Illinois '08-'09

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Maxwell Sniffingwell
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Maxwell Sniffingwell »

Wrong answer, sir. If you've got an opinion, here's the place to make it.

Edit: PAGE TWO!!! June 19th!
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by JackGlerum »

Aub-ZH wrote:Who ARE the top four in the state?
1. Auburn
2. Carbondale
3. New Trier
4. Stevenson

imo
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by jonah »

JohnGlerum wrote:
Aub-ZH wrote:Who ARE the top four in the state?
1. Auburn
2. Carbondale
3. New Trier
4. Stevenson

imo
Given that Bojidar graduated, I'm pretty skeptical about Stevenson. I'd say Auburn, New Trier, Carbondale, Loyola (in that order).
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by harpersferry »

Um, from what I know:

1. Auburn. I'm a pretty "interested party" and I don't care about saying that I think two of three all-state players returning makes Auburn the favorite for next year. They have some work to do, but overall lots of momentum left from this year still.
2. Carbondale. This team never ceases to amaze me with respect to their improvement from year to year. They have a multi-player core (cf. last several state champs) and they go to ACE. They also have two really good math/science guys, and a strong performance at PACE considering the dirth of math there and their relative strength in that category. It says a lot to be able to adjust like that. As long as they continue to travel to tournaments, they'll be very good.
3. New Trier. Ben played a very good game against us at NAQT. With a school like NT and a math teacher for a coach, they've got to be able to find somebody who can do math/science. And if not, they'll still be competitive even lopsided.
4. Loyola. Jack knows some lit, Joe can handle the SS. They lose Mike and Tim, but they'll be good on the humanities (as always), but I don't envision any surprises in the math/science areas.

Obviously, these four are just in a theoretical sense, since NT and Loyola are in the same Sectional. Stevenson gets an honorable mention pre-season from me, only because they have a decent coach and some young talent. I doubt they'll make it to the top four at state. IMSA-who knows? If Bonnie tries to get better and they go to some real tournaments, maybe.

Btw, Zahed, since you're my teammate, I don't feel bad telling you to put your name and affiliation in your signature.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by the return of AHAN »

jonah wrote: Given that Bojidar graduated, I'm pretty skeptical about Stevenson. I'd say Auburn, New Trier, Carbondale, Loyola (in that order).
Dismiss Stevenson at your peril. Unless Zak B. split.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Tegan »

BarringtonJP wrote: Dismiss Stevenson at your peril. Unless Zak B. split.

There are certain teams that I think it is always dangerous to dismiss ..... teams that always post winning records, and can challenge strong teams every year:

Auburn, Fremd, Hoffman Estates, Latin, Libertyville, Loyola, New Trier, Stevenson, Wheaton North

Over the last ten years, these teams have virtually had no weak seasons.

Bloomington, Buffalo Grove, Carmel, Carbondale, Fenwick, Maine East, Maine South, Moline, The Naperville Cardinalities, OPRF, St. Ignatius, Springfield, WWS

These teams don't have the consistency over ten years like the others, but have over the last five shown to have some strong seasons. Dismiss them at your own risk.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by mverity »

my top four in state basically match John's .
1.Auburn- is the obvious number 1 as they return two all-staters and have a very good all around program, even though John will be missed.
2.Carbondale- has to be number 2 because they return both tony and paul, both all-state caliber players.
3/4.As far as the NT/Loyola division for the 3 and 4 spots it's really a close call, though i'll put NT ahead for now because of Loyola's traditional weakness in math and computational science. Ben is an excellent player but other than that i am not that familiar w/ their team other than the fact that they have a traditionally strong program. Though it become tricky here with ratings because NT will definitely be a great NAQT team but what makes their team great at NAQT is also what may hurt them in Illinois format. Loyola has Joe and Jack who are both very good players. Joe should have a handle on the social studies as he is rivaled only by Michael from auburn and Ben from NT this upcoming year for knowledge in social studies. Jack probably has the most knowledge of literature in the state for this upcoming year too. There are also good frosh/soph. players coming up and Catherine has a pretty good knowledge of science. So we'll just have to wait and see how this ranking plays out, though i'll be pulling for my guys (and girl).
other teams of note:
Stevenson- (though this is from word of mouth) they have a very good frosh/soph. program and have had a very strong program, though justin is probably their biggest loss.
IMSA- will win their IHSA sectional as the bonnie jain show comes in as the bloodbath sectional of last year will be no more, but other than that they are a real toss-up.
Maine South- may not make a tremendous amount of noise this year but Andrew will be the best sophomore in the state.
Springfield-returns Carl and has a good shot at an IHSA sectional title but like IMSA a toss-up outside of IHSA competitions.
Well that's my two sense, and really no one should be dismissed especially the programs who have had been traditonally successful (i.e. Fremd and the like).
Last edited by mverity on Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by the return of AHAN »

mverity wrote: Stevenson- (though this is from word of mouth) they have a very good frosh/soph. program ....
Zak B = Stevenson frosh/soph

