Color me stupid. In my NCAA pool, I had Wisconsin and Purdue in the Final Four. With North Carolina and Memphis. Holy Stephen Curry. After seeing them perform -- or is misperform the proper word? -- I have to wonder what it will take for the Big Ten to become competitive again.

At least I wasn't dumb enough to pick Michigan State over Memphis.

Against Davidson, Big Ten champion Wisconsin looked like a team that was struggling to learn how to play the game and Davidson was doing the teaching. Michigan State looked even worse.

Big Ten basketball teams, like their football brethren, are a step or two slower than their rivals. Unless you're competing against the Mid-American Conference. They look like they're still playing in the 1950s and 1960s, like they are running in concrete.

That's not all. They don't jump as high, they aren't as aggressive, they aren't as athletic and they seem to lack skills that their opponents take for granted.

Who's doing the recruiting around here? Who is evaluating the talent? Why do the SEC, the Big 12, the ACC, the Pac-10 and the Big East get all the good players? What happened to the Big Ten?

One Chicago sports columnist recently wrote that North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough is vastly overrated. What game is he watching? Would you trade Hansbrough for Brian Butch?

When was the last time the Big Ten produced a truly great player? Magic Johnson? That was almost 30 years ago, wasn't it? Now the Big Ten builds its own television network to promote its product and this is what we get?

Is it because, as often has been hinted, that high standards at Big Ten schools weed out many outstanding prospects who don't qualify but are accepted at schools in the SEC and Big 12?

But the recent academic scandal at Minnesota and the revelations about preferential treatment being given to athletes at Michigan make you wonder if that's all a myth, just an excuse for failure to recruit as well as Kansas or Duke or North Carolina or UCLA or Georgetown.

When it comes down to it, only one Big Ten basketball coach, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, has a national reputation as a big-time recruiter. He earned it as an assistant to Jud Heathcote and hasn't lost his touch. Or has he?

After Memphis, even Izzo has to be wondering which direction the Big Ten is going. Or where it's gone.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 08:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Five-star players, difference-makers, program-changers, franchise-turners.

Call them what you like. In football and basketball, they are the elite athletes who put people in the seats, take teams from the outhouse to the penthouse and create a buzz unlike any other.

They have talent, of course, but they also have distinctive leadership qualities, charisma and star appeal that captivate the media and a pied piper personality that attracts other gifted athletes.

Oscar Robertson, Bill Bradley and Jerry West had some or all of those qualities.

In Illinois, the list includes Cazzie Russell, Quinn Buckner, Isiah Thomas, Mark Aguirre and Derrick Rose.

It is interesting to note that none of the above attended the University of Illinois. In fact, the truth is none of them seriously considered playing college basketball in Champaign-Urbana.

As Illini Nation mends the wounds from what surely was one of the most disappointing seasons in Illinois basketball history, only three years removed from the program's finest hour, it has to wonder why Illinois coaches from Harry Combes to Bruce Weber haven't been able to recruit a homegrown product who can turn Illinois into a perennial national contender.

Weber, apparently frustrated by his inability to sign Rose, Jon Scheyer, Julian Wright or Sherron Collins, has adopted a new recruiting strategy. He dipped into the freshman and sophomore classes and landed commitments from some of the best young prospects in the state. He hopes some or all of them will develop into big-time stars.

He is betting that he can produce an NCAA contender with four-year players instead of a one-and-done type like Rose or Eric Gordon or Michael Beasley or O.J. Mayo or Kevin Love.

Will Jereme Richmond become another Cazzie Russell or Mark Aguirre? As one of the top five sophomores in the nation, according to most analysts, he is projected to be in that class. Will Crandall Head become another Quinn Buckner? Will Brandon Paul become another Isiah Thomas? Will D.J. Richardson become another Derrick Rose?

It is too early to speculate, of course. For one reason or another, some of the most ballyhooed players in state history--remember Raymond McCoy, Glen Grunwald, Jamie Brandon, Howard Nathan and Ronnie Fields?--didn't play up to expectations beyond high school.

