Hi Brian. Thanks for the question. First off, I don't sing, not even in the shower. So, that is out. However, I'll soon be getting a stack of Sharpies would would be happy to sign a copy of the book for you and anyone else who would like one (or more!). Don't hold me to this, but the plan (if all works out as hoped) is that for a limited number of copies of the book to be available for purchase on the date of the final UI home men's basketball game (March 2 vs. Nebraska) at the Assembly Hall with the full shipment expected to arrive in our offices within a week or two of that time. I'm sure we'll have lots of announcements when that time comes. It has been a long process, much longer than I anticipated. Your patience will be rewarded very soon!

Hi Larry. Nice to hear from you. Wouldn't that be nice? What works against this is the financial state of many of the state's schools. The decision-makers aren't likely to soon approve a large sectional complex knowing it will increase travel costs, as well as late nights on school nights when there is another option available. Granted, the other option (what we have now) in the eyes of many people (myself included) creates disparities in competition. It's a shame when you get regionals with two or three 20-win teams and another where the top seed has 15 or 16 wins. Schools should be rewarded for the success they've had throughout the season and -- in the case of sites with three 20-win teams -- it means one of them won't even make it to the finals. In my mind, the system as is can be tweaked to fix one of the biggest problems. Here's a specific example from our area that will occur next week. Cissna Park is only a few miles away from a boys' regional site at Gilman. However, instead of making that short trip, Cissna Park was assigned to a regional at Broadlands. It doesn't make sense to me.

Hi Tom. I think we have two area athletes with an excellent chance to win state. Not only do I believe that, but also the person whom I consider the foremost authority on high school wrestling in the state and perhaps the country, Rob Sherrill, feels the same way. For the Illinois Best Weekly predictions (which we will publish in our sports section either Wednesday or Thursday), he has Urbana's Cameron Mammen as the person to beat in Class 2A at 170 pounds and bestowed the same ranking on Class 1A 285-pounder Josh Wallick, from Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to see how logical those picks are. Neither Mammen nor Wallick has lost this season and both have been dominant throughout the first two stages of the postseason series. In the regionals and the sectionals, Wallick has beaten the wrestler that is regarded as No. 2 in the state, Bismarck-Henning's Morgan Supergan. Mammen has been head and shoulders above the competition at regionals and sectionals. I would think he'll have tougher bouts at state. He is in great position to be Urbana's first state champion wrestler since 1987 ... when the winner was his uncle, Kirk, who completed a back-to-back series of titles at 185 pounds. (LIke Cameron, Kirk was unbeaten as a senior.) What makes Cameron Mammen so tough is that he does not make mistakes. He doesn't get out of position. He doesn't put himself in jeopardy and he is so strong physically for his weight class. Should be lots of action this weekend at the Assembly Hall. Championship matches are scheduled for Saturday night.

The way the brackets work out this year, there's an excellent chance of an area team playing in the boys' sectional finals at Schlarman Academy on March 1. Regionals from Arcola,Chrisman, Gilman and Heritage feed into Schlarman's sectional. Cissna Park is the team to beat at Broadlands, but don't look past the host Heritage Hawks. They are playing well late in the season. At Chrisman, state-ranked Salt Fork is the No. 1 seed, but Shiloh is 21-6 and on a tremendous late-season win streak. They played earlier and the Storm won, but there are no guarantees in the postseason. The No. 3 seed (Schlarman) and No. 4 seed (Chrisman) are both capable of pulling upsets and -- just last week -- Chrisman defeated Salt Fork. At Arcola, Central A&M is the No. 1 seed. The team's record is around 16-6, but that is deceiving because a lot of the opponents are 2A teams. Arthur-Lovington is the No. 2 seed and of course had a deep run last winter with its underclassmen unit that's a year older and picked up some players with the annex of Lovington. That should bne a marquee regional. The other site, Gilman, features St. Anne as the top seed. It will be interesting to see what school gets hot at postseason time. Last year at this time, I don't think a lot of folks thought Arthur would make the run that it did.

What you generally find is that all players need a time for transition from high school to college. Malcolm Hill certainly comes in with more scoring credentials, but at the next level, it's usually about who plays the toughest defense and works the hardest. Plus, it's about who works best with the rest of the group. Until you get them on campus and participating in workouts, it's hard to say. I believe they will both contribute.

As for Finke, the great advantage he has is the ability to handle the ball, something he refined before he hit his growth spurt. That also helps to explain some of his perimeter prowess. Regardless of how tall he grows, I don't think you'll see him pigeon-holed into a 5 spot. I'm sure there will be times he posts up, but there will be times he'll get the ball facing the basket. He's pretty versatile.

Another person asked about upcoming 1A regionals/sectionals and I covered a lot of tha already. I think there could be some terrific matchups, especially by the regional finals and in the case of the Chrisman Regional, perhaps as soon as the semifinals. If it works out that the semifinal games are Salt Fork/Chrisman and Shiloh/Schlarman Academy, I don't see a heavy favorite in either potential matchup. it's a good thing the winners will have a day of recovery before returning for the finals on Friday, March 1.

I haven't had the chance to talk to Dave Kreps lately, but his team is on a roll. I believe they've won 12 of their last 13 and hit the 20-win mark. They are in the semifinals of the ECIC Tournament tonight and on a collison course with rival Decatur Christian, who they may well meet again next week in the regionals, which Decatur Lutheran will host. They're hot at the right time of the season. This is when all coaches want their teams to be hitting their stride.