State Farm Holiday Classic

=About the Tournament=

The State Farm Holiday Classic, named after the title sponsor State Farm Insurance, is the largest co-ed high school holiday basketball tournament in the United States with 64 teams (32 boys and 32 girls). Held annually for four days following Christmas, and dubbed "The Best Basketball This Side of March", the Classic is held at numerous college and high school venues throughout Bloomington-Normal, Illinois.

2008 State Farm Holiday Classic

The 2008 edition of the State Farm Holiday Classic will be held December 26, 27, 29 & 30, 2008 (note no games on Sunday, December 28).

History

For over a quarter century, the Holiday Classic has been a showcase of great talent and unbelievable basketball in Bloomington-Normal. The 2008 tournament will be the 30th anniversary of the nation's largest, coed high school holiday basketball tournament in the nation.

The Classic was originated in 1975 and was first called the Illinois State Classic. Normal Community High School was crowned the first boys champion by defeating Chicago Brother Rice, 60-51. Over the next 10 years (through 1985), Lincoln would play in the championship game four times (winning twice) and Galesburg would win four championships, including three straight titles from 1981-83.

In the beginning, the Classic field consisted of a combination of 16 Class A (small school) and Class AA (large school) teams, from all over the state including all four intercity schools. The Classic took a break from 1986 through 1989, but came back in 1990 and was known as the University High Classic. Sherrard was crowned the champ in 1990, and two years later Gridley became the first Class A school to slay the giants and walk away as champion of the Holiday Classic.

Over the years the Classic has seen its share of great individual performances. In 1985, Rockton Hononegah's Jim Shikenjanski averaged nearly 33 points a game, and pulled down 66 rebounds over the course of the tournament. Eight years later in 1993, Mike Robinson of Peoria Richwoods knocked down 18 field goals in one game, while in 1999 Rock Island Alleman's Tyler Ryan killed 9 three pointers for a tournament record. In 1996, Joey Range from Galesburg wowed the crowd with a tournament record 55 points in one game, while Normal U-High's Jeremy Stanton delivered an unselfish 18 assists in one contest. And of course who could forget watching the man-child, Eddy Curry, go from signing autographs in the Shirk Center bleachers to a first round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls right out of South Holland Thornwood.

In 1995, the Classic turned down the road that would eventually lead it to the event as it is known today. A community volunteer group, spear-headed by current tournament president Dan Highland, took over all duties and responsibilities for the tournament. This group, then known as the Classic Organizing Group, Inc. (COG), consisted of leaders from all aspects of the Bloomington-Normal community. The tournament was then called the Bloomington-Normal Holiday Classic, and later took on Converse as its title sponsor in 1996 and 1997.

Major changes implemented at the time included having 32 participating boys’ teams, and breaking the field into two 16-team sections (Class A and Class AA). All teams would be guaranteed three games, and those teams which went 3-0 would come back on the fourth and final day to determine a champion in each class in the morning. The night session would consist of the two losing teams playing against each other for third place, while the two champs went head to head for the title of Grand Champion. Rockford Boylan won the first Grand Championship game in 1995, defeating Bloomington Central Catholic 74-63. The next year saw Manito Midwest Central, led by Ryan Knuppel, become the second Class A team to win the Classic by defeating Boylan, 64-58, in one of the most exciting games in tournament history.

The Classic also took on a different twist in 1995 by hosting an 8-team girls’ shootout. This shootout evolved into a 14-team tournament in 1997, and is now a full-fledged 32-team tournament in its 9th season. Galesburg was the first girls’ Grand Champion in 1997, by overcoming a 17-point deficit and winning a 77-74 thriller over Mendota on a last second three-pointer by Jacque Howard. Galesburg won the first three Grand Championships (1997, 98 & 99) and had a winning streak of 16 games, before being defeated by Urbana in 2000. That same year, Rock Island Alleman became the only Class A team, and the only team other than Galesburg, to win the girls’ Grand Championship.

In 1999, the Classic got a big shot in the arm with the announcement of State Farm Insurance as its Title Sponsor. The State Farm Holiday Classic, as it is known today, was able to implement a variety of enhancements thanks to this support, and still continues to find new ways to be the best tournament in the nation. By now the event was starting to gain national recognition, and that included adding teams from across the country to its tournament field.

After testing the waters with a team from Milwaukee, WI in 1996, the Classic has seen teams participate from Washington, D.C.; Louisville, KY; Clinton, TN; Lagrange, OH; Mishawaukee, IN; Pittsburgh, PA; New Orleans, LA, Gainesville, FL; and Montgomery, AL. This year we welcome two girls’ teams from Mesa, AZ and St. Charles, MO, and welcome back Keystone High School from Lagrange, OH as the first out-of-state team to return to the Classic.

In 2001, the COG, which is now known as the Classic Tournament, Inc., experimented with eliminating the cross-over Grand Championship game and crowning two girls’ champions, one in each class. The experiment worked so well that the same idea was implemented into the boys’ tournament in 2002. By this time, the Grand Championship game had become somewhat anti-climatic for the fans and teams alike, as many times the Class AA teams were to overpowering for the smaller schools. With the new system in place, all teams are now guaranteed four games and championship night has been revived to the point where near capacity Shirk Center crowds are able to witness four consecutive championship games and discover what we know today as "The Best Basketball This Side Of March!"

The Best of the Best...Over the years the Holiday Classic has seen its share of great teams and players. Four of those players have gone onto professional careers in basketball.

