"Point guards are the toughest thing to find, the true point guards, players like Deron Williams, Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, Chris Paul and Jason Kidd," Flanagan said. "Scouts are looking for true point guards, pass-first type kids who are leaders and good distributors, the kind who make everybody else on the floor better than what they normally would be."

"AAU ball doesn't encourage the development of true point guards. It encourages scoring, not pass-first players, which is what a true point guard is. Too many kids think shot first. They think they can be scoring point guards. Only the truly great ones can do that, like Isiah Thomas. Most kids are never going to reach that level."

1. Chasson Randle, Rock Island: He is committed to Stanford. He is a straight-A student, a great leader and citizen. He is very smart, which also makes a difference in separating great point guards from the rest of the class. He plays for Mike Mullins and the Illinois Wolves. Mullins' son Brian, who played at Downers Grove South and Southern Illinois and now is playing professionally in Europe, also was an outstanding point guard. Randle is a genuine Mr. Basketball candidate who ranks as the No. 68 player in the nation according to Rivals.com.

2. Bobo Drummond, La Lumiere Prep, LaPorte, Ind., transfer from Peoria Central: He is committed to Southern Illinois. He has all the qualities of a true point guard, even more than Randle, but he is only 5-11 and not as talented or a better outside shooter than Randle. A junior, he could be reclassified as a sophomore. He transferred to the prep school to improve his academic standing.

3. David Sobolewski, Benet. He is committed to Northwestern. He and Randle are very close. He has come on strong and is one of the primary reasons why Benet is ranked among the top teams in the state. He is a well-built physical kid who has good leadership qualities, smarts, a good outside shot and has a pass-first mentality.

4. Anthony Beane, Normal Community. He is a junior whose father is an assistant coach at Illinois State and once played at Kansas State. He doesn't have the statewide reputation of others on this list but Iowa and Kansas are recruiting him. He plays for Dodie Dunson's AAU team. He is a true point guard, athletic with a pass-first attitude. He was the No. 2 player at the Morris camp behind Whitney Young freshman Jahlil Okafor.

5. Tracy Abrams, Mount Carmel. He is committed to Illinois. He is more of a combo guard. He tries to be too much of a scoring guard. Will he develop into a true point guard at Illinois? Remember, it took two years for Demitri McCamey to develop into a point guard at Illinois. Abrams will have to make the same transition. He is an unselfish player so he has the potential to do it.

6. Jeff Stokes-White, Peoria Manual. The son of former Bradley player Charles White, he was a standout in the state tournament last year. He has been offered by Southern Illinois. He is the reason why Peoria Manual is so good.

7. Donovine Stewart, Bartonville Limestone: He is committed to Bradley. He led the state in scoring as a freshman, averaging 28 points per game. He doesn't score as much as before, now about 25 per game. He is a scoring point guard who was offered by Illinois as a freshman. But he chose Bradley because he wanted to stay closer to home.

8. David Molinari, Peoria Notre Dame: The son of Western Illinois coach Jim Molinari, who formerly coached at DePaul, Northern Illinois, Minnesota and Bradley, he is a true point guard. He also can score but he looks to pass first. He is one of the reasons why Peoria Notre Dame is one of the leading teams in the state. He is uncommitted. Dartmouth is recruiting him. I believe he definitely is a Division I player, maybe MAC or Missouri Valley.

9. Kyle Heck, Metamora: A 6-3 senior, he is uncommitted and unappreciated and overlooked. He is being recruited by Division I schools, including Loyola, mostly Ivy League, Patriot League, MAC. But he is flying under the radar. His strengths are he is a better perimeter shooter than most. He is a combo guard, a team player, a good ball-handler. His coach, Jim Youngman, is a great teacher of the game who once coached at Abingdon, Springfield Lanphier and Highland.

I wasn't disappointed. The old gymnasium, named for legendary coach Arthur Trout. The retired jerseys of Centralia icons Lowell Spurgeon, Dike Eddleman and Bobby Joe Mason hanging in the foyer, amid all the trophies, plaques and pictures of championship teams and all-state athletes.

But the most memorable recollection I have of covering holiday tournaments throughout the state for the last 45 years happened at Carbondale in 1967. Tom Parker of Collinsville scored 50 points in the championship game to beat Alton, the most in tournament history.

Since then, I've seen a lot of great players, a lot of great teams, a lot of great coaches and a lot of great games in holiday tournaments from Centralia to Carbondale to Proviso West to De Kalb to East Aurora to Lemont to Lincoln-Way to Collinsville to Bloomington to Kankakee to Pekin to Wheeling to Elgin to Rich South to Pontiac to Luther North to the Chicago Public League.

When I returned to Chicago in 1968, I relished the opportunity to see as many games at as many holiday tournaments as I could. In one day, I would plan to start at 9 a.m. at one event, then go to another, then another, as many as five or six. One year I started in Pontiac, another year at De Kalb, usually ending up at Proviso West or the Public League.

Now there are even more tournaments being conducted, more than any other state. In fact, I am thunderstruck that some states, like basketball-crazy Indiana, don't even have holiday tournaments. For me, it's hard to imagine high school kids not playing basketball during the holidays. Or fans not showing up to see them.

High school coaches relish the holiday competition because it gives them an opportunity to prepare their teams for the conference and state tournament grind ahead, to find out one and for all who can be counted on under pressure, who deserves a starting spot and who are his best and most reliable players.

The fans get an opportunity to see the best teams and players compete against schools that they might not otherwise play, except perhaps in the state tournament. They are on a big stage under state tournament-like conditions. The finals at Pontiac, Centralia, Rich South and Proviso West carry all the fanfare and pageantry and pressure of a supersectional matchup.

One question always lingers: Will the best team in December be the best team in March? Some holiday tournament winners go on to win the state championship. Others peak too soon, burn out and don't play up to expectations in February and March. Others pick up the pieces from a December disappointment, improve and go on to win in March.

Remember the Tom Parker/Collinsville team I mentioned earlier? Well, the following weekend, they lost to that same Alton team in a conference game, then later lost to another conference rival Edwardsville in the sectional tournament. Parker averaged 35 points per game, a school record, but he couldn't carry his team to Champaign.

Other great players triumphed in December but couldn't get to the state finals. Isiah Thomas made it to the state final in 1978 as St. Joseph lost to Lockport but he didn't return in 1979, losing to De La Salle in a memorable sectional final. Glen Grunwald was a four-time All-Stater and his East Leyden teams lost only four games in four years--but he never got to the Elite Eight.

Pontiac used to have a unique format that attracted me to the tournament in the 1970s. The top-seeded team, usually Bloom or Quincy, would play in the second game (10:30 a.m.) on the opening day. It gave me an opportunity to see the game, then head north for other events.

East Aurora once was as good as it got during the holidays. It was only an eight-team event, as it is now, but the field included Ernie Kivisto-coached East Aurora, Maine South with Pete Boesebn, Norm Goodman-coached East Leyden with Grunwald, Tom Dore and John Hendler and later De La Salle, all state powers.