My Barrington frosh/soph squad, playing at full strength, hammered Stevenson, which was missing Zak on that day, in the Carmel Tourney Quarterfinals. Actually, I have it on good authority this soph-to-be was considered to be better than all but 2 of Stevenson's varsity players last year.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Tegan »

mverity wrote: IMSA- will win their IHSA sectional as the bonnie jain show comes in as the bloodbath sectional of last year will be no more, but other than that a real toss-up.
I may have missed something, but did a tornado hit the south side of Wheaton? These guys are animals, and not all of them got out of the zoo in June. Not to mention, the Napervilles outlasted IMSA.

If IMSA decides to get into the flow of things, then they certainly will be a contender ..... no question. But until I see it, the Naperville Cardinalities, and a pair of Wheatons stay in control down there.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by JackGlerum »

BarringtonJP wrote:Dismiss Stevenson at your peril.
Stevenson should never be counted out because... well... other than Joliet, I'm pretty sure Stevenson is the largest school in the state.
Tegan wrote:I may have missed something, but did a tornado hit the south side of Wheaton? These guys are animals, and not all of them got out of the zoo in June. Not to mention, the Napervilles outlasted IMSA.
I agree with the WWS comment, they will actually rebuild with the loss of Curt... several other talented rising seniors. Napervilles? I feel like Vamsi and NNHS was a one-hit wonder. I'd love to be proved wrong, but that's my gut feeling. And other than Central's >>insert adjective here<< tournament, I never saw them on the varsity circuit, so I can't speak for them. I really don't know what to expect from Wheaton North. They have always been good, but there are many skeptics now (myself not included). I hope they remain competitive.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Tegan »

The Mouth of Kennilworth wrote: Stevenson should never be counted out because... well... other than Joliet, I'm pretty sure Stevenson is the largest school in the state.
08-09 population figures
Morton ...........8025
Lane Tech........4089
Joliet.............5557
Curie.............3260
Stevenson........4547
Neuqua Valley..4520
Waukegan.......4328
New Trier.......4176

I will be counting Waukegan out, regardless of their size.

Though, we are only two-three years removed from Joliet being one of the eight best teams in the state, and no, I am not letting that drop, and no I am not getting over it.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by OP_Huskies »

Tegan wrote: Though, we are only two-three years removed from Joliet being one of the eight best teams in the state, and no, I am not letting that drop, and no I am not getting over it.
... I personally am angrier about the Downers South/Hinsdale Central combo from state 06 and 07.

To not only beat both teams in conference, and to beat them with such EASE (We had the title clinched v. DGS in 06 after q 25. I personally hit 12.5/30 TUs against HC in 07 ... we did not get the honor of playing them in the conference playoffs b/c they lost their first match), only to have them make it through to state b/c the sectional lines split our conference ... BAH.

[\rant]. Sorry ... there are certain memories even graduation cannot erase ...
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by mverity »

Tegan wrote: I may have missed something, but did a tornado hit the south side of Wheaton? These guys are animals, and not all of them got out of the zoo in June. Not to mention, the Napervilles outlasted IMSA.

If IMSA decides to get into the flow of things, then they certainly will be a contender ..... no question. But until I see it, the Naperville Cardinalities, and a pair of Wheatons stay in control down there.
I'll be the first to agree with you that IMSA still has to prove themselves.I don't know a whole lot about the Naperville schools. As far as the pair of Wheatons go I wouldn't quite say that they are in control any more, and that they have a lot to prove as well, especially WN. I've heard WWS had some good frosh/soph. teams so they may contend as well but if those players don't have any or very little varsity experience, then they may struggle, but I know very little about their frosh/soph team. WN lost not only Greg but all of their team except for Michael, who will be their only senior next year, I'm not worried about the coaching change for them because Mrs. Kidd is also a very good coach, but losing just about all of your personnel at once is extremely hard for any team to deal with. I would say that that region is a toss-up at best, and I just happen to think that IMSA will be the one who will come out on top.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Siverus Snape »

