Just wanted to throw my opinion in here re:
relative strengths of high school programs. My senior year
at Quincy Senior High school in Quincy, IL we went
to the Panasonic competition in Orlando and made it
the to the finals, though we finished 6th (last place
in the finals room). I later found out that in that
room were Andrew Yaphe, Dave Hamilton, Dave Goodman,
and James Rogers. Though Thomas Jefferson, VA is a
public school, we were the only public, non-magnet
school in the finals (the rest were all all-star teams),
and I truly believe that we would have done better if
not for the lack of familiarity with the format.
Also, we didn't even win the state title that year, as
IMSA beat us in the semis for our first loss of the
year.
My point is this: I truly believe that
Illinois schools can be competitive with and beat many of
the national powers on the high school circuit given
some national experience. I know that it would have
benefitted us.
Have a good break everyone,
Subash