Remember when the Public League/Catholic League tournament was conducted at Illinois-Chicago's old gym on Roosevelt Road? The championship game was played on the afternoon of New Year's Eve, not after the holidays as it is now. It was a must-see event with Crane and Leo dominating the competition in the 1970s.

Proviso West has grown from an eight-team tournament in 1961 to the premier event in the state. I remember the old days, when St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore was a punching bag--before Isiah Thomas showed up at the school in Westchester and helped to create a dynasty. The late Bill Chesbrough brought several outstanding Elgin teams in the 1970s but couldn't win so he left and established his own holiday tournament.

And so it goes. I'm sure everyone who has ever spent more than a few days at a holiday tournament has his or her own special memories. It is a special time of the year, as much a part of the season as mistletoe and egg nog and opening presents on Christmas Day.

It wasn't by design or intent that two of the four names on the cover were Centralia icons. I was looking for one-of-a-kind names that old-time basketball fans could relate to, like Magic, Wilt, Michael and Dr. J. Dike Eddleman and Bobby Joe Mason immediately came to mind.

I attended the Centralia Holiday Tournament for the first time in 1966, as the high school sports editor of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat. As a high school student in Blue Island, a Chicago suburb, as sports editor of the Daily Illini while a student at the University of Illinois, and as a sports reporter for the Champaign-Urbana Courier, I had heard so much about the Centralia tournament and the Centralia tradition that I couldn't wait to experience it all for myself. I wasn't disappointed.

The Green Grill, once the favorite watering hole and place-to-be for all Centralia fans after Friday night games, was closed for two years because of a fire, then reopened. But fans have migrated to Bogie's-on-the-Lake, a popular gathering spot on Raccoon Lake whose specialty is two pounds of hot wings and a bucket of beer for $16.

Bill Castleman still is alive. Now in his 90s and rarely seen at Centralia games, he and his wife once were fixtures in their chair seats at Trout Gym. Castleman was a teammate of Eddleman's on Trout's famed 1941 and 1942 teams. Another former Centralia star, Herb Williams, who once coached at Evanston, now coaches at nearby Sandoval. Rich Rapp, a star on the 1961 team and a retired supervisor of Chicago's Gately Stadium, comes to Centralia from time to time to see the tournament and visit old friends. Former coach Bob Jones returns from Texas for the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Centralia's population and the high school's enrollment are going down and the tax base is going up. But the community still hangs its hat on the basketball team. Coach Lee Bennett, who once coached at Alton and whose father was a longtime successful coach at Pittsfield, has restored the old-time magic to the program. After several down years, the Orphans have won 25 games for two seasons in a row.

The old South Seven Conference isn't the same, either. It has only six members--Centralia, Mount Vernon, Marion and Carbondale from the original eight-team league that once included Benton, West Frankfort, Herrin and Harrisburg, and newcomers Belleville Althoff and Cahokia.

Centralia tried to lure the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame after it closed its doors in Bloomington. But the effort failed and the IBCA moved to Danville.

But Butch Border and Pops Taylor still are in Centralia. Border, 67, a Centralia graduate of 1961, one of the founders of the school's sports Hall of Fame and a member of the school board, and Taylor, 66, a Centralia graduate of 1962 and a member of the Hall of Fame committee, have been watching Orphan games since the 1950s.

They'll be in the stands for the 68th annual tournament on Dec. 28-30 as Centralia honors its 1960-61 team on its 50th anniversary. The team, led by Rapp, Williams, Russell Coleman, Chuck Garrett and Paul Rice Downey, lost to Centralia and Bogie Redmon and Fred Riddle 66-64 in a duel of the state's two top-rated teams in dramatic supersectional showdown at Salem. Collinsville went on to complete an unbeaten season by winning the state title.

Neither Border nor Taylor can understand why CHS Arena isn't named for Trout and the playing floor isn't named for Eddleman. There are some board members who aren't Centralia graduates who apparently are holding up the decision because, according to Border, "they don't think Trout deserves his name on the new gym as long as the old building is still standing."

"We should let the townspeople vote on it, make it a community project," Border said. "The new gym is a beautiful facility, like a small-college arena, two levels, seats for about 3,000, a video board hanging in the center, chair seating in the lower level, top of the line."

Taylor agrees. "The new gym is beautiful, very bright. Every seat is a good seat. It doesn't have the ambiance of Trout. But I've been in old and new gyms and there is nothing in southern Illinois that compares to it," he said.

"Most people are upset that the new gym hasn't got any name at all. Personally, I wanted to call it the Orphanage. But naming it after Trout is obvious. When they were building the gym, I thought we'd at least get Eddleman Court."

At tradition-rich Centralia, there are so many choices. Some schools have none. You'd think they could come to some agreement. Naysaying board members should talk to basketball fan Heath Hunziker of Bloomington, Ill., a native of Missouri, who has traveled throughout Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky to visit the most celebrated high school gyms.

"In Illinois, of all the gyms that we visited, Trout Gym amazed us," Hunziker said. "I love old gyms because of the history that has taken place there. Former Centralia mayor John Stuehmeier met us at the old school and walked us through it.

"There are a lot of elements of that gym that are astounding, including the stain glass window that Arthur Trout had installed with some of his values ("of sound body, of sound mind") inscribed in Latin. The staircase behind the baskt, the WRXX radio station box and the balcony all attribute to the gym's historic environment.

"When walking around, it is easy to imagine Dike and Bobby Joe shooting the ball and Coach Trout walking the sideline. If we had the time, I would have enjoyed talking with more Orphan basketball with the likes of Butch Border and Pops Taylor. But we had a great time listening to John Stuehmeier as he showed us around Trout Gym and Coach Bennett as he showed us around the new facility."

Like Border and Taylor and a lot of old-timers in Centralia, Hunziker can't understand why the "new facility" doesn't have a name on it, either.

That's how I felt after watching Simeon's basketball team dismantle Gary (Ind.) Lew Wallace last Thursday night on ESPN.

One game doesn't make a season or a reputation. But I have to admit that I was blown away by Simeon's performance. Honestly, it brought back memories of Thornridge 1972, the best team in state history.

I have to bite my tongue when I say that. I've never put another team in Thornridge's class, not even Quincy 1981 or Collinsville 1961 or Marshall 1958 or Simeon 2007 or Lyons 1953 or Evanston 1968 or Peoria Manual 1997 or Whitney Young 1998.

Is Coach Robert Smith's current squad that good?

As Thornridge coach Ron Ferguson noted about his unbeaten 1972 powerhouse, the one that didn't allow any one of 33 opponents to come within 14 points, every member of the starting lineup could handle the ball under pressure, even 6-7 center Boyd Batts, who was every bit as athletic at teammates Quinn Buckner and Greg Rose. This Simeon team has that rare attribute.

Led by top-rated junior Steve Taylor and highly touted sophomores Jabari Parker and Kendrick Nunn, the Wolverines have athleticism, depth, speed and defense. Despite their abundance of youth, they are unselfish, execute with drill-like precision and are fundamentally sound. They get up and down the floor in rapid-fire fashion.