As underclassmen, neither Paul nor Head or Richmond nor Richardson nor Joseph Bertrand has played up to the level of those five--at least up to this point. Only time will tell if one of them will develop into a franchise-turner, a lottery pick, the kind of player who can take Illinois to the NCAA championship.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBacks (0)

The football and basketball seasons are over but recruiting never ends. Fans and alumni of Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and dozens of other major colleges from sea to shining sea are addicted to the Internet, keeping tabs on which athletes are interested in which schools.

Here are some questions being asked during what is often described as "Football's Second Season." The answers will make for compelling reading on college and recruiting websites from coast to coast in the next several months.

Will Illinois coach Ron Zook persuade that big offensive lineman in North Carolina to come to Champaign? Or will he opt for Notre Dame or choose to stay in the South? Is he as good as analyst Tom Lemming says he is?

Will Zook outrecruit Florida, Miami and Florida State for that quarterback in Tampa, the one who might be better than the kid from California who is rated as the No. 1 player in the class of 2009 and already is committed to USC?

Will Zook land East St. Louis wide receiver Kraig Appleton, who likely is the best prospect in downstate Illinois and could be even better than Arrelious Benn?

Will Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis sign another good freshman class and begin demonstrating to critics that, like Zook has done at Illinois, he is as good a coach as he is a recruiter?

How much of an effect will Rich Rodriguez, Michigan's new coach, have in the Chicago area? Will he make the city and suburbs a priority as Bo Schembechler once did? Will Rodriguez respond to Chicago's large alumni base, which is calling for a bigger Wolverine presence?

Will the Ann Arbor News' recent revelations about the apparent favored treatment given to Michigan athletes in the classroom, something former quarterback Jim Harbaugh once alleged, have a negative effect on Wolverine recruiting?

If the talent level in the Midwest is down this year, as many evaluators claim, which Big Ten schools will make a determined bid to recruit nationally? And which ones will be successful?

Is Northwestern on track to sign perhaps its best recruiting class since the hallowed era of Ara Parseghian? Is coach Pat Fitzgerald close to landing commitments from four of the best prospects in the Chicago area?

Posted by Taylor Bell at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The 2007-08 high school basketball season in Illinois is over and everyone has had some time to digest what happened...the introduction of the four-class system, Mount Carmel's surprising run in the Class 4A playoff, Richards, Marshall, Zion-Benton, North Lawndale, Kevin Dillard, Courtney Hargrays, Dorothy Gaters, Mike Dunigan, Iman Shumpert, Ryan Hare.

Don Kloth.

The Zion-Benton coach is one of the most prolific winners in the state but he also was one of the most obscure and unappreciated and underrated--until this year.

In the past, Kloth produced teams that won 30, 29 and 26 games but critics discounted them, arguing that the Zee-Bees played weak competition, including an annual stop at the Luther North Holiday Tournament.

So no one blinked an eye when Zion-Benton advanced to the supersectional in 1998, 2001 and 2003 only to be eliminated.

Kloth's record is impressive--395-167 in 19 years, a .703 winning percentage. The figure is even more impressive when considering that he was 2-24, 8-18, 10-16 and 9-17 in his first four seasons after succeeding Phil Judson.

Since then, he has experienced only two seasons in which he won fewer than 20 games.

But no one seemed to notice until Kloth took this year's team to within a shot or two of winning the Class 4A championship, finally losing to Richards in one of the most exciting state finals in recent memory.

Kloth's program figures to get plenty of attention in 2008-09. The Zee-Bees will participate in the Proviso West Holiday Tournament against some of the best teams in the state, including defending Class 3A champion Marshall, St. Joseph, Proviso East, Morton, New Trier, Glenbrook North and Homewood-Flossmoor.

