Everyone Shares a Goal Next Week -- Survive and Advance

There are a few weeks of the year that I enjoy a little more than most.

This coming week is one of them.

Monday night signals the opening tipoff of the Illinois High School Association's annual basketball tournament at gymnasiums throughout the state.

It's America's Original March Madness with a 4-day head start this time around that I like to call, "February Frenzy."

At South Elgin, second-seeded St. Charles East (15-11) and third-seeded St. Charles North (16-10) make up a 6-team regional field that has a definite mini-Upstate Eight Conference River Division tournament feel to it -- with top-seeded Larkin, No. 4 Elgin and No. 5 Streamwood along with the host Storm from the UEC Valley.

"There's obviously familiarity with each other," said North Stars coach Tom Poulin, whose team opens against South Elgin Monday night. "Most of us have played each other two times and we've played (St. Charles) East three times. While we haven't faced South Elgin, we know their system and tendencies."

While that would appear to make scouting reports easier, Poulin looks at another way.

"I …

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Publication information: Article title: Everyone Shares a Goal Next Week -- Survive and Advance. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL). Publication date: February 24, 2013. Page number: 7. © 2009 Paddock Publications. COPYRIGHT 2013 Gale Group.

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