Experience? Many of them played on last year's state championship team. Complacency? Smith keeps everyone on their toes and their heads into the game by playing two lineups, like two lines in a hockey game, keeping everyone fresh and focused on the game.

Simeon could be tested at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. Peoria Manual might be the best team outside of the Chicago area. And this could be the best Peoria Manual team since the 1990s of Sergio McClain, Marcus Griffin and Frank Williams. Warren, Waukegan and unbeaten Curie also are in the field.

The thing that strikes me about this Simeon team is, despite the celebrity of Parker, Taylor and Nunn, there doesn't seem to be a dominant player on the floor, certainly no one who has the ability to singlehandedly carry a team like Derrick Rose. But there are so many gifted and talented players on the roster, all of whom make contributions to the team's success. Smith's envious job is to keep everybody involved and happy.

Thornridge 1972 was a different team. The starting lineup rarely left the floor while the outcome of the game was in doubt. Buckner, Batts and Rose were the stars but point guard Mike Bonczyk earned All-State recognition for his playmaking skills and Ernie Dunn was an unsung hero. Their all-for-one and one-for-all teamwork on offense and in applying the Falcons' intimidating and suffocating zone press was straight out of an instruction manual.

This Simeon team is different, too. Most great teams were led by one or two dominant players--Jim Brewer, Bob Lackey and Farrel Jones, Rose and Flowers, Ted Caiazza, Ron Bontemps and Johnny Orr, Brian Sloan, Owen Brown and Marcus Washington, George Wilson and M.C. Thompson, Jim Ard and LaMarr Thomas, Bruce Douglas and Michael Payne, Bogie Redmon and Fred Riddle, Marcus Liberty and Levertis Robinson, Rashard Griffith and Thomas Hamilton--but the signature attribute of Smith's 2010-11 squad is quality depth.

Taylor is the top-rated player in the class of 2012, which is below average by virtually every recruiting analyst's standards, certainly not as good as 2011 and 2103 and not even to be mentioned in the same breath as the gold standards of 1979 and 1998.

Parker is the top-rated player in the class of 2013 in the Chicago area and one of the top five in the class nationally. The son of former Farragut, Texas A&M and NBA star Sonny Parker, he continues to develop into an all-around performer. Nunn, a superb three-point shooter, is making a national reputation for himself.

Smith, a disciple of the late Simeon coach Bob Hambric, has held tight to his mentor's strict disciplinary rules on and off the court while giving his players more freedom on the floor. They really seem to be enjoying themselves. They don't seem to be feeling the pressure of their lofty ranking and expectations.

I questioned Rose's ability as a junior, to the point where I didn't believe he was one of the top five players in the nation as others had anointed him. But he proved as a senior that he was every bit the No. 1 player in the NBA draft that he became. And I had to make room for him--move over Quinn Buckner--alongside George Wilson, Cazzie Russell, Isiah Thomas and Kevin Garnett as one of the top five players I have ever seen.

It is too early to determine if Jabari Parker will be good enough to earn a spot with Rose and that elite company. But the current Simeon team? In a class with Thornridge 1972? Let's wait to see if the Wolverines are as good in March as they were the other day at Chicago State.

"People think I'm crazy when I say I appreciate snow," said Jackson, who is making his first trip to Chicago since 2006. "The normal temperature in Brisbane is 70. It's nine degrees right now. I never see snow there. Last night, I walked around the block in the snow and cold weather, like it used to be when I was growing up on the West Side. It's good to see a white Christmas once in a while."

Jackson has made a wonderful life for himself and his family, though it didn't start out that way.

"I believe in fate. That's how I ended up in Australia," Jackson said. "Dick Rymer from Nebraska was looking for players to play professional basketball in Australia. He ran into one of my old coaches at Minnesota, Jesse Evans, who was then working for Lute Olson at Arizona, in an airport. Jesse threw my name out. Rymer called me and gave me a round-trip plane ticket to Australia.

"Where is that? I never heard of Australia. But how many times do you get a ticket to another country? I'm still there today. And if it wasn't for that incident, I never would have met my wife."

Like many high school athletes from the inner city who go away from home to compete, Jackson got homesick. But three weeks after he returned home, after leading his team to the Australian professional championship, he received a call asking him to come back. He couldn't turn it down.

"I love the laid-back lifestyle, the friendly people. Nobody is in a rush about anything. The atmosphere blew me away. It is totally different from the United States. And the climate is great. If you're looking for good weather and a good atmosphere, it's a nice place to bring up a family. It's the place to be."

Jackson played professionally for 10 years, then ran youth camps and coached. At 55, he is working for a traffic control company. His wife Romana is an Australian. They have one son, Jamel, 15, who is in grade 10.

But Jackson has learned that things change, on an off the basketball court, no matter whether you are living in Chicago or Brisbane.

"I'm always looking over my back when I come to Chicago, when I walk in the streets at night," he said. "In Australia, I had to adjust to not being on the alert, to not being so jumpy all the time. I didn't have to worry about those things then. But it isn't the same anymore. Crime has picked up so much in Australia.

"Generations have changed. Kids are different. They don't have respect for elders as they used to. That's one of the reasons why I got out of coaching. Kids weren't as dedicated as I wanted them to be. They wanted to train only twice a week. Parents complained that I worked them too hard, three hours a day, five or six days a week, hard all the time.

"Now parents pay as much as $600 just to have their kids be involved in a basketball organization, a private club. A lot of kids would love to come to the United States to play. Their dream is to play in the professional league in Australia or play in the NBA in the United States.

"But U.S. coaches don't come to Australia to scout kids. If you are good enough, you are sent to the Institute of Sports to develop. They'll find a college in the U.S. for you. Andrew Bogut, Luke Longley, Andrew Gage and Shane Hill went through the system and ended up in the U.S. and the NBA."

But Jackson admits the Australia brand of basketball isn't up to U.S. standards, college or professional. Some U.S. products come to play in Australia, as Jackson and Bloom's Audie Matthews did, but most who can't make it in the NBA opt for Europe, where players are better paid.

Jackson has no regrets, however. "Life has been pretty good for me. I have no regret that I didn't make it in the NBA," he said. He had a tryout with the Chicago Bulls in 1979 but was cut. He admits he wasn't prepared at the time. But he was ready physically and mentally when he tried out in Canada, landing one of nine spots from among 40 players who tried out. It helped to punch his ticket to Australia.

Let me count the ways.

Thirteen years ago, when I began gathering information on Chicago area football prospects for then San Diego-based Dick Lascola, one of the pioneers in the business of recruiting analysis, I didn't begin calling high school coaches until January and the emphasis was on juniors only.

Those were the good ole days.

Yes, freshmen and sophomores.

As recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS College Sports has stated repeatedly, an athlete's junior year is the most important time in the recruiting process. That is the time to make a name for himself, to get national exposure, to make college coaches aware of his skill level and potential.

But colleges are evaluating players earlier and earlier, as witnessed by the number of freshmen and sophomores who are offered scholarships in basketball, as witnessed by how Illinois basketball coach Bruce Weber was forced to change his recruiting philosophy by wooing the best young players in the state.