It's a good thing that the PAC didn't score Mike on his ability to write with proper grammar. ;)

Mike and John pretty much said what I think about the pre-season rankings, but that just reminds me that the pre-season rankings very, very rarely accurately reflect the best teams (or best-performing teams) by the time the "post-season" rolls around. It'll be interesting to see whether a team like Springfield emerges from just under the surface to make some noise and score some upsets.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Sen. Estes Kefauver (D-TN) »

You seriously have an 8,000 person school, or am I misreading that?
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by JackGlerum »

Tegan wrote:
The Mouth of Kennilworth wrote: Stevenson should never be counted out because... well... other than Joliet, I'm pretty sure Stevenson is the largest school in the state.
08-09 population figures
Morton ...........8025
Lane Tech........4089
Joliet.............5557
Curie.............3260
Stevenson........4547
Neuqua Valley..4520
Waukegan.......4328
New Trier.......4176

I will be counting Waukegan out, regardless of their size.

Though, we are only two-three years removed from Joliet being one of the eight best teams in the state, and no, I am not letting that drop, and no I am not getting over it.

... so I'm almost right. Other than Joliet and Morton, Stevenson is biggest. I have the same question as Charlie. Is Morton some kind of weird co-op situation where they can somehow say that they have 8000 kids?

And Kenilworth has one "n", not 2. Jeez.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Stained Diviner »

Morton is a coop. There are two schools in that district, Morton East and Morton West. They are the district just South of OPRF. Morton East is the largest school in the state. In the early 90s, the district had a funding crisis and decided to combine all their teams. The IHSA approved it, and they compete that way in everything. It is a troubled district--they used to boast that they were the only place that ever turned back Martin Luther King (when somebody hurled a brick that hit him in the head), though they don't show off about that any more. Morton East is largely Hispanic, and it always has a lot of cases of students living in the city but trying to enroll in the school, and older people in the West part of the district always question why their tax dollars should fund anything at the school. East is in Cicero, which literally is run by the mob, and its enrollment is close to 5000.

To confuse matters more, there is another school named Morton in the town of Morton, which is near Peoria 150 miles away. It is large enough to be AA and has had some very good Scholastic Bowl teams over the years.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by MLaudermith »

On the subject of schools, anyone know if any new teams will be joining our legion of 500 this year? Have we made any inroads into the vast wasteland know as Chicago (Latin & St. Ignatius excluded of course)?

Something else I'll throw out to my more experienced brethren...
For the last two years I've reached out to the two schools in our conference (Metro Suburban) without Scholastic Bowl teams (Ridgewood & Elmwood Park) and been shot down by the principals each time. I tried to make participating seem as painless as possible (we'll travel to you, we'll supply questions & equipment, you just need 5 warm bodies and a "coach") but no dice. My own principal was kind enough to make a pitch at the conference meeting last year, but again nothing.

Any suggestions on how to make a Scholastic Bowl offer they can't refuse?

At least our conference is increasing by 50% (i.e. 2 schools) next year. I know at least one of them has a team.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by OP_Huskies »

MLaudermith wrote:On the subject of schools, anyone know if any new teams will be joining our legion of 500 this year? Have we made any inroads into the vast wasteland know as Chicago (Latin & St. Ignatius excluded of course)?

Something else I'll throw out to my more experienced brethren...
For the last two years I've reached out to the two schools in our conference (Metro Suburban) without Scholastic Bowl teams (Ridgewood & Elmwood Park) and been shot down by the principals each time. I tried to make participating seem as painless as possible (we'll travel to you, we'll supply questions & equipment, you just need 5 warm bodies and a "coach") but no dice. My own principal was kind enough to make a pitch at the conference meeting last year, but again nothing.

Any suggestions on how to make a Scholastic Bowl offer they can't refuse?

At least our conference is increasing by 50% (i.e. 2 schools) next year. I know at least one of them has a team.
Mr. Laudermith --

Given that you are right in our area, and that Fenton's team is about as competitive as most in the WSC (from what I saw of your team at regionals), you might try making gestures towards the west suburban conference to see if they would be willing to go for some sort of combination.

