Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 15

HeraldiReview MAKXTUPFER Soy Capital comes to the rescue vi h-'tmi ttBJ-'-k Wildcats win honors Back for good? Brandon Lloyd hopes to shake off injury, play vs. Ohio State; discusses return as seniorB3 Arizona's Luke Walton, Jason Gardner top Ail-American teamB5 I gwaaagfiii. in urn inmyagssgggg I "i MB ALbn ill yAMM I OUT OF PREP SPORT. int win ddi opener Blue-chip recruit may wait to sign was because he found himself in a very unfamiliar situation. "I can't recall too many times when I got popped by 50," Butler said.

That's precisely what happened when the University of Illinois beat Butler's Spotlight Jammers Cook 91-41 in the exhibition opener at the Assembly Hall. "What we wanted to do was Cook begins slow, leads with 21 points By MARK TUPPER Executive Sports Editor CHAMPAIGN Larry Butler has coached countless games with some of the best high school basketball players in the area. Playing for his heralded Illinois Warriors AAU team, Butler has had McDonald's All-Americans, all-staters and NBA-bound thoroughbreds of every shape and size. But when he stepped into the postgame press conference with a long face Tuesday, it i GOBBLING UP AN OPPORTUNITY Area individuals pump new life into fading holiday hoops tourney By MARK TUPPER Executive Sports Editor DECATUR One year ago, as participation dwindled to six schools, Decatur's best high school basketball tournament looked like a fattened turkey with its head on the Thanksgiving chopping block. Budget restrictions made school wmmmmnwmwwmfm admimstrators take a CITc'IT'Tal hard look at the JtfjLfclJM extracurricular bells and whistles, and for DECATUR When Bob Smith and Kevin Breheny decided to marry their businesses, they did so realizing they shared a number of common commitments.

High on the list was a heart-felt obligation to be involved in the community. "We tend to focus our giving in areas of youth," said Smith, the president of Soy Capital Bank and Trust which merged with Brehe-ny's J.L. Hubbard Insurance and Bonds. "Not always, but youth and education are important to us. We think that's our future." SO FOR a couple of sports-minded businessmen, riding in to rescue the Thanksgiving Basketball Classic was a natural.

It's with their help as the primary sponsor that a long-standing event teetering on the edge of extinction has been resuscitated back to health. In fact, the future for the Turkey Tournament is perhaps brighter than it has ever been. Smith, who attended and played sports at Decatur High School, remembers the Thanksgiving tournament starting in 1970. And his recollection of booster club involvement amid tough economic times is right on the money. "Decatur has always been a strong basketball town," he said.

"When I went to the old Decatur High, I think the basketball team went to Champaign eight years in a row. It was just standard. "SO A TOURNAMENT like this is a tradition. It brings people to town, it shows people a lot of positive things about our community. It's for youth.

There are a lot of things that are important to us, and to show Decatur putting its best foot forward is one of them." Team Soy Capital, as Smith calls the merged venture, has taken over as the tournament's primary sponsor. But nearly a dozen other businesses have stepped up too, and, the Decatur Public School District still maintains a financial involvement. Beyond the cash guarantees of $2,000 per team that will be paid to the eight participating schools this year, there are trophies, referees, faculty rental, T-shirts, banners, a tipoff dinner and security. "EVERY TIME you turn a corner, there's a cost," tournament director Mel Roustio said. In addition to the financial support of sponsors, the event continues to benefit from service clubs who donate time to staff ticket booths and keep the tournament running.

Around here, the Turkey Tournament officially signals the beginning of the high school basketball season. It brings us in out of the cold, off the football, soccer and cross country fields and into the warmth of a gymnasium. It a wonderful tradition that has showcased some of the state's top players. WITH SPRINGFIELD LANPHIER'S Richard McBride and Peoria Central's Shaun Livingston arriving in two weeks, that tradition will continue. And with the corporate support now available to make this tournament financially attractive, Roustio will have the clout to recruit teams and players that will fire up fan interest.

The truth is, there are more sporting endeavors than there are corporate sponsors. So businesses like Team Soy Capital have to make judgments about which ventures to direct their support behind. They've picked an outstanding one in the Decatur Turkey Tournament. "Decatur is an extremely giving community," Smith said. "This is just another example of a desire to keep a very positive thing going, where someone can step up and help make that happen." Mark Tupper can be reached at or 421-7983.

1 1 lilt mm Ifi iM l-. -J nfili Jl AY. I Lr get them ready for some of their upcoming games," Butler said. "But it didn't look like we lived up to that task." In the first game Illinois has played against "enemy" competition, coach Bill Self's young team started slow against the Jammers' zone defense In fact, the game was tied 18-18 with less than six minutes to play in the first half. But that's when Illinois went on a 61-8 run that's right, 61-8 that turned this into a laugher watched by a sparse crowd of 6,539 at the Assembly Hall.

All 12 Illini players scored and each of the five freshmen had moments when their talked-about potential shined through. RBI (142) and total bases (389) and was regarded as the best defensive shortstop in the game. "He had a monster i vear. leiada said. 1 The only apparent candidacy was the fact that his team, which competed in the same divi- Ck sion as Teja- da's finished last with a 72-90 record.

Voters clearly did not overlook that fact, as Rodriguez collected five first-place votes, seven seconds, 11 thirds, four fourths Senior Brian Cook led the way with 21 points and 10 rebounds. After a slow l-for-8 start from the field, Cook hit seven of his next nine shots. Sophomore center Nick Smith had 15 points, five rebounds and showed improved stamina. "It wasn't bad," said Smith, who battles asthma. "It's a lot better than it has been in the past.