Zion-Benton figures to rank among the preseason favorites in Class 4A with 6-7 Markus Yarbrough, point guard Ronald Steward, 6-2 Quintrell Love and 6-3 Lenzelle Smith returning from a 32-4 state runnerup. It was the best team that Kloth had produced and next year's squad could be even better.

Smith, who will be a junior next season, skyrocketed up the recruiting charts with his late-season and tournament performances. Most analysts rank him among the top five prospects in the class of 2010, maybe better than more ballyhooed Jereme Richmond of Waukegan.

Kloth is an old-school coach who stresses fundamentals, no nonsense, teamwork and good guard play. Quiet and unassuming, he never seems to lose control of his emotions but always seems to know what is happening on the court.

Posted by Taylor Bell at 09:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Some members of the news media don't understand a fundamental concept of the state basketball tournament.

Nobody cares what the media think.

Oh, there were side issues over the last few weeks. The Illinois High School Association and the media squabbled over the rights to photographs of championship events. The media were peeved that the IHSA stopped providing free food at the state finals. And the crowds for the boys tournament might have been squeezed into old Huff Gym.

But the last time I checked nobody from Flanagan, Warsaw, Whitney Young, St. Anne, North Lawndale, Marshall or Richards was complaining. The IHSA's new four-class format allows for more trophies to be presented and more towns and schools to celebrate. So what's wrong with that?

So you think the people in Warsaw, on the Mississippi River, care what people in Chicago think about the tournament? Do they think it is watered down, that the quality of competition isn't what it was in the 1960s, that they had an easy route to Peoria?

The Peoria Journal Star complained there were no "rock stars" in the Class 4A final until Dwyane Wade showed up. The hometown paper couldn't get over that Peoria Manual was drubbed in the Class 2A final and Washington, with star Matt Roth, had to settle for fourth place in Class 3A.

They also noted that Peoria bars and restaurants complained about lack of business and hotels cited fewer bookings than usual. Hey, you wanted the tournament in the first place. So deal with it.

Sure, it's nice to have big crowds and stars like Derrick Rose, Jon Scheyer, Shaun Livingston, Darius Miles and Eddy Curry. But can old-timers say the Class 4A final between Richards and Zion-Benton didn't rank among the most exciting games they have seen?

I, for one, enjoyed all four weeks of the girls and boys tournaments. It was obvious the kids were having fun, regardless of what some adults felt. For the most part, it was highly competitive. And it's all about the kids, isn't it?

I stopped going to the state finals a few years, after having attended every one since 1959. Peoria has done a wonderful job of hosting the event. No complaint there. Jim's Steakhouse, in my view, is the best place to eat between Chicago and St. Louis.

But Carver Arena isn't Assembly Hall in Champaign. It's a gym, not an architectural masterpiece, not a place to showcase the state's premier sports event. I said that when the tournament was moved to Peoria and I'm still saying it. It isn't the same. And I can't get over it.

But who cares what the media think?

Posted by Taylor Bell at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

This is the 50th anniversary of one of the most extraordinary accomplishments in the history of the state high school basketball tournament.

In 1958, Marshall became the first Chicago Public League representative and the first all-African American team to win the state title.

Remember, it was only a short time after the state tournament was integrated. It was a time when blacks were drinking water out of "For Colored Only" fountains in the South. It was a time when the NBA had barely learned who Sweetwater Clifton was.

Isadore "Spin" Salario, a Jewish man with an Italian name, has fond memories of 1958, of George Wilson and M.C. Thompson and Bobby Jones and Steve Thomas and Anthony Johnson, of Bosco Levine and the American Boys Commonwealth.

He corresponds via e-mail these days because he wears two hearing aids and has a difficult time picking up on conversations on the telephone.

"But I remember every minute of that 1958 state championship game," he wrote.

"We were in quite a bind midway in the third quarter when Tyrone Johnson slipped, lost the ball, which was retrieved by a Rock Falls player who dribbled in for a basket. This put us behind by seven points. I called for a timeout. In addition, George Wilson had four fouls.

