"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."

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.

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.

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?

"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.

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.

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."

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.

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.

* 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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

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."