I don't know if the WSC would be interested, but given the decent level of competitiveness (certainly better than anything EPHS/Ridgewood would provide), the geographic proximity (your area basically overlaps with ours), and the fact that wsc scobol lost the Provisos two years ago and might have some 'space,' it might be something to consider.

Best of luck,
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Tegan »

This is not a bad idea .... a few years ago, Maine South considered either loosely joining the North Metro League to get a few more matches .... or there was another league (and for some reason, the North Suburban jumps to mind) that physically required at least one non-con team to be a part of their conference each year (I think Carmel fulfilled part of that), and we were looking to do a few of their matches.

It may sound odd for those used to more rigid conference rules, but this is not unheard of. Mike, you may be able to get some matches in the West Suburban, and might be able to do it for a bargain basement price, depending on what their needs are.

Also, I am sure that if you wear your old Leyden swag to the meetings, they will let you in as a legacy.

Does anyone know the admin in charge of WSC Scholastic Bowl.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by OP_Huskies »

I think it is the Downers North coach ... at least she did question/moderator control as of 2 or 3 years ago. However, her name escapes me now.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Trevkeeper »

Tegan wrote:
The Mouth of Kennilworth wrote: Stevenson should never be counted out because... well... other than Joliet, I'm pretty sure Stevenson is the largest school in the state.
08-09 population figures
Morton ...........8025
Lane Tech........4089
Joliet.............5557
Curie.............3260
Stevenson........4547
Neuqua Valley..4520
Waukegan.......4328
New Trier.......4176

I will be counting Waukegan out, regardless of their size.

Though, we are only two-three years removed from Joliet being one of the eight best teams in the state, and no, I am not letting that drop, and no I am not getting over it.
IIRC, that includes the multiplier. I think if you go by actual enrollment, it goes Morton East, Stevenson, Waukegan, New Trier.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by millionwaves »

OP_Huskies wrote:I think it is the Downers North coach ... at least she did question/moderator control as of 2 or 3 years ago. However, her name escapes me now.
Please identify yourself in your signature with your name and school affiliation, as per the policy outlined here.

Thank you,

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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Stained Diviner »

The Downers Grove North Coach, Jane Rice, is now retired.

Mike--It is difficult to get a new team started when the Principal is against it, but don't give up. Principals come and go pretty often at most schools these days. The CSL sent Deerfield and Glenbrook North a letter every year for a long time, and they finally have teams. Also, if you know anybody at those schools, or know anybody who knows anybody, you might want to look into how clubs get started. If a teacher at the school is interested, then there's a decent chance something good will happen.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by gack1224 »

Auburn is a constant power in the state but it would be nice to see them beat more often (if just by a few points).

Is IMSA competing this year? or are they just off to the side...

As weak as Bettendorf may have been in the past, you can only expect us to get weaker this year.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by BGSO »

I'll give it a shot

1. Auburn-Returning Siva and Mike, both should be enough to carry them to the promise land, and maybe even a triple crown if they attend all three.

2. Carbondale- Paul, and Tony coming back, and I'm sure the other three starters will be present at ACE which makes any team a competitor when building around two players like them.

3. NT-Ben is back after a strong showing at NAQT.

4. Loyola-strong in lit and SS, math and science will be a weakness (nothing new here)

Others-
Stevenson, lost Bojidar but if I remember correctly, they return three or four players who went 4-3 at solo. Also I'm sure Zac will be playing up come state so we'll see what kind of noise he makes.
Fremd- WIll be interesting to see how Arjun does at Varsity.
IMSA-Will Bonnie ever show up?
MS-Andrew means they've got a shot to make some noise, though that sectional is and always will be killer

Ace starts tomorrow yay :party:
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by David Riley »

Mike--Elmwood Park did have a team at one time; they regularly came to our fr/so tournament but they did little else, as I recall. I would keep pushing. And while you're at it, Guerin used to have a team as well.

Re Chicago: If you mean CPS, don't get Egan and I started.... :mad:

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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by MLaudermith »

OP_Huskies wrote: don't know if the WSC would be interested, but given the decent level of competitiveness (certainly better than anything EPHS/Ridgewood would provide), the geographic proximity (your area basically overlaps with ours), and the fact that wsc scobol lost the Provisos two years ago and might have some 'space,' it might be something to consider.
I actually tried this two years ago when I learned our old Suburban Prairie Conference was folding. I had Frank Scalero from Leyden make inquiries as well, but apparently the WSC was happy with the number of teams they had. It may be worth giving it a try again though.
ReinsteinD wrote:Also, if you know anybody at those schools, or know anybody who knows anybody, you might want to look into how clubs get started. If a teacher at the school is interested, then there's a decent chance something good will happen.


