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Talent reigns at Geneva regional

What if I told you that the Illinois High School Association would put 5 winning basketball teams, including 3 conference champions, together into the same regional tournament?

What if I told you that 3 of the 5 teams have already surpassed the 20-win mark - and a fourth almost assuredly would have with a little easier schedule?

What if I told you that 2 of the teams - Geneva and St. Charles East - are on the cusp of record-setting seasons?

This is saying something considering the 2 schools have been playing basketball for more than a century.

This week's long-awaited Class 4A regional tournament in Geneva features the top-seeded host Vikings (25-3) and second-seeded St. Charles East (23-3) - teams that could be on a collision course for a third meeting and rubber match in Friday's championship contest.

St. Charles North (18-8), DeKalb (21-7) and Batavia (15-14) - the third through fifth seeds - would like to think otherwise.

To say this regional is loaded would be like saying a lot of snow has fallen in Boston this winter.

Monday night's "play-in" game features Northern Illinois Big 12 East champion DeKalb against Batavia, a team that reached the consolation championship of the prestigious York/Jack Tosh Holiday Tournament in December.

"DeKalb-Batavia is as good as some regional finals that are going to be out there," said St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin.

Monday's winner will return 24 hours later and "get" to face Geneva in Tuesday's semifinal game.

"We get to play against a real good team in DeKalb and then there's Geneva waiting (for the winner)," said Batavia coach Jim Nazos.

Wednesday's semifinal matchup pits the St. Charles schools for a fourth time. The Saints won the first 2 meetings (70-49 and 72-62) within an 8-day period on their home court early in the season before the North Stars emerged victorious (78-75 in overtime) in mid-January.

"East versus North - that's a regional final or even a sectional final," said Poulin.

To me, the Geneva regional borders on being unfair but I highly doubt the IHSA is concerned with what I say.

"It's unfortunate," said Saints coach Patrick Woods, whose team has won 8 of its last 9 since the loss at St. Charles North. "I'm not complaining that we have to play North or possibly Geneva but there should be some reward for the regular season.

"It should not happen - such good teams being eliminated so early. It's not fair to the kids. For some, it will be their last high school games and it will end prematurely."

While 6 of the 8 Class 4A sectional fields are seeded 1-21 to 1-23, the other 2 sectionals - DeKalb and Pekin - each are divided into four 4-, 5- and 6-team regionals.

"It's poor management in my opinion," said Woods. "There's no equity in it. If the IHSA wants to go back to true geographic regionals, then put 20-21 teams from the area in one sectional.

"Our sectional is not broken up evenly. If you look at the sectional, Rockford Auburn would be a No. 1 seed and then you would have Geneva and us. Bartlett and Larkin would be in there somewhere but arguably I'd put St. Charles North and DeKalb in the top eight."

Do the math and that means 4 of the top 8 teams from the DeKalb sectional are playing in this week's Geneva regional.

"It is a meat grinder," said Vikings coach Phil Ralston, whose team had its 16-game winning streak snapped by Larkin (57-51) last Wednesday. "There are five really good teams stacked in one area. That's not the case when you look at the other regionals. You hear the same complaints from the guys downstate."

Part of the blame may stem from the IHSA's switch to a 4-class system for basketball in 2007-2008.

"The 4-class system makes this a greater possibility," said Ralston, who would rather see a 12-team regional with 2 teams advancing to sectionals. "The middle road hasn't been ventured by the IHSA.

"The IHSA implemented the 4-class system to create more opportunities but I would say it just created different opportunities - and I'm saying it as a fan."

From a fan's perspective, Geneva should become a destination hot spot this week.

"The crowds will be great," said Woods, whose high-octane team has topped the 70-point mark in 21 of its 26 games.

"I can't imagine what it's going to be like - every night," said Poulin. "It'll be as memorable as it gets for this area. The Tri-Cities deserve something like this."

"It will be a great environment for the fans," said Ralston.

The list of top players at the Geneva regional includes Geneva's Nate Navigato and Loudon Vollbrecht; St. Charles East's Cole Gentry and Mick Vyzral; St. Charles North's Jake Ludwig and Jack Callaghan; DeKalb's Rudy Lopez and Jace Kitchen; and Batavia's Canaan Coffey and Chasen Peez.

Others also figure to play important roles - Geneva's Pace Temple and Bennett Fuzak; St. Charles East's Jake Asquini and Evan DiLeonardi; St. Charles North's Mikey Schroeder and Griffin Hammer; DeKalb's Mike Pollack and Luke Davis; and Batavia's Danny Pieczynski and Jacob Roberts.

There is excitement in the air.

"We feel good about who we are, the path we've taken and the fire we've walked through with our schedule," said Poulin. "From that Plainfield East game (season opener) to the last game against Batavia, the journey has gotten us prepared to compete in a regional this tough."

"Let's go," said Nazos. "It's that time of the year. Whoever they throw in front of you, you've got to play well to win."

"The road is tough but we're up for the challenge," said Woods. "It's payback time."

"Throw out the records," said Ralston. "If any coach says they're 100 percent comfortable with where their team is at, it's a boldface lie. You're never truly at peace. There are always certain things you could be doing better."

What is it going to take to claim the regional crown?

"It will take a certain amount of toughness," said Woods. "It will come down to how much you believe in each other and how much you trust your coaches."

Foul trouble, injuries and halftime adjustments may also be determining factors.

"It's about being mentally tough and handling adversity," said Ralston. "I guarantee that adversity will hit every team at certain points of a game.

"It's about unity - guys coming together for the common goodwill of the team."

Undoubtedly, the winner is going to earn it.

"It's going to be a blast," said Poulin.

Let the fun begin.

You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com

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