"I always try to maneuver my players so that I have the first team intact going into the last three minutes of a game. It is my contention that games are won or lost many times over in the final minutes. However, when my starting player picks up a fourth foul, I will not replace him.

"During that timeout, Bobby Jones asked me to sit George so that he could have him for the final minutes of the game. It is a good thing that I accepted his advice. I then moved M.C. Thompson from his forward position to center, moved Tyrone Johnson from guard to forward and brought in Jimmy Jones (Bobby's brother) to play guard.

"A good coach will try to prepare for every contingency during his practices. I never believed to try something in a game for which I never prepared. In practice, we had worked with George out. M.C. did not have a natural hook shot but he had a great turnaround, fall-away jump shot. From that point on, Steve Thomas and Bobby Jones scored a number of key baskets while M.C. hit two critical fall-away jump shots that put us in the lead going into the last quarter.

"We continued to dominate play in the last quarter, especially with George back in the game, and went on to win the championship. We had a great unselfish team where everyone was supportive of whomever was on the floor."

Posted by Taylor Bell at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Mike Flaherty has coached at three high schools in four decades and masterminded one of the most dramatic upsets in the history of the state basketball tournament. But he is largely unappreciated and vastly underrated because he isn't a self-promoter, isn't outspoken and doesn't seek headlines.

The truth is Flaherty is on the short list of the best active coaches in the state, probably among the top five.

In 1982, he guided Mendel to second place in the Class AA tournament. In the semifinals, his Monarchs beat defending state champion Quincy and Bruce Douglas 53-52, snapping the Blue Devils' 64-game winning streak.

He coached Thornridge and Townsend Orr to the Elite Eight in 1989 and also took a 13-game loser to the quarterfinals in 1992.

Now he is working his magic at Mount Carmel, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time since the Caravan won the state championship in 1985. The fact that Mount Carmel is the Yankees of high school football hasn't slowed him from trying to build a successful basketball program.

Ray Collins and Jamie Mayes played for Flaherty at Mendel. The man hasn't changed, not even his moustache. In the 1970s, they experienced the same philosophy, discipline and principles that has forever been his trademark.

"Coach Flaherty took a raw athletic kid who could not play defense and could only dribble with one hand and helped turn me into a Division I scholarship athlete," recalled Collins, an all-stater who played at Nebraska.

"To me, his coaching philosophy was simple--outwork and be smarter than the other team. He definitely prepared me for basketball at Nebraska. More importantly, he taught me about being a good member of the community and society.

"His lessons were not always about basketball. When we messed up, there were consequences. And when we did well, he told us so. Outside of my parents and family, I can't think of anyone who had more of an effect on me growing up."

Mayes played for Flaherty for three years at Mendel. In 1977-78, the Monarchs were battling St. Laurence with Kevin Boyle and Jim Stack for first place in the Catholic League. They finished 23-5, 10-3.

"We could have easily been 13-0 in the league but (Flaherty) had to discipline us due to an incident that occurred on the day we played St. Ignatius and were tied for first place with St. Laurence," Mayes said.

"He sat down Ray Collins, Al Hudson, David Ray, Gus Brookshire and Mike Rochelle. We lost and the next evening St. Laurence beat us bad in our own gym. Bottom line, coach Flaherty put more emphasis on us doing the right thing rather than allowing us to get away with something that surely would hurt all of us later in life.

"He taught us that what you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player. That's what really makes him a great coach. He is more concerned with developing you into being a man that merely winning games."

Posted by Taylor Bell at 02:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

After examining the resumes of dozens of applicants for New Trier's vacant football coaching position, athletic director Randy Oberembt opted for somebody he could feel comfortable with, someone he knew, someone he trusted, someone who can relate to the Winnetka school.

Matt Irvin, who was the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's high school football coach of the year for 2007, has been named the new coach at New Trier. He was selected over Bryan Stortz, who coach Lake Zurich to t