* Melvin McCants of the Los Angeles Lakers (Chicago Mt. Carmel High School)
*Eddy Curry of the New York Knicks (South Holland Thornwood High School)
*Brian Cook of the Los Angeles Lakers (Lincoln High School)
*Latoya Bond of the Charlotte Sting (Urbana High School)
*Angelina Williams of the Phoenix Mercury (Chicago Washington High School)

The tournament also boasts stars that made their names in other sports.
*Ogonna Nnamani (Normal U-High) led the Stanford women's volleyball team to the 2004 NCAA National Championship and was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic team.
*Ashlee Pistorius (Normal U-High) was recently named the Honda Sports Award winner as the top collegiate soccer player in the nation, and will play on the USL W-League Boston Renegades this summer.
*Kayla Pedersen (Mesa Red Mountain, AZ) McDonald's All-American who helped lead the USA 18U national team to the gold medal in 2006.
*Brittany Johnson (Olney East Richland) became Illinois' all-time leading scorer (boys or girls) during a Holiday Classic game in 2006, and now plays for The Ohio State University.
*Kevin Roberson (Decatur Eisenhower) played Major League Baseball from 1993-96 with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.
*Zach McAllister (Chillicothe IVC) was drafted in 2006 in the third round by the New York Yankees and played this summer for the Gulf Coast League Yankees.

All-Quarter Century Team

In 2003, fans had a chance to vote on the most outstanding performers in the 25 year history of the tournament. The following team was chosen:
*Brian Cook, Lincoln | 315 votes
*Eddy Curry, Thornwood | 271 votes
*Joey Range, Galesburg | 216 votes
*Gregg Alexander, Lincoln | 143 votes
*Robbie Minor, Rock Falls | 126 votes
*Damir Krupaliga, Rockford Boylan | 121 votes

Past Boys Champions

Past Grand Champions

1975 Normal Community
1976 LaSalle-Peru
1977 Lincoln
1978 East Moline
1979 Galesburg
1980 Lincoln
1981 Galesburg
1982 Galesburg
1983 Galesburg
1984 Decatur Eisenhower
1985 Normal Community
1990 Sherrard
1991 Normal UHigh
1992 Gridley
1993 Peoria Richwoods
1994 East Peoria
1995 Rockford Boylan
1996 Manito Midwest Central
1997 Galesburg
1998 Rockford Boylan
1999 South Holland Thornwood
2000 South Holland Thornwood
2001 South Holland Thornwood

Past Class A Champions*

2002 Quincy Notre Dame
2003 Lagrange Keystone, Ohio
2004 Quincy Notre Dame
2005 Hartsburg-Emden
2006 Bloomington Central Catholic
2007 Bloomington Central Catholic

Past Class AA Champions*

2002 South Holland Thornwood
2003 Chicago Prosser
2004 Mt. Zion
2005 South Holland Thornwood
2006 South Holland Thornwood
2007 Rockton-Hononegah
Note:Starting in 2002, the Grand Championship game was eliminated and two champions, one in each class, were crowned.

Past Girls Champions

Past Grand Champions

1997 Galesburg
1998 Galesburg
1999 Galesburg
2000 Rock Island Alleman

Past Class A Champions*

2001 Seneca
2002 Normal UHigh
2003 Bloomington Central Catholic
2004 Rock Island Alleman
2005 Chicago John Hope
2006 Olney East Richland
2007 Rochester

Past Class AA Champions*

2001 Geneseo
2002 Peoria Richwoods
2003 Normal Community
2004 Peoria Richwoods
2005 Peoria Richwoods
2006 Bolingbrook
2007 Chicago John Hope
Note: Starting in 2001, the Grand Championship game was eliminated and two champions, one in each class, were crowned.

tate Farm Holiday Classic Scholarship Award

In 2006 the Classic Tournament, Inc., the nonprofit corporation which runs the largest co-ed high school holiday basketball tournament in the nation, selected four winners to be the first-ever recipients of the Holiday Classic Scholarship Award. Each winner received a $1,000 scholarship to go directly to their college of choice to help pay for tuition costs.

Established to recognize and award scholarships to eligible high school seniors who participated in this past year’s event, a selection committee chose a male and female winner representing high schools within McLean County, and a male and female winner from high schools outside McLean County.

The 2007 Holiday Classic Scholarship recipients:
*Jack Hainline, Stanford Olympia High School
*Patrick Doggett, Crescent Iroquois High School
*Kimberly White, Olney East Richland High School(Only three awards were given due to a lack of applicants in the McLean County female division)

The 2006 Holiday Classic Scholarship recipients:
*Matt Pelton, Bloomington Central Catholic High School
*Cherelle Gay, Bloomington High School
*Jordan Christensen, Sherrard High School
*Taylor Baucom, Camp Point Central High School

Ron Knisley Memorial Special Olympics Shootout

Classic Tournament Inc. has decided to name the Special Olympics portion of the State Farm Holiday Classic after the man who was responsible for bringing the two groups together. The shootout, which brings in six area Special Olympics Illinois (SOI) basketball teams as part of championship day at the annual State Farm Holiday Classic basketball tournament, will now be known as the Ron Knisley Memorial Special Olympics Shootout.

The Shootout traditionally invites six teams who play games on the final day of the tournament on practice courts at the Shirk Center. Then, each of the teams is featured during half-time of the championship games on the final night of the tournament in a 8-minute, running clock exhibition on the main floor.

External links

* [http://www.theclassic.org State Farm Holiday Classic Official Web site]
* [http://www.pantagraph.com/ "Pantagraph" newspaper] -- provides extensive tournament coverage