64 Things Things to Know …

reposted from pantagraph.com  |  by Randy Kindred rkindred@pantagraph.com

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care …

Oh wait, that’s old news.

More timely is the fact nets have been hung from rims throughout Bloomington-Normal, ushering in the annual basketball bonanza known as the State Farm Holiday Classic.

The 64-team tournament tips off at 10 a.m. today and runs through Monday — with a day off on Sunday. On the schedule are 128 games at four venues: Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center, Normal Community High School, Normal West High School and U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Here are 64 things to mull over as we jump into the tournament’s 35th edition:

1. If Morton is to deliver a championship in the girls large school bracket, the Potters have just the person for the job. Longtime assistant coach Bill Davis is a full-time mail carrier in Bloomington.

2. When it comes to reaching new heights, no one is more qualified than Adam Coulon. The Tri-Valley sophomore guard is a state champion pole vaulter and holds an age-group world record.

3. Quincy Notre Dame’s boys have a new head coach in Bob Sheffield, who spent the past 16 years as an assistant to Scott Douglas. The Raiders have a 41-18 Classic record with three titles and four runner-up finishes.

4. It’s a sister act at Central Catholic. The Saints’ girls have a set of twins in juniors Bailey and Riley Stevens, while their sister, Ellie, is a freshman. Their cousin, Courtney Cox (no, not that one) is a junior.

5. Brimfield’s Hannah Wallace pulled off a rarity in her team’s opener this year. With 22 points, she outscored Princeville in a 71-20 victory.

6. Champaign St. Thomas More’s 6-foot-4 Tori McCoy was named to the USA Basketball Women’s U16 National Team this past summer. She is ranked among the top 10 sophomores in the nation by Blue Star Basketball.

7. They’re baaaack. Rebekah Ehresman and Codee Schlipf are in their fourth year as starters for El Paso-Gridley’s girls. Both have topped 1,000 career points and EPG entered this season 84-4 over their first three years.

8. Norton, Norton, Norton and, now, Norton. Central Catholic senior guard Nick Norton is the fourth in his family to play in the Classic in the past five years, following brother Tom and sisters Carly and Allie.

9. Longtime Cissna Park boys coach Kevin Long posted his 400th career victory earlier this season. Long has guided the Timberwolves to two Elite Eight appearances and two Classic runner-up finishes.

10. The doctor is in. University High boys coach Bob Fitzgerald completed his doctorate this past summer with a dissertation that earned him a national award.

11. St. Joseph-Ogden’s Nate Michael doesn’t have to go far for tips on basketball. His father, Tom, led Carlyle to the 1989 Class A state championship and went on to play for the University of Illinois.

12. Annawan’s Celina VanHyfte topped 2,000 points for her career earlier this season. An all-stater in basketball and softball, she has committed to play basketball at Southern Illinois.

13. A successful tournament will move VanHyfte into elite company at the Classic. She could become only the third player to make the all-tournament team four straight years, joining Galesburg’s Joey Range and Central Catholic’s Allie Norton.

14. Bear down. North Chicago’s JaVairius Amos-Mays is not only a basketball standout, but a former quarterback on the football team coached by ex-Chicago Bears’ receiver Glen Kozlowski.

15. Wheaton Warrenville South’s Meghan Waldron has committed to play at DePaul. Her mother, Jean Fitzpatrick-Waldron, played for the Blue Demons in the 1980s.

16. Six-nine Illinois recruit Michael Finke returns to the Classic with Champaign Centennial.

17. Shirk Center is the home of Illinois Wesleyan basketball. Yet, the tournament’s marquee player, U High’s Keita Bates-Diop, will feel right at home. The 6-7 Ohio State recruit has played numerous games at Shirk in the Classic and the annual Intercity Tournament.

18. The Classic will have a southwestern flavor with the return of the Mesa, Ariz., boys team. The Jackrabbits also played in the 2011 Classic.

19. The Classic was the start of something very good for Normal Community’s boys last year. The Ironmen rebounded from a second-round loss to Rock Island with a 19-game win streak and their third straight Big 12 Conference championship.

20. Rock Island 6-4 junior Tyler Hall is on the radar of several Division I colleges. He has scholarship offers from South Dakota and Northern Illinois, has visited Iowa, and Oregon and Wisconsin recently sent assistant coaches to watch him. Illinois State, Northern Iowa and Drake also are said to be interested.

21. Peoria Richwoods’ Olivia Elger has a scholarship offer from Bradley and has received interest from Princeton, Notre Dame and Michigan.

22. Springfield’s Courtney Pence knows what she’s doing around a net. She has committed to play volleyball at Illinois State.

23. It is appropriate the Rock Falls boys are in the small school bracket. Head coach Brad Bickett was a star player in 1986 for Class A state runner-up Ohio, which with an enrollment of 70 was the smallest school ever to earn a state trophy.

24. Rockford Lutheran’s Thomas Kopelman is back after averaging 22 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists on last year’s small school bracket champions. The 6-3 Kopelman has signed with Division II power Minnesota State.

25. Expect Chatham Glenwood’s boys to touch all the bases. Head coach Todd Blakeman is a former draft pick of the Minnesota Twins and played two seasons in the minors. Assistant coach Pat Moomey has won 737 games and two state titles as the school’s baseball coach.