Football coaches are employing the same strategy, even though it is conceded that most freshmen and sophomores aren't physically mature and aren't even equipped to play on the high school varsity. Recruiters are looking for the elite prospects, the few who could be difference-makers at the next level. They argue it is never too early to recruit them.

So here they come. Instead of calling for information in January, I begin calling in late October and early November, as soon as the regular season is over and a team is eliminated from the state playoff. The colleges want Lascola's national list in December, not February. The sooner they can get a jump on another school, the better.

And they not only want to know who the leading players in the Class of 2012 (juniors) are, they want to know who the headliners are in the Classes of 2013 (sophomores) and 2014 (freshmen).

And they want even more. Only a year ago, I didn't ask for telephone numbers or home addresses of the juniors. Many schools cited privacy rules and high school coaches were reluctant to provide the personal information.

Not anymore. Colleges not only want phone numbers and addresses but they'll take email addresses, too. Anything that enables them to contact the athletes. And you know what? Only a few high schools still refuse to provide the information.

It isn't driven so much by the colleges and recruiting services but by the parents of the athletes who want the information made available because they want their sons and daughters to receive as much exposure as possible. They understand that other kids are being called and contacted by colleges and they don't want their kids to be left behind.

My list of Chicago area prospects was sent to Lascola earlier this week. After contacting more than 200 high school coaches, I completed a list of 444 freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

So who are the leaders in the Class of 2012?

Simeon quarterback Robert Gregory, Glenbard West defensive tackle Tommy Schutt, Montini wide receiver Jordan Westerkamp, Barrington offensive tackle Dan Voltz and Joliet Catholic running back Malin Jones, who already is committed to Northwestern.

Also Aurora Christian quarterback Anthony Maddie, Marmion offensive tackle Ryan Glasgow, Oak Forest cornerback Tevin Coleman, Providence offensive tackle Ryan Ward and Lake Forest Academy defensive end Faith Ekakitie.

The leaders in the Class of 2013?

Lemont offensive tackle Ethan Pocic, Wheaton St. Francis offensive tackle Kyle Bosch, Maine South quarterback Matt Alviti, Glenbard West running back Kendall Johnson and Joliet Catholic running back Ty Isaac.

The leaders in the Class of 2014?

Prairie Ridge offensive tackle Shane Evans, Fremd quarterback Sam Beutler, Morgan Park running back Charles Bournes, Naperville North running back Deshawn Brown and Kaneland tight end Daniel Helm.

So you can understand why coaches and IHSA officials were surprised when the IHSA's Legislative Commission recently rejected the proposal and failed to recommend it for a vote by the IHSA membership. Even the IHSA's football advisory committee didn't support it. Look for the coaches to do a better and more persuasive job of lobbying their principals to support the proposal next year.

"The proposal wasn't shot down significantly. It got some support, like 10 for and 20 against," said Craig Anderson, an assistant executive secretary who monitors football for the IHSA. "It is what a lot of coaches have wanted for a long time."

Downers Grove South coach John Belskis points out that Illinois football players are at a disadvantage by not having spring practice. "They can't get exposure to college scholarships. In the South, recruiting is done during the spring. Any time you can practice, it is good for the kids and the game," he said.

As it is, Illinois football players can only participate in 7-on-7 competition during the summer. They can't organize against other schools except for 7-on-7. What the coaches propose is controlled scrimmages against rival schools, no live tackling or blocking below the waist, the opportunity to run pass-rush plays and offensive drills.

"We don't get to do drill work like other sports such as baseball, basketball and soccer," said coach Bob Pieper of Glenbrook North. "We are so far behind other states with no spring football or jamborees, just 7-on-7 until the first game. This isn't just about getting kids more exposure and helping them to get college scholarships. It is about making them better and improving the game."

As a former football coach, Jim Woodward of Anna-Jonesboro, president of the IHSA's board of directors, insists it isn't fair that other sports get to work in the summer but not football. He feels the proposal would be a big boost to smaller schools in Illinois.

"Some Downstate schools only have 22 kids on their rosters, not like big schools in the Chicago area. It gives coaches an opportunity to evaluate their teams," Woodward said. "I think the reason it didn't pass is because there was a concern among administrators that don't understand the concept of what we were trying to do. Football coaches must sell their idea to the administrators.

"We aren't looking for game scrimmages in the summer. We don't want the quarterback or running back hit. We're talking about pass-rushing drills and reading the option at full speed. It is one thing to practice against your teammates and quite another to work against other schools. Now they can't line up 11-on-11, only 7-on-7."

Coach Greg King of Sterling, president of the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association, said 7-on-7 is good for skilled players. And 25 contact days in the summer for physical conditioning has helped, too.

"But what about the linemen? We're not talking about tackling or live scrimmages, or 10 more games in the summer, just pads and helmets. We want speciality camps, the opportunity to work on the option and wing-T and double wing-T and learn from other coaches, being able to improve techniques," King said.

"It is a valid point to allow football to do what other sports do in the summer," Anderson said. "This proposal doesn't allow for live scrimmage. But it would allow them to simulate 11-on-11 game conditions. It is good for schools to be able to simulate live plays, the full aspect of offense and defense with limitations."

Belskis reminded that when football players are only allowed to participate in nine games in a season, it isn't enough experience for them, compared to the number of games that basketball and baseball players compete in during the spring, summer and fall.

"It wasn't a setback (because the proposal wasn't put up for a vote) but we aren't going forward. We could have made the sport better by doing it. It's good for the game," Belskis said. "If you don't practice against a double wing in the summer, you will have a hard time working against it in one week during the season. Seven-on-seven isn't the same. No quarterback throws without someone rushing him. In five days, you could scrimmage up to 10 opponents, maybe two a day.

"By working against other schools, you are doing things you can't simulate against your own team. There is a great advantage of extra practices. The opportunity to play football for an extra time helps your program. Remember, the recruiting for our girls in volleyball is done during the club season, not the high school season. In football in the South, it is the same way. This proposal would be good for the game."

On his next carry, he scored on a 58-yard run.

"I was so excited," Preston said. "This is awesome. I know I can play with these kids now. Everyone was going crazy. It was an awesome feeling."

What is so awesome about all of this is Preston, a junior, is only 5 feet, two inches tall and weighs only 122 pounds. Sure, the program lists him at 5-4 and 161. But Preston blushes when those figures are mentioned. He admits to being "right around 5-2 or 5-3." He thinks he weighs closer to 150 pounds than 120. All he knows for sure is he isn't 6-3, 250.

After Preston broke into the starting lineup, replacing injured starter Justin Czerwionka, offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss made a bet with him. "If he could play through the end of the season, without being injured, I would put him on my shoulders at Memorial Stadium and carry him from one end of the field to the other," Bliss said.

"He was exciting as a sophomore but he is so tiny. You wondered if he could take the pounding. But you couldn't catch him in a phone booth."