From what I've been told (not sure if this is 100% correct), eveything at Elmwood Park is done on a volunteer basis. No one gets a stipend, not even the football and basketball coaches. Basically, if someone wants to run a sport or activity, they just do it. It seems they're not lining up to coach Scholastic Bowl, however. :cry: Unfortunately, I don't know any teachers from Elmwood Park or Ridgewood, but I will keep trying.
David Riley wrote:And while you're at it, Guerin used to have a team as well.


Now I have to resurrect them too?!?! :roll:
Actually, I was cleaning out a file cabinet last summer and found the stats for the 1991 Leyden Invitational with Leyden, Fenton, St. Pat's, Mother Guerin, Elmwood Park, and some school called Main Sou (from Quebec perhaps). After 5 rounds, neither Guerin nor Elmwood Park reached 300 points total. Maybe it's best to let them RIP.
For those interested, Main Sou finished 3rd after Leyden and St. Pat's.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Tegan »

MLaudermith wrote:For those interested, Main Sou finished 3rd after Leyden and St. Pat's.
Maine South ..... in 1991 ..... was in a tournament????? (And finished third?)

I think Maine South can claim to have played the very last game in Elmwood Park history. In the opening round of the regional, a not very good Maine South team defeated Elmwood Park 292-115. To my knowledge, they have never played again. In the next match, Loyola defeated us 104-348.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Siverus Snape »

So how did Illinois folks perform at SEMO? Any firsthand accounts?
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Charley Pride »

SIVster716 wrote:So how did Illinois folks perform at SEMO? Any firsthand accounts?
Yessir. Got back today, and I loved the camp thoroughly.

Carbondale:
Paul Botros and Jerry Chang were in the highest room for the most part, with Jerry dropping to room 2 only once. Paul won the Science finals, and Jerry won third in the Lit finals. Jerry had 29 aggregate (out of 30) for two days, and I think he was above 90% overall for the camp. Both were extremely good throughout the camp, and look to make up the core of an excellent Carbondale team.

Loyola:
Jack was in room 1, dropping to room 2 for only a day. He had a decent run on the quizzes, but it was his brilliance in the Lit tournament that had him leading into the last tossup. Ben Whisenant (an excellent junior from Savannah, MO if I remember correctly) tied and won the championship in sudden death, so Jack had second. Christian made the Science finals, and both Dan Madolozzo and Dan Ampon got to the finals, though I can't remember whether each was in Science or Social Studies. All of those guys spent time in at least room 2, and Christian was in room 1 for a day. Also, it may humor you that Christian was pretty good on a couple of COMPUTATIONAL MATH questions. Mr. Riley might have to have a talk with him. Loyola look
s like a pretty serious contender.

Auburn:
(Due to more exposure here, I might have a longer description)
Michael was tip top throughout the camp, always leading the top room in tossups. He was solid on his tests, weighed down only by three Roundtree tests per day (though he aced a killer Shakespeare quiz). He was in the Social Studies finals and received third. Maddie Witt (soph to be) made the Lit finals, and received high quiz scores everyday, with a 27 on the final day. I started on the second room, then moved up to 1 and stayed there. I also made the lit finals, and rode a 4 handicap (1 question away from 5) to a tie for 4th or 5th place. Our job after the departure of John Brown is to make him missed as little as possible, and while those shoes will probably never be filled, I can say all of us (Jordan: Hoffmann knows his Shakespeare, Frahm was among the top 4 in lit practices) made huge gains as far as lit knowledge and scho-bowl knowledge in general.

Buffalo Grove:
I don't know their team too well, but I know all three were in the upper levels all camp, and Nick made the Science finals. They were pretty good.

Etc:
St. Ignatius, Bloomington, and Wheaton North all had players there.

In every final evening tournament there were at least two or three Illinoisians, and there was consistently tight competitions--10-point wins and sudden-death tossups were not at all rare. Illinois schobowl should be pretty competitive this year.