26. Now here’s a Player of the Month: North Chicago’s Emmanual January came off the bench to spark last year’s sectional title-game win with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

27. Kankakee Bishop McNamara junior guard Khadaizha Sanders, a first-team AP all-stater last year, is being recruited by a number of Big Ten and Big East schools.

28. Nancy Voudrie will retire after this season, her 35th as an assistant coach with the Pana girls team.

29. The Annawan girls returned all five starters from last year’s Class 1A state third-place team.

30. The sophomores on Brimfield’s girls team were IESA state champions in 2010 (seventh grade) and 2011 (eighth).

31. It’s all in the family for the Bloomington girls. The Purple Raiders have two sets of sisters: senior twins Cassie and Katie Seelbach, as well as sophomore Mikki and freshman Cozy O’Neal.

32. Expect Normal Community’s Renee Ariola to be in the swing of things. The senior has signed a letter of intent for softball at Northwestern, where her father, Tony, played baseball and her mother, Jill, was a cheerleader.

33. Morton senior captain Bella Jackson has applied for early admission to Duke.

34. Early nominee for the all-name team: Storm Joop of the Champaign St. Thomas More.

35. It was a late start to basketball for St. Joseph-Ogden’s boys, the No. 2 seed in the small school bracket. Ten players were members of the Spartans’ state semifinal football team.

36. Keep an eye on Chicago North Lawndale 6-7 freshman Manny Patterson. The Chicago Sun-Times tabbed him one of the top young players to watch in Illinois.

37. Oregon State, Texas A&M, Washington and Arizona State are among the schools to show interest in 6-10 senior Isaac Allen of Mesa, Ariz.

38. North Chicago boys head coach Gerald (King) Coleman has a unique staff: his assistants are his wife, Cheryl, and the school’s athletic director, Brian Colbert.

39. Springfield 6-8 junior Obediah Church has scholarship offers from Bradley and SIU Edwardsville.

40. Former Camp Point Central/Augusta Southeastern all-stater Ali Schwagmeyer is an assistant coach with the team. She played at Charleston Southern and will play professionally in Europe after the Classic.

41. Rockford Lutheran’s first trip to the state football semifinals came with a price. Six-seven senior Zach Zanello is out for the year with a shoulder injury, while 6-5 junior Nate Wieting (knee) and 5-11 sophomore James Robinson (ankle) had the start of their seasons delayed.

42. Guard Dedric Byrd of Champaign Centennial has scholarship offers from Loyola and Wisconsin-Green Bay. He transferred to Centennial last year from Chicago Foreman.

43. El Paso-Gridley’s Rebekah Ehresman was the Wendy’s High School Heisman winner for Illinois and among 12 finalists for the national award.

44. Don’t be surprised if Normal West’s Keely Theobald kicks a loose ball out of habit. She will play soccer at Illinois State after scoring 46 goals last spring.

45. Morton senior captain Emily Schultz helps her uncle coach the Washington St. Patrick’s seventh grade girls team. She spearheaded a fundraising drive to help the Washington players following a Nov. 17 tornado.

46. Chatham Glenwood 6-5 senior guard Peyton Allen missed much of last season with severe mononucleosis. He reportedly has scholarship offers from Bradley, Iowa and Oklahoma State among others.

47. North Chicago’s JayQuan McCloud has signed to play at Murray State.

48. Living up to his name, Rock Island’s Trey Sigel sank 53 3-pointers last year.

49. Assists are nothing new for Central Catholic’s Caroline Holt. The senior three-sport star is a setter in volleyball and has signed to play at Loyola.

50. St. Thomas More guard Randa Harshbarger, a Southern Indiana recruit, is her school’s career scoring leader and was a first-team all-stater last year.

51. Brimfield’s girls have played a whopping 17 games already and have won them all, including two tournament championships.

52. University High’s 6-2 Emma Stroyan is headed to Division I Central Connecticut State.

53. The Springfield girls should leave room on the bus for a trophy. In four previous Classic appearances, the Senators have won two titles (2009, 2010) and placed third the other two years (2011, 2012).

54. Peoria Richwoods girls coach Jessica Reardon starred at Bartonville Limestone High School and Eureka College and is in the Hall of Fame at both schools.

55. Rockton Hononegah’s boys have a history of Classic success. The Indians have won a trophy in six of 11 years, including the 2007 title under coach Mike Miller.

56. Miller surpassed 400 career wins last year and was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in the spring.

57. The second-seeded Kankakee Bishop McNamara girls have been dynamite in the postseason in recent years. The Irish have won 13 regional titles in 14 seasons and nine sectionals in the past 10 years.

58. University High senior twins Malik and Kane Wildermuth were first-team selections on The Pantagraph All-Area football team.

59. Springfield senior Anika Webster, a Quincy University recruit, is the daughter of former Illinois State football player Tony Webster.

60. Opponents need to get a hand in the face of Rock Island senior guard Carlee Hoover. She sank 10 3-pointers in the season opener.

61. Morton sophomore guard Chandler Ryan has received recruiting interest from the likes of Wichita State, Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Florida Gulf Coast.

62. Thornwood’s boys have won the most Classic titles with six. The first came in 1999 with future Chicago Bulls first-round draft pick Eddy Curry at center.

63. A highlight again will be Monday’s Ron Knisley Memorial Shootout featuring eight Special Olympics teams from around the state. They will be featured in scrimmages at halftime of the four bracket championship games.

64. Matt Adams returns as welcoming committee chairperson and director of non-essential personnel.