I actually played about three or four minutes at a time, which is about twice what I played last year." Luther Head's line seven points, six assists and five rebounds in 20 minutes showed that he's rounding into form after fighting an ILLINIB5 to A-Rod and a sixth for 254 points. The honeymooning Rodriguez was not available for comment. Tejada was the 11th Athletics player to win the award and the third from the Dominican Republic, following Toronto's George Bell (1987) and Chicago's Sammy Sosa (1998). Like Tejada, Sosa's selection was tinged with controversy. Sosa won the award over St.

Louis first baseman Mark McGwire, who broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record. Sosa's Cubs made the playoffs but McGwire's Cardinals finished firmly in the second division. Then, as now, people wondered if a player should be penalized for the shortcomings of his team. TEJADAB2 By STEVE BATTERS0N Staff Writer Illinois might have to wait until spring to collect a signature from recruit Charlie Villanueva, but that won't prevent the Illini from putting together one of the nation's top recruiting classes. Villanueva, ranked by some scouts among the top five players in the nation, elevates Illinois' class into the top five in the nation Villanueva RICHARD McBRIDE, Springfield Lanphier BRIAN RANDLE, Peoria Notre Dame WARREN CARTER, Lake Highlands H.S., Dallas, Texas according to some scouting experts.

Without the 6-foot-9 forward, the Illini class drops into the teens nationally according to most recruiting rankings for the early-signing period that begins today. Villanueva made a verbal commitment to the Illinois program last week, but he is expected to let the first day of the NCAA's early-signing period slip by quietly. "We have encouraged him to sign, but he has a right to make up his own mind," said Joe Mantegna, the basketball coach at Blair Academy in Blairstown, N.J., who is the coaching the 6-foot-9 fifth-year senior who was on the wish list of nearly every major program in the country. "My gut feeling right now is that he will wait, and that has nothing to do with his comfort level with Illinois. He knows where he wants to go and he knows they'll hold his scholarship.

That won't change. He's just weighing some things in his mind." Among them is possibly an entry into the NBA draft, a situation that under a new NCAA rule would not harm his eligibility status as long as he doesn't hire an agent or sign a professional contract. Illinois also expects signatures from two in-state players, shooting guard Richard McBride of Springfield Lanphier and forward Brian Randle of Peoria Notre Dame, as well as power forward Warren Carter of Lake Highlands High School in suburban Dallas. Steve Batter son can be reached at sbattersonqctimes. com.

Associated Press photos SNUBBED: Alex Rodriguez's numbers were overshadowed by the Rangers' losing ways. Player 1st Tejada, Oak 21 Rodriguez, Tex 5 Soriano, NY 2 Anderson, Ana -Ja. Giambi, NY 2nd 3rd Total 6 7 11 1 11 9 356 254 234 .184 162 .4 5 2 Past winners 2002 Miguel Tejada, Oakland 2001 Ichiro Suzuki; Seattle 1, 2000 Jason Giambi, Oakland 1999 Rodriguez, Texas 1998 Juan Gonzalez, Texas r- 1 'f the Decatur Thanksgiving Basketball Classic to continue, someone would have to stop the swinging ax. Thankfully, someone has. New life has been pumped into the 33- 4 year-old event that has affectionately become known as the "Turkey Tournament." Thanks to sponsorship from local businesses and the addition of a broad-thinking tournament director and tournament committee, eight teams will compete this year, and the future looks bright.

This year's tournament with games on No26, 27, 29 and 30 at Millikin's Gris-wold Center is already drawing Decatur Thanksgiviig Qassic WHEN: Nov. 26, 27 29 30 WHERE: Millikin's Griswold Center FIRST-ROUND PAIRINGS: Mount Zion vs. Rockford Jefferson; Peoria Central vs. Eisenhower; Bartonville Limestone vs. MacArthur; Springfield Lanphier vs.

Chicago DuSable TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR: Mel Roustio TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE: Scott Busboom, D.R. Roberts, Jeffery Perkins, Craig Huss, Tony Wilkins, Mike Albright, Tom McNamara statewide interest due to a field that includes two of the top high school recruits in the country. That would be Springfield Lanphier senior Richard McBride, who today will sign a national letter of intent with the University of Illinois, and Peoria Central's Shaun Livingston, regarded as one of the Herald Review file photo STAR POWER: Future Illini and Springfield Lanphier senior Richard McBride, right, is one of the big-name stars who will compete in this year's Thanksgiving tournament. CLASSICB4 wins MVP, tips cap A's Tejada Knight Ridder Newspapers Oakla shortstop Miguel Tejada 's resounding victory in the American League most valuable player award voting sparked a wild celebration in the Dominican Republic, where Tejada was feted at the presidential palace, and rekindled a long-simmering debate among many baseball fans about the criteria used to bestow baseball's biggest individual honor. Tejada won the award, which was announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, in large part because his team outperformed the Texas Rangers, whose outstanding shortstop, Alex Rodriguez, put up superior statistics.

Tejada, the cornerstone of a team that won 103 games and a division title, hit a career-high .308 with 34 homers and 131 RBI. He received 21 of the 28 first-place votes along with six second-place votes and one third for 356 points. "It's unbelievable, man, Tejada said during a conference call with reporters. "I didn't eat from two days ago. I was trying eat.

AV but I can't. My is closed. "I'm just really happy right now." Rodriguez, whose 10-year, $252 million contract is the richest in professional sports, hit .300 and led the majors in home runs (57), A Miguel .308, drove in Tejada hit 34 KRs and 131 runs..