At the end of the Class 8A championship game, with Maine South players beginning to celebrate its third title in a row along the sideline, Bliss felt a tug on his arm. It was Preston, reminding him of their bet. Sure enough, Preston got his promised ride up and down the Memorial Stadium turf.

Preston, no matter what his size is, completed a spectacular season. In the state final, he rushed 21 times for 145 yards and two touchdowns. In the last 10 games, he rushed 133 times for 1,140 yards and 21 touchdowns.

"I never heard of such a small kid being so successful at a major high school program," said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of CBS College Sport.

He wears No. 34, Walter Payton's number. He has worn it all his life, going back to the six years he played for the Park Ridge Falcons. He has been timed in 4.59 seconds for 40 yards. But most observers, including television announcers, think his helmet is too big, that he looks like Lucas of movie fame.

"It doesn't feel too big to me. It isn't custom made. It fits pretty well," he said. "How do I explain my running style? I'm a quick and shifty runner. I don't want to brag but I can beat everyone in the first 40-50 yards. Then they start catching up to me because of my short legs."

Amazingly, Preston fumbled only once during the season and never was knocked out of game because of injury, not even an ankle sprain. He gives credit to Alviti's passing game that opened up his running lanes, as Charlie Goro and Tyler Benz did for Matt Perez, and the offensive line that included Boston College-bound Victor Nelson and cousin Frank Colletti.

Now Preston and Alviti will return in 2011 to lead Maine South's quest for a fourth state title in a row.

"I thought I'd be a backup this year. And a kick returner, maybe a cornerback," Preston said. "But it turns out I'm the starting running back and that's pretty cool."

So when Flash says a kid is a big-time prospect or is overrated or isn't as good as advertised or is better than any other recruiting analyst thinks he is...well, I take his word for it. His experience counts for a lot. He has been there and seen that.

Flanagan conducted his annual Hoops Review in Morris not so long ago and he observed the 2010 State Farm Tournament of Champions in Washington, Ill., an event that attracted the No. 1 team and the No. 1 player in the nation.

"I saw Davis play at the TOC. I saw things in the kid and I saw real things. He has a bright future. But he is a long way away. When people talk about him being a one-and-done in college, going to the NBA after one year at Kentucky, that is silly. It is the biggest mistake he could make. He isn't ready," Flanagan said.

Flanagan was close to former Peoria Central star Shaun Livingston, who chose to skip his commitment to Duke and declare for the NBA draft. A lottery pick, he has overcome a series of injuries and is beginning to establish himself in the NBA after a disappointing beginning.

"I told Shaun that he needed to go to college for two years and get with a strength coach before going to the NBA," Flanagan said. "He was 6-7 and 170 pounds as a senior in high school. But he was persuaded to go into the NBA lottery. Later, he admitted he made a big mistake. He had potential to be an all-time player if he had properly prepared himself."

Livingston was going to enroll at Duke to play with current Chicago Bulls player Luol Deng. They planned to win two NCAA titles together, then go to the NBA. But when Deng chose to leave Duke and opted for the NBA draft, Livingston changed directions.

Now Anthony Davis has similar decisions to make.

"He grew a foot in 18 months. He is all arms and legs. Thankfully, I saw him play with an AAU team in the summer. It is difficult for him to look good with a high school team that has no talent. He has a great upside. What really impressed me about him was he got banged up in the second quarter of a game at the TOC, was out for two minutes and came back and played the rest of the game. I also was impressed with the fact that he is very unselfish and very much a team player. He played well with Tai Streets' Mean Streets AAU team last summer," Flanagan said.

However, at this point, Flanagan said Dawson, who is going to Michigan State, 6-9 Rakeem Christmas of New Church, Pa., who is committed to Syracuse, and Christmas' teammate, Pittsburgh-bound 7-footer Malcolm Gilbert, and 6-9 Hanner Perea of La Lumiere Prep School in LaPorte, Ind., who is committed to Indiana, are all ahead of Davis in terms of development.

Another player who stood out at the TOC was 6-8 Max Bielfeldt of Peoria Notre Dame, who averaged 35 points in four games. He has been offered by Illinois-Chicago, Western Michigan, Ball State and Wright State. He upped his stock from low major to a mid-major player by his performance. He isn't a high major player because he is a 6-8 kid who weighs 250 pounds and isn't a great leaper and isn't very athletic. Flanagan believes he can play in the Missouri Valley and can't understand why Bradley isn't recruiting him, especially since he is a local product.

The top 10 players at Flash's Hoops Review, which attracted 200 players from throughout the state, were 6-9, 250-pound freshman Jahlil Okafor of Whitney Young, 6-2 junior guard Anthony Beane of Normal Community, 6-7 Illinois-bound Mycheal Henry of Orr, 6-9 sophomore Tommy Hamilton of Whitney Young, 6-7 freshman Paul White of Whitney Young, 6-7 junior Steve Taylor of Simeon, 6-7 Ohio State-bound Sam Thompson of Whitney Young, 6-4 Oregon-bound Bruce Barron of Brehm Prep in Carbondale, 6-5 freshman Malik Yarbrough of Zion-Benton and 6-7 Kashawn McElrath of Simeon.

"Okafor is the best young player I have seen since...well, I'm not sure I've ever seen a big kid as good as him at such a young age, maybe Bo Ellis," Flanagan said. "He is only 15 years old. He is big, strong, mobile, skilled, runs the floor, can play inside or outside and has great potential."

Beane, whose father coaches at Illinois State and played at Kansas State, ranks among the top five players in the junior class in Illinois, according to Flanagan. He outplayed all of the guards from Chicago during the camp and, in Flanagan's view, is better than Illinois-bound Tracy Abrams of Mount Carmel. In fact, Flanagan believes the only guard in the state who is superior to Beane is Stanford-bound Chasson Randle of Rock Island.

* Wheaton Warrenville South is as good as advertised but not as good as coach Ron Muhitch had projected prior to Saturday's 28-17 victory over Lake Zurich in the Class 7A final. The 2010 Tigers aren't as good as John Thorne's high-scoring 1998 WW South powerhouse that was led by quarterback Jon Beutjer (national-record 60 TD passes), wide receivers Jon Schweighardt and Eric McGoey and running back Corrice Burns. The Tigers averaged 44 points per game and crushed Barrington 42-14 in the state final.

More importantly, perhaps, O'Toole demonstrated the poise and moxie and leadership qualities in the spotlight and under pressure that should make him a major presence in coach Ron Zook's program at Illinois.

* While O'Toole was the most studied and scrutinized player in Champaign, trying to live up to the high expectations of the many critics in Illini Nation, two players who were even more impressive were Lake Zurich running back Jacob Brinlee and O'Toole's primary target, wide receiver Titus Davis.

Recruiting analyst Tom Lemming believes both Brinlee and Davis are Division I prospects who have been largely overlooked by college recruiters--at least up until now. Against WW South, the 5-10, 170-pound Brinlee proved he has the toughness, shiftiness and durability to play in the Big 10 or MAC. Davis, a 6-2, 175-pounder, has the speed and athleticism and good hands to be a big-time receiver.

