couldn't beat out Maine South's Charlie Goro, who passed for 2,725 yards and 28 touchdowns, as the quarterback on the 25-man squad. Instead, he earned his spot by averaging 40 yards per punt.

So why Tassio?

If you saw him perform in the closing minutes of Naperville North's 42-41 triple overtime loss at Wheaton Warrenville South last month, you wouldn't ask. You'd understand why he was the best choice.

Tassio is a winner. Unshakeable, unflappable, supremely confident, the epitome of a leader. And it all rubs off on his teammates.

Here's the play-by-play of the last few minutes of that memorable game:

* With 1:51 to play in the fourth quarter, he runs 20 yards to force a tie at 20.

* After regaining possession, he throws an interception with 44 seconds to play, giving WW South the ball at midfield.

* With 18 seconds left, WW South's 38-yard field goal attempt is blocked.

* In the first overtime, with Naperville North getting the first possession at the 10, Tassio completed a five-yard pass, then ran five yards to score.

* WW South tied at 27, then went ahead 34-27 in the second overtime. On first down, Tassio ran 10 yards to tie.

* In the third overtime, Tassio ran 10 yards to score on first down. WW South scored on Mike Piatkowski's pass on third-and-four, then gambled and won on Piatkowski's two-point run.

Why did WW South gamble? Because WW South Ron Muhitch said he didn't want to give the ball back to Tassio.

For the game, Tassio rushed 11 times for 64 yards and four touchdowns and completed 12-of-23 passes for 138 yards and one touchdown.

In making its Player of the Year selections since Evanston's Bob McKeiver in 1951, the Sun-Times (and the Daily News before it) has placed an emphasis on senior performance, not the projections of college coaches or the ratings of recruiting analysts or the number of scholarship offers.

Tassio has no offers at the moment. But neither does Thomas or Schwabe. Filer long ago committed to Notre Dame.

Look at the list of former Players of the Year. You might recognize some of them--Dick Butkus, Jim Grabowski, Billy Marek, Chris Boskey, Tim Marshall, Mike Tomczak, Eric Kumerow, Kent Graham, Mike Alstott, Rocky Harvey, Tom Zbikowski and Dan Dierking.

But how about John Carroll, Al MacFarlane, Tom Spotts, Frank Shellenback, Barry Cernoch, Alex Rodriguez, Marty Finan, Broc Kreitz, Jason Loerzel and Mark Floersch?

Only time will tell where Jordan Tassio will rank in the pantheon of Players of the Year, if he will be remembered like Butkus. What matters is he is one of them.