My preseason predictions:

The top four will be Auburn, Loyola, Carbondale, and New Trier, though only Auburn's position is a real prediction. I don't feel like I've seen quite enough of the new New Trier the entire Carbondale to separate them. Why do I like Auburn? Most importantly we have two returning all-staters while most everyone else lost major major parts. John Brown is gone and likely cannot realistically be replaced, but a pretty strong contingent of driven juniors and potential sophomore stars make us my favorite to win it all.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Kanga-Rat Murder Society »

SIVster716 wrote:So how did Illinois folks perform at SEMO? Any firsthand accounts?
In general, I think that Illinois performed very well.

Carbondale showed tremendous depth with Paul winning the Science Tournament and consistently performing well in nightly tournaments. They also had Jerry in the top consistently and Jeremiah was in Room 2 if I m not mistaken.

Loyola had a bundle of players in the high tournament, and Jack seperated himself as an elite literature player.

I really did not see a lot of Rockford Auburn, but I know Zahed was consistently in Room 1, showing great improvement from when we played him last year. Michael Jiang dominated Room 1 on a daily basis and was, along with KY's Aaron Kinney, one of the two best players at camp.

As for us, I think that we had a productive week. I actually made the Social Studies Final (not Science) finishing fourth and we had two other players in the high tournament. The problem with our team is that while great on our strong subjects, we are awful on our bad ones.

Next Year:

I agree with the consensus top four (Auburn, Carbondale, Loyola, NT) and believe the Auburn is the team to beat. When one of the top five players in state is clearly your second best player, you are a tough team. I will even go one step further and say that I will be suprised if Auburn does not go undefeated against Illinois teams.

See you all next season
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Chichono »

Then I believe you will be surprised...
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by JackGlerum »

Re: Ace Camp

I echo what Nick and Zahed said. It was a great time and everyone on our team improved. The one thing I took away from ACE (in terms of this thread) was that Carbondale isn't good. They are really, really good. The thought of Jerry, Paul, Tony, Jeremiah, and EE as their starting five is scary to think about. I still give Auburn the edge for preseason #1, but the gap is significantly smaller than what I thought pre-camp. Carbondale should make noise at Earlybird and New Trier (Varsity & Solo) as well as have a cakewalk to the final eight.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by David Riley »

Of course Jack's an elite player, he's from Kenilworth :grin:

But after all of your successes at ACE Camp, I would like to issue all of you Illinois players a challenge:

This past year, I subscribed to Chris Ray's DACQ question sets. I think most will concur that Maryland is one of--if not the strongest--quiz bowl states in the nation. After looking over these questions, and after having observed some of the stronger Maryland teams the past several years, I think I know why, and it confirms something I'm always preaching to my team:

IN THE CURRENT QUIZ BOWL WORLD, ALL ACADEMIC KNOWLEDGE, NO MATTER HOW (YOU PERCEIVE IT AS BEING) OBSCURE, IS FAIR GAME!

Learn everything that you can, and ignore anyone who ever says "That will never come up". You will become better players for it, and be much more competitive nationally.

I concur with the above votes for the top four, although I still would not rule out Stevenson, and Maine South by virtue of Andrew Deveau [sic]. There may be some other dark horses out there as well.

Good luck to everyone next season!
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by BGSO »

I disagree with Nick, through out the year it is too hard to play perfect no matter how good you are.

Ace was a great experience tons of knowledge and was great to meet everyone, Illinois made a great showing with multiple people form illinois in the finals of the upper every night.

Carbondale really impressed me with not only Paul, and Jerry but Jeremiah putting up a strong showing as well. They are much closer to Auburn than I previously thought and are definitely going to put up a fight.

Subject area tourneys were also a good showing, with Mike and Nick coming 3rd and 4th in the SS. Jack and Jerry 2nd and 3rd in lit. And Paul winning the science tournament.

I think that's about it

Good luck to all in the coming season
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Charley Pride »

David, I would tend to agree--it's a long season, and we're bound to be slow for a match or two, and we aren't quite to the point that we're so far ahead that we can't lose. It's entirely possible, since we have so much depth and raw talent. But right now, I still consider us the best team, but a beatable team, just because it's so hard to never lose. And on that note, has there ever been an Illinois team to go undefeated against intrastate rivals?

