Greetings! Even though Decatur Lutheran is not in our normal coverage area, I actually had the chance to see the Lions play over the holidays. They were in the BSN Tournament, at Heritage. At last check, I believe the team's record was 9-5 or 9-6. They have some nice wins on their resume, including one over Arthur-Lovington (10-3 record) and another over Watseka (8-5 after losing to LSA in the third-place game at Heritage), They have a couple of seniors who are clearly the leaders. Jeremy Pezelle is a shooter with a shooter's mentality. I believe he missed his first four or five 'threes,' but kept firing and eventually got into a good flow. Bobby Cherry is a quick point guard who can break down a lot of defenders. Sophomore Hunter York is a nice player, but I'm not sure how strong the remainder of the supporting cast is. I had a chance to visit with Coach Kreps before one of the games. It was nice to catch up. I've known him for years. Decatur Lutheran is hosting a regional this year and I'm guessing its chief competition will come from neighboring Decatur Christian, which was10-1 the last time I saw records. Those schools will meet on Jan. 18 and possibly again in the ECIC Tournament in mid-February (the week before the regionals). We'll have to see how that plays out.

Hi Tom. As a matter of fact, I do. The last time I saw an area girls' team as strong as the St. Thomas More girls was in 1991 when Sullivan went 35-0, won the Class 1A state title and was nationally ranked by USA Today among the top 15 in the country. The Sabers have a couple of good reserves, but the key will definitely be staying injury-free and keeping everything in order in the classroom. If those things happen, I can see STM in the state semifinals, where anything can happen. And I should say, as scary as this sounds, I truly believe the team will be better in 2013-14 than this year. This will be a fun team to watch in the foreseeable future. In Class 3A, the Centennial girls have an excellent shot. The team will be the favorite in the Rantoul Regional and then will head to a sectional at Mount Zion. I haven't seen the pairings, but at some point, Centennial would need to get past a Springfield Southeast team it lost to (73-68) back in the first week of the season. If successful there, I think they can get through the super-sectional at Springfield and advance to the state semis, just like the volleyball team did. Among the boys teams in the area, I'm a little less certain. Monticello is in a tough regional at Sullivan, where Paris comes over and St. Thomas More will be tough to beat. Whoever gets through will go to an even tougher sectional at Unity, where either St. Joseph-Ogden (likely) or Bismarck-Henning (possibly) will have won a regional (they are in the same one!) and that could be a tremendous game. In 3A, Centennial will host a regional and, if not overconfident, should win, but then will travel to a sectional at Mount Zion where Bloomington (which the Chargers just needed two overtimes to beat last week) and one of the Springfield schools will likely await. That could be a tough road this season.

Hi Brian: That's an interesting question. Of the teams I've seen play, Centennial would beat any of the others I've seen. That should be expected. The Chargers are a 3A program, have an outstanding young player in junior Michael Finke and a point guard (Dedric Byrd) that I am sure can not be contained one-on-one, at least not by anybody in these parts. Plus, Luke Vaughn inside and Dustin Walls outside are strong supporting players and then there's Jeffrey Lavin from the perimeter as well as others who can contribute. Centennial is clearly the best 3A team in the area and most of the others I've seen are 1A and 2A teams. At this point, I've not seen as many others as I'd eventually like to see play. Included in that group at St. Joseph-Ogden and Monticello, both of which are quality teams off to terrific starts. I absolutely love how hard Westvlle plays, how disciplined the kids are. I also think Shiloh is one of the area's most improved boys' teams. Sophomore Andrew Donithan is as good at using his "off" hand as anybody I've seen in a few years. That's what comes to mind immediately.

Hi Tom. You may have better sources than me. Like most coaching searches, the one at Central has been very hush-hush. I have not heard -- even off the record -- any actual names, just that there were a number of candidates, I think maybe as maybe as four dozen who expressed interest. If it's true, Rick Reinhart would be a very intriguing candidate. He has obviously had a lot of success, but beyond who the next Central coach is, the questions are how much commitment will there be from the players and how many athletes will continue "walking the halls" instead of participating. Also, what kind of staff can be assembled. A head coach is only as good as the people who surround him. For the program to succeed and turn around, it will take more than simply hiring a head coach.