The Illinois Boys State Tournament will return to Champaign after its departure 23 years ago. Peoria was an excellent landing spot in 1996, particularly amid Peoria Manual’s 4-year strong-hold on the state’s high school hoops crown. The destination choice at that time coincided with the area having a hot-bed of talented players coming through the ranks such as A.J. Guyton (Central), Mike Robinson (Richwoods), Willie Coleman (Manual), Serg McClain (Manual), Marcus Griffin (Manual), Nick Knapp (Woodruff), J.R. Koch (Morton), Matt Moran (Pekin), Jerrence Howard (Central), Ivan Watson (Manual), Mark Vershaw (East Peoria), Frank Williams (Manual), and Jason Jenkins (East Peoria). Not to mention some of the state’s highly regarded coaches who were recognized for their abilities on the sidelines as well as turning over untapped talent. The Tournament will be played in the newly renovated State Farm Center. For many of us long time observers/followers, the decision comes as bittersweet. Peoria had a heck of a run for the first ten years or so, offering a great venue with large enthusiastic crowds and pumping some new energy into the Tournament atmosphere.
Hopefully, a change of scenery will spark some much-needed interest and participation at the State Tournament. We certainly cannot revisit any of those price gouging days from local hotels in the Champaign area in which we clearly witnessed back then.
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