Also, I was a bad mental lapse that made me fortet Jeremiah he was superb as well, and was in the same room as me the whole time--he was an absolute monster the first day (in room 2). So yes, if this Tony I keep hearing about is what he's said to be, then I would further agree that Carbondale is a beast of a team. They'll be excellent, but whether they can beat the Michael-Siva combo in addition to whatever me, the Jordans, Maddie, and the other people who will get significant playing time can put together remains to be seen.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Maxwell Sniffingwell »

Congrats to all that did well at SEMO. These results really make me wonder why I did only OK in my one year at ACE, then had a pretty solid season in Illinois. Go figure.

Oh, and Coach Riley, that is how you spell Deveau. I think.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Siverus Snape »

I'd just like to point out that an undefeated season, even just within the state, depends on too many unpredictable factors to realistically think about it now. If the situation were different (like, if an NFL team played in a middle school league) then we could be having this discussion with no caveats. But as many people have pointed out, the differences between the teams might be smaller than they appear. That's exactly when game-to-game variations in personnel, momentum, and especially question sets make the difference. Look no further than the Auburn vs. New Trier season series last year for proof of that point.

I really wish I had been able to go to SEMO this year; it sounds like it was fantastic (and my team didn't do so badly). I do wonder though: not to put our home state down, but were there any non-Illinois, nationally competitive teams there? I can only see the camp test scores on the website, where I see Brandon from NKC--but I'm withholding judgment on the strength of a de-Deesed team until we play them, hopefully at the Earlybird. Even counting NKC and Ezell-Harding (a good team that didn't attend nationals for various reasons) SEMO seems to be missing out on some of the deep-Southern strength (Brookwood, Chattahoochee, etc.) that I once saw there.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Kanga-Rat Murder Society »

JohnGlerum wrote:The one thing I took away from ACE (in terms of this thread) was that Carbondale isn't good. They are really, really good.
If this is referring to me, this is not what I meant on my post. Carbondale is an elite team and they proved that at ACE. Paul is one of, if not the best, science player in the state. Jerry is a great player on literature and also has a good knowledge of SS. Jeremiah was one of the best twelve players in the camp, and he is the fourth best player on his team. The only two players that beat Tony at solo were Greg and Siva.

That being said, Michael Jiang supposedly dominated Room 1 in practice. If he really got as many toss-ups as Paul and Jerry combined (which is what I heard), that leaves Siva vs. Tony. While Tony may be great, Siva is greater. I think the improvement made by Zahed shows this team's dedication. In conclusion Carbondale was better than I expected them to be. However, Auburn was much more impressive than I expected them to be as well.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by akinney »

SIVster716 wrote:So how did Illinois folks perform at SEMO? Any firsthand accounts?
I think it's safe to say Illinois WAS practically SEMO. Michael Jiang is a beast at everything, Jerry is amazing at lit. All of Loyola is good.

Also, to Zahed, Ben Whisenant was from Ezell-Harding in TN. This was one of the few instances in which IL didn't dominate. :roll: Another instance was (as someone said) Brandon Roney from NKC, who was outstanding at social studies as well as many other areas.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by JackGlerum »

BG MSL Champs wrote:
JohnGlerum wrote:The one thing I took away from ACE (in terms of this thread) was that Carbondale isn't good. They are really, really good.
If this is referring to me, this is not what I meant on my post.
Nope, I was just reiterating what you said.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Tegan »

JohnGlerum wrote:Numba one in the streets, yo. Keepin' it trill.
On behalf of the Southside community, please stop. Please. It hurts the ears.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Charley Pride »

Please, Jack is the flyest G to hit the schobowl circuit in a while.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by JackGlerum »

Are the rumors of a Illinois PACE @ Auburn true?
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Irreligion in Bangladesh »

JohnGlerum wrote:Are the rumors of a Illinois PACE @ Auburn true?
I've definitely heard the rumors. I'd say we're still at a rumored/planning stage, though, because there hasn't been an official announcement yet.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by David Riley »

Ms. Green has investigated an Illinois PACE tournament but has heard nothing yet from the PACE Powers that Be. I know they don't write that many questions outside of their national tournament each year, so it might be difficult.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by First Chairman »

Having a PACE-affiliated tournament is not a big problem, but I would see if there is anyone in the "question mirroring" thread regarding a PACE-formatted set that one could sneak in that way. I think we are trying to organize ourselves to see who we could have in charge of various mirrors or their coordination.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by Charley Pride »

A PACE tournament at Auburn is contingent on available dates, teams, and questions.
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Re: Illinois '08-'09

Post by BGSO »

Way to name almost every aspect of a tournament Zahed.
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