* Was there anyone more impressive than Jordan Westerkamp, Montini's junior wide receiver? The 6-1, 185-pounder caught seven passes for 146 yards and three touchdowns as Montini won its second Class 5A title in a row. He is the son of former Montini star Bob Westerkamp, who played at Illinois.

* Westerkamp is one of the headliners on an outstanding crop of prospects in the Class of 2012 that also includes Simeon quarterback Robert Gregory, Glenbard West defensive end Tommy Schutt, Barrington tackle Dan Voltz and Northwestern-bound running back Malin Jones of Joliet Catholic.

* Eight classes are at least one too many. Before expansion, the state finals were more competitive. Isn't it downright embarrassing to have running clocks and final scores of 47-14, 48-7 and 48-19 in the state championships?

* But unless the state finals are moved to Soldier Field in Chicago, there isn't a better venue than Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

* The new television production company and its broadcasting staff--Lee Hall and Rick Venturi, Dave Bernhard and Jack McInerney--deserve an 8 on a scale of 10 for their opening performance. There were glitches and oversights and omissions--did you miss the introductions of the starting lineups?--but the total package was entertaining.

* It's a shame more people don't support the state finals. Remember how it was during the magical days of the Prep Bowl in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s when the Chicago Public League and Chicago Catholic League champions annually attracted crowds of 50,000 to 90,000 to 120,000 to Soldier Field?

Since the state playoff was introduced in 1974, it hasn't been the same for the Prep Bowl or the state finals. Why? In the old days, all of the city's public and parochial schools and their boosters supported the conference representative in the Prep Bowl. Today, only students, parents and fans of the participating schools attend the city and state finals.

* If there ever was any doubt, it was abundantly clear while watching all eight championship games that the quality of football and coaching in Downstate schools is every bit as good as it is in the Chicago area. Jim Unruh (six state titles, four seconds) of Illini West in Carthage and Mike Lalor (four state titles) of Stillman Valley gave a clinic in the Class 3A final. So did Sterling Newman's Mike Papoccia (four state titles, two seconds) in Class 2A.

* And how about the feel-good story of the finals? Lena-Winslow, a school of 313 students that consolidated in the 1950s, had never won a state title in any sport until this year. Coach Ric Arand didn't win more than nine games in his first nine seasons. This year's squad wasn't even ranked in the final state poll in Class 1A. After crushing top-ranked and defending state champion Tuscola, however, Arand is 24-3 in the last two years and has a big trophy to show for it.

Alviti participated in the youth program for eight years. He always attended home games at Maine South. When Alviti was an eighth grader, his brother was a senior receiver on Goro's state championship team. Before his sophomore year, he knew he would be a candidate for the starting position.

"He could be the best quarterback we have ever had," said longtime offensive coordinator Charlie Bliss. "He is ahead of where Price and Goro were as sophomores. He is a quarterback who love to get better. He doesn't play like a normal sophomore quarterback."

"In my heart, I knew I had to make a decision sooner or later," Bliss said. "The offense had no rhythm. I take a lot of the blame because I was trying to see how it could work out. I was bull-headed. It had worked out all summer long and I thought maybe we had something special. They were two special kids who had worked hard to play quarterback."

Finally, Inserra and Bliss admitted that the team had to be retooled. They went back to the drawing board. They had to choose one quarterback. Alviti or Frankos? A system of rotating quarterbacks hadn't worked since Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin with the old Los Angeles Rams in the 1950s.

They chose Alviti. Since then, the 6-0, 175-pound sophomore has guided Maine South to 11 victories in a row and a spot in the Class 8A championship game against Mount Carmel on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Champaign.

"As a quarterback type, Alviti is so much different than Frankos," Bliss said. "He is more of a spread quarterback, a body type that fits our offense better, our best fit. He is a dual quarterback. He can run and throw and he is fast. He has a quick release. He makes plays. He is fearless and isn't intimidated. He watches film all the time. He will be our quarterback of the future."

On Tuesday after the nationally televised loss to Wheaton Warrenville South, Inserra approached Alviti during a gym class and said: "It's your job to lose now. Take the team over."

"It put a big smile on my face," Alviti said. "I took it as a great challenge. At first, it was intimidating. Could I do it? Could I follow in the great tradition of Maine South quarterbacks, Price and Knight and Goro, guys who led their teams to state? But it is a challenge. I had to play for the people now and the past and in the future."

With Alviti directing the offense, Maine South has been unbeatable. He has passed for more than 2,500 yards, throwing to Frankos, Scott Derrick, Luke Motley and Imran Khan. And 5-4, 165-pound Paul Preston has taken pressure off Alviti by emerging as a ball-carrying threat.

Frankos took the coaches' decision with a lot of maturity. He found another role. He became one of Alviti's receivers. In the semifinal victory over Loyola, he converted three field goals.

"The offense is playing well and the defense has been unbelievable. Everybody talks about the offense at Maine South. But the defense doesn't get the credit it deserves," said Alviti, pointing to the leadership of junior linebacker Tyler Fahey.

In fact, Alviti believes the 2010 squad is every bit as good as the 2008 and 2009 state championship teams that featured Goro, Benz and running back Matt Perez. Goro was the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year in 2008 while Perez earned the award in 2009.

"Pressure got to us in the first two weeks," Alviti admitted. "But after we were 0-2, ittook the pressure off us. We fell under the radar. People gave up on us. But we came together after the Wheaton Warrenville South loss. We worked harder. We prepared better. We studied more film. We didn't want to have a .500 season. We wanted to be back where we are this weekend."

St. Laurence/St. Rita isn't the oldest rivalry in the history of high school football in Illinois. Hyde Park/Englewood started in 1889, East Aurora/West Aurora in 1893, Ottawa/Streator in 1895 and Arcola/Tuscola in 1896.

It might not even be the most competitive rivalry. Evanston/New Trier dates to 1913 and Mount Carmel (St. Cyril) vs. St. Rita began in 1908. From 1914 to 1974, East St. Louis and Belleville played for the Victory Bell on Thanksgiving Day. Since 1935, Hinsdale (Central) and Downers Grove (North) have played for the Old Oaken Bucket.

"Competition in the Catholic League was at a peak in the 1970s in football and basketball," said Mike O'Neill, who succeeded Tom Kavanagh at St. Laurence and coached the 1978 and 1979 teams.

"The student bodies were much more involved. They were big games for them, too. If you lost on Sunday, it was like a funeral at school the next day. It was a great time to be around. There was great spirit in the schools that you won't see again. Can you imagine over 20,000 people at two games on Sunday afternoon at Soldier Field? You won't see that again...the atmosphere, the fans. It was a magical time."

Kavanagh and O'Neill coaching against St. Rita's Pat Cronin, a high school version of Vince Lombardi vs. Bear Bryant. And the players? St. Laurence's Kevin King, Pete Allard, Jim Kozlowski, Craig Zirbel and Dan Gregus. St. Rita's Brian Kingsbury, Steve Lick, Mark Zavagnin, Mark Strimel and Joey Gorman.

