My feature on EJ Liddell and Brea Beal, who befriended each other at last year's IBCA banquet and are repeat winners as Mr. and Ms. Basketball of Illinois.

The votes have been counted, and Mr. and Ms. Basketball of Illinois for 2019 are repeat winners EJ Liddell of Belleville West and Brea Beal of Rock Island.

Both votes were landslides: bit.ly/2TApMup

Coaches and media! Mr. and Ms. Basketball ballots are due today. Send your votes to wlarkin<at>chicagotribune<dot>com to make sure your voice is heard.

Basketball coaches and media: The deadline for Mr. and Ms. Basketball or Illinois voting is Monday! Please send your ballots to Will Larkin (wlarkin<at>chicagotribune<dot>com) if you want your vote to count.

Basketball coaches and media: The deadline for Mr. and Ms. Basketball or Illinois voting is Monday! Please send your ballots to Will Larkin (wlarkin<at>chicagotribune<dot>com) if you want your vote to count.

If you are a team or school looking to help us, this is how. Please retweet.

As you watch the IHSA state championships, check out our list of the 50 greatest NFL players who played prep football in the Chicago area, selected and ranked by Will Larkin and Tim Bannon

Who's your No. 1? trib.in/2BnZoy2

With the IHSA state championships this weekend, our Will Larkin and Tim Bannon selected and ranked the top 50 NFL players who played prep football in the Chicago area.

Who’s your No. 1? trib.in/2BnZoy2

Top-ranked Lincoln-Way East gets its road map to its goal of a second straight Class 8A championship as IHSA playoff pairings released: trib.in/2J7V34v

Here are the IHSA's football playoff pairings for all eight classes.

Undefeated Brother Rice earned the top seed in Class 8A. trib.in/2EA0w5p

Leo point guard Fred Cleveland picks N.C. A&T of the MEAC.

UPDATE: Public League football players are thrilled to learn their canceled games have been rescheduled for Monday.

MikeClarkPreps has reactions from Westinghouse, Kenwood players: trib.in/2y4p6FZ

'I don’t want to be treated any different': Naperville girl trades cheerleading for football at Neuqua Valley.

Suzanne Baker tells Tessa Kucharski's story: trib.in/2xi0zMq

“How do you keep kids wanting to be a part of it?”

With participation declining in HS football, can a fresh approach save the sport's future?

Coach Rob Pomazak is giving it a shot at at St. Charles North, writes @sryantribune trib.al/GTaFzPr

“My father experienced the same thing, really. Unfortunately, when he went down, there was nobody there to help him. When I did, I was around great people who jumped to action, stayed cool and did what needed to be done.”
chicagotribune.com/suburbs/oak-pa…

First official practice Mt. Carmel enters 2018 with a new commander with '09 Caravan grad and 2013 Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch as head coach.

As you settle in to watch tonight's MLB All-Star game, check out Will Larkin's list of the Chicago area's all-time All-Stars! twitter.com/ChicagoSports/…

Photo gallery: Jabari Parker through the years. trib.in/2mfHpS4

Bulls on the verge of signing Jabari Parker, writes K.C. Johnson. trib.in/2Lfe3la

Phillips TE Jahleel Billingsley (JahleelBillingsley) becomes first local player to commit to Alabama in at least 20 years, writes Will Larkin. trib.in/2KV5uIG