How's this for a story line? In the 1978 game, a duel between the state's top two-ranked Class 5A teams, John O'Neill helped to propel St. Rita to the state championship by catching the go-ahead touchdown pass in the third quarter, then intercepting a pass in the closing seconds to preserve a 14-6 victory over a St. Laurence team coached by Mike O'Neill, his older brother.

"I'm just glad it's over," John O'Neill told the Chicago Sun-Times afterward. "Sure, I dreamed about it, about the game, about playing against my brother. But it was too much. The whole week was too emotional. Just look at me. I'm in pieces right now, crying like a baby.

"I wanted to win but I didn't want it to come down to what it did, me beating Mike. I'd rather have had someone else do it. Even when I caught that touchdown pass, I didn't think it would win the game. I didn't think I'd be so much of a factor. It's nice to be important. But after something like that, I wonder how I got through it."

Zavagnin, who later went to Notre Dame and played against Georgia and Herschel Walker in the Sugar Bowl, said he remembers the atmosphere more than the game itself.

"It was an amazing feeling to come out on that field, knowing it was two teams from the same conference that were commanding so much attention," he said. "It was built up as the game of the year. It was our homecoming but the demand for tickets was so high that the game was switched to Soldier Field. There has never been anything like it."

That's the way it was throughout the decade of the 1970s for St. Rita and St. Laurence, arguably the two strongest programs in the state at that time. St. Rita won back-to-back Prep Bowls in 1970 and 1971 with Billy Marek and Dennis Lick, won the Prep Bowl in 1977 and a state championship in 1978. St. Laurence won three Prep Bowls in a row i 1973, 1974 and 1975, won a state title in 1976, won another Prep Bowl in 1978 and finished second in the Class 5A playoff in 1979.

In 1979, St. Laurence beat St. Rita 21-20 as strong safety Mark Hughes sacked Joey Gorman on a two-point conversion attempt with 2:42 to play, then intercepted a pass at midfield in the closing seconds to preserve the victory. It snapped St. Rita's 26-game winning streak.

Dennis Arrigo's 75-yard punt return gave St. Rita an 8-0 lead in the first quarter but St. Laurence rallied to build a 21-8 lead as Pete Neagle scored from the one to cap a 65-yard drive, reserve quarterback Garrett Ryan flipped a 73-yard screen pass to Mark Morrissey and Ryan's 12-yard pass to John Kissane and Glenn Turro's 31-yard run set up Morrissey's one-yard TD plunge.

St. Rita rebounded as quarterback George Mach completed 13 of 19 passes for 140 yards in the second half. Completing six passes, he marched the Mustangs 66 yards before relinquishing possession at St. Laurence's six. But Ed Duffy recovered Ryan's fumble and Gorman scored from the two. After a punt, Mach capped a 62-yard drive with a 25-yard TD pass to Dave Moritz with 2:42 remaining, setting the stage for Hughes' heroics.

"I thought they'd come at me. I watched them on film all week and I noticed they used that play a lot for two-point conversions," Hughes said. "On that play, I'm supposed to go into the backfield as fast as I can and take on the blocker. But there was no blocker there so I got Gorman. They were making big plays against us and I was waiting for one of us to make a big play. Sooner or later, I knew we would make one."

The following day, veteran sports columnist Bill Gleason wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times: "On successive days, I had the good fortune to watch two immensely satisfying spectators games. Take my word for it, St. Laurence/St. Rita was better than Southern California/Notre Dame."

However, if one of the St. Laurence/St. Rita games ever plays on ESPN Classic, it will have to be the 1973 matchup. After losing to St. Rita 30-6 in Week 3, St. Laurence prevailed 26-20 in overtime in the championship game of the Catholic League playoff as Kevin King, a bruising 6-3, 210-pound fullback and the Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year, rushed 30 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Trailing 20-12 early in the fourth quarter after St. Rita's Tony Suriano recovered a fumble and quarterback Mike Strimel ran 58 yards to score, St. Laurence bounced back as King scored on a 61-yard burst. On the two-point conversion, King was surrounded by three defenders and desperately flipped the ball to quarterback Mike Ahern, who ran untouched into the end zone to force a tie--and sudden death overtime.

"We were down by two so we had to go for two," Ahern said. "We were going to run a regular option to the right. But I made a bad read. King got stood up at the line. He turned back and flipped the ball to me. I caught it with my left hand and went around left for the tie."

Kavanagh, ever the maverick, won the coin toss but opted to go on defense. "We wanted to know what we had to do to beat them," he said. After Mike Jank intercepted Strimel's pass to end St. Rita's possession, King ran for five yards, then four, then the final yard for the game-winner.

"The St. Rita game was bigger than the Prep Bowl," said King, who ran for 127 yards and four touchdowns in St. Laurence's 40-24 victory over Phillips in the all-city final.

"Today pales in comparison to what it was like in the 1970s," summed up Ed Kozak, a 1979 St. Laurence graduate who has served as the school's associate director of development for the last 10 years.

"There was overwhelming enthusiasm and great rivalries. The whole week built up in anticipation of a Sunday game. There was amazing coverage for the school and the Catholic League. There were big headlines, like the Bears, and the stadiums were filled. Pep rallies were held frequently in those days. Everybody wanted to know about the games."

Scout recently moved Davis to its No. 1 spot. Gibbons, Rivals and ESPN also are impressed with Davis' rapid rise to stardom but are less enthusiastic, choosing to rate him no higher than No. 2 and no lower than No. 6. Not bad under any circumstances for a youngster who had no reputation at all as recently as last April.

But Coleman has observed Davis on more than a few occasions and insists that he deserves the elite standing--and, based on his huge upside, could be even better.

"His ability to affect the game on both ends of the court," Coleman said. "He has face-up four-man skills (arc to the rim), including the ball skills he developed as a 6-4 wing man than he now uses as a 6-10 power forward. Add to that his ability to take over the game on the glass and offensively he can dominate with or without the ball.

"He is a shot-blocking machine (he had 15-plus blocks on two or three occasions I watched him). He has an immense upside physically that makes his rise even more intriguing. He should see similar game development in college. He is more advanced at this stage offensively than Derrick Favors (a top five NBA rookie from Georgia Tech) and has a much higher ceiling offensively."

Coleman said he could only think of two other players whose explosion to national prominence could be compared to Davis--Shaquille O'Neal and Tracy McGrady.

"O'Neal was a 6-7, 225-pound mid-major prospect in his junior summer when I saw him at the BCI in Phoenix," Coleman recalled. "Then he grew almost five inches and added 20-plus pounds to blossom into a 7-foot, 250-pound man-child the next summer and went from a player who didn't rank among the top 250 in the country to a top five player over one summer.

"McGrady was a different situation, not related to growth or sudden emergence. He just had never been seen. No one knew about him until he exploded into a top five player with his performance at the ABCD camp."

Coleman rates Davis among the top five to 10 pure inside athletes he has seen, in a class with the 6-9 McGrady, 6-11 Dwight Howard, 6-9 Josh Smith, 6-10 Kevin Durant, 6-10 Anthony Cade, 6-9 Blake Griffith, 6-10 Sean Kemp, 6-8 Leon Powe, 6-9 Glenn Robinson, 6-9 Amare Stoudemire, 6-10 Alonzo Mourning and 6-9 Chris Webber in terms of bounce and quickness. But he insists that Howard is "probably the top pure athlete" he has ever seen.

1. Simeon and Whitney Young could emerge as two of the best teams ever produced in Illinois. They have what it takes to rank in a class with the best of all time...Thornridge 1972, Quincy 1981, Marshall 1958, Collinsville 1961, Evanston 1968, Simeon 2007, Peoria Manual 1997, Lyons 1953, Taylorville 1945, Mount Vernon 1950, King 1986 and Whitney Young 1998.

2. Nine Illinois products rank among the top 100 players in the nation in the class of 2011--Kentucky-bound Anthony Davis of Chicago Perspectives (1), Louisville-bound Wayne Blackshear of Morgan Park (18), Ohio State-bound Sam Thompson of Whitney Young (45), Illinois-bound Mike Shaw of De La Salle (53), Illinois-bound Tracy Abrams of Mount Carmel (55), Illinois-bound Mychael Henry of Orr (62), Stanford-bound Chasson Randle of Rock Island (76), Connecticut-bound Ryan Boatright of East Aurora (83) and Illinois-bound Nnanna Egwu of St. Ignatius (100). The class compares to 1979 and 1998 as the best ever produced in Illinois.

4. The 6-10 Davis is rated as the No. 1 player in the nation by Coleman. But he is rated No. 2 by ESPN, No. 4 by Scout.com and recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons and No. 6 by Rivals.com. The consensus choice is 6-4 point guard Austin Rivers of Winter Park, Fla., who is committed to Duke and is the son of former Proviso East, Marquette and NBA star Doc Rivers, now coach of the Boston Celtics. Rivers is rated No. 1 by Rivals.com and ESPN, No. 2 by Gibbons and Scout.com and No. 3 by Coleman.

5. Simeon and Whitney Young may command most attention in the preseason but several other teams boast enough talent to contend for state championships, including Morgan Park, De La Salle, Evanston, Benet, Hillcrest, Crete-Monee, Glenbard East and East Aurora.

6. While the class of 2012 doesn't compare to 2011 in any way, shape or form, recruiting analysts and college coaches already are looking ahead to 2013, which includes 6-6 Jabari Parker of Simeon, 6-9 Thomas Hamilton of Whitney Young, 6-8 Alex Foster of De La Salle and 6-4 guard Keith Langston of Whitney Young. Parker is rated as the No. 5 player in the nation in his class, Hamilton No. 11. And 6-8 Jahlil Okafor of Whitney Young ranks No. 2 in the class of 2014.

Gibbons said Davis compares to former Farragut star Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh and former Manley star Russell Cross as "one of the most athletic 6-10 players" he has seen since he began evaluating high school players in 1978.

He ranks Davis No. 4 behind Gilchrist, Rivers and North Carolina-bound James McAdoo because, while Davis is at a different level athletically, the others have higher skill levels. He rates Gilchrist No. 1 because he is better coached and can play all positions on the floor, even point guard at 6-7.

"Davis could be a better pro but in high school Gilchrist has benefitted by playing for four years at one of the nation's top schools. He has a better basketball IQ," Gibbons said. "The class of 2011 isn't exceptional--it is similar to 2009 and 2010--and won't be remembered for its depth of talent. But Davis could make it a big name."

In all of his years of evaluating high school talent, Gibbons can recall only two other players who came from nowhere to national stardom in such a short period of time as Davis, who plays at an obscure school in Chicago and wasn't known by hardly anyone as recently as last April.

"Davis reminds me of Stacy Augmon, who wasn't well-known in 1986 but came on to be ranked No. 8 in the country and go on to a good career at Nevada-Las Vegas and the NBA, and Chase Budinger, who was better known as a volleyball player before he became the MVP at the McDonald's All-America Game and was ranked No. 6 in the nation," Gibbons said.

In winning two games in the state playoff and advancing to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history, Sandwich (10-1) is treading in unfamiliar territory. The Indians will play at Mendota on Saturday in a Class 4A matchup.

"One day our kids will look back and realize they made a lot of history in this little town," said coach Derek Avery, a former three-sport athlete at Sandwich who never experienced this kind of success when he was growing up. The team went nine seasons in a row and 15 of 16 years without fielding a winner.

"When we made our first playoff appearance in 1985, I was in junior high school. We were 3-6 in most years and I remember an 0-9 season. We had some rough years. We made the playoff in 2002 and 2008 but we never won a playoff game, not until this year. We've gone from rock bottom to sky high."

"The whole week was gut-wrenching," Avery said. "We had to beat a powerhouse Geneseo team with great tradition. People had heard about Geneseo but they didn't know about them. I had seen their size and speed in the first round against Plano and I knew we had our hands full. We just thought we have come a long way in our program to play a team with the power and tradition of Geneseo."

Tied at 7, Sandwich gained possession at Geneseo's 40 with 2:45 to play. On third-and-eight from the 38, junior P.J. Crotty caught a screen pass from quarterback Justin Wegner and ran 16 yards for a first down. Two plays later, Sandwich was at the 15 and Saitta was called upon for the game-winning kick.

"We were willing to take a shot for the win with no time left," Avery said. "Saitta has made three field goals over 30 yards this year. He has range from 35-40 yards--but he is a soccer player who is playing his first year of football as a junior."

It wasn't pretty but the kick was good and Sandwich was on its way to making history. Saitta's kick hit the top of the right upright and glanced over the crossbar. "I thought he has pushed it right," Avery said. But bedlam prevailed.

"We thought we had a chance to be pretty good this year," Avery said. "I thought it was a special group, a great senior class with great leaders. I felt we could contend in the conference but I didn't know if anyone thought we could beat Geneseo (a school that had a 52-game winning streak in the 1960s, won three state championships in the 1970s and another in the 1980s, most of it achieved under the guidance of legendary coach Bob Reade, who posted the second highest winning percentage in state history)."

Against Mendota, Sandwich will be behind the proverbial eight-ball. The team's best player, senior Connor Voss, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards, broke his leg with five minutes to play against Geneseo and is lost for the remainder of the season.

The offense has scored 294 points while the defense has allowed 122, including a 34-14 loss to Wilmington in the last game of the regular season.

Without Voss, the offense will be led by Wegner, Crotty, fullback Tim Schmitt, 6-3, 280-pound left tackle Colton Mueller, 6-2, 265-pound right tackle Sam Caldwell and 175-pound guard Matt Chalfin and 170-pound center Troy Reddoch.

The defense is anchored by 5-9, 210-pound noseman Tyler Crane, 180-pound tackle Nolan Gipe, end Jeremy Anderson, Chalfin, Reddoch, linebacker Seth McDonald, Crotty and Wegner at cornerback and Ryan Hook and Derrick Risley at safety.

"We don't get big kids. We have small but tough kids who work hard," Avery concluded. "This will be the type of season where kids who walk in the hallways will be persuaded to come out for football in the future."