ESPN RISE

Based on its impressive total of 70.1 percent of the vote in last week's semifinal victory over California in the ESPN RISE Great State Debate, Illinois has proven it will be very tough to beat in this week's final battle for national supremacy in boys' basketball.

The Great State Debate may ultimately show that the Land of Lincoln could be the boys' basketball equivalent of Texas in football when it comes to the passion its citizens.

Still, Illinois needs to win one more vote. And as New York found out, taking Michigan's support for boys' hoops for granted isn't a good idea. Michigan started out with a No. 5 seed in the final eight-state bracket but took out No. 4 Pennsylvania in the first round, then knocked off No. 1 New York in the semifinals.

Illinois, the No. 2 seed, opened up with a lopsided win over No. 7 Kentucky. Up next came another easy win over No. 3 California.

We turned to two people who know these states well to help state their cases. Voting in this week's Great State Debate championship ends Wednesday.

The case for Illinois

By Gene Pingatore, the winningest head coach in state history at St. Joseph High of Westchester. He coached Isiah Thomas in high school and was featured prominently in the acclaimed documentary "Hoop Dreams."

Fan interest and the quality of competition throughout the state is what Illinois brings to the table. When I was a high school player in the 1950s, the sport was so popular with the fans and media that I wanted to become a coach and, hopefully, a college coach. But after a few years in high school coaching in the state, I realized how special the sport was in many areas and settled in at the high school level.

I deal with a lot of college coaches across the country in the recruiting process, and many of them tell me that Illinois basketball is so good because of the quality of coaching. That says a lot for our sport in Illinois, as well as our profession.

Chicago's all-time first five
G -- Tim Hardaway (Carver, Chicago)
G -- Isiah Thomas (St. Joseph, Westchester)
G -- Dwyane Wade (Richards, Oak Lawn)
C -- Kevin Garnett (Farragut Academy, Chicago)
F -- Dan Issel (Batavia)

Illinois' all-time best players
(expanded for Great State Debate final)
Mark Aguirre (Westinghouse, Chicago)
Nick Anderson (Simeon, Chicago)
Jamie Brandon (M.L. King, Chicago)
Quinn Buckner (Thornridge, Dolton)
Maurice Cheeks (DuSable, Chicago)
Doug Collins (Benton)
Terry Cummings (Carver, Chicago)
Eddy Curry (Thornwood, South Holland)
Ronnie Fields (Farragut Academy)
Michael Finley (Proviso East, Maywood)
Kendall Gill (Rich Central, Olympia Fields)
Hersey Hawkins (Westinghouse, Chicago)
Juwan Howard (Vocational, Chicago)
Dan Issel (Batavia)
Eddie Johnson (Westinghouse, Chicago)
Marcus Liberty (M.L. King, Chicago)
Corey Maggette (Fenwick, Oak Park)
Darius Miles (East St. Louis)

Quentin Richardson (Whitney Young, Chicago)
Glenn "Doc" Rivers (Proviso East, Maywood)
Derrick Rose (Simeon, Chicago)
Cazzie Russell (Carver, Chicago)
Isiah Thomas (St. Joseph, Westchester)
Antoine Walker (Mt. Carmel, Chicago)
George Wilson (Marshall, Chicago)

Illinois school with most state titles
Peoria Manual with five. This is a very low number, which reflects the competitiveness throughout the state and that until recently, the state playoffs consisted of just two divisions -- Class A and Class AA. Manual won state titles in 1930, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997. Check out Peoria Manual's story.

Illinois state championship attendance record
16,128, which was achieved numerous times when the event was held at Assembly Hall in Champaign.

Player from Illinois we wish was famous
Ben Wilson, Chicago Simeon. He was a starter on the school's 1984 state championship team and was ranked as the No. 1 player in the nation coming into the 1985 season. In November 1984, Wilson was killed by gang members in an attempted robbery.

The case for Michigan

By Tom Markowski, longtime prep editor of the Detroit News and one of the best prep editors in the nation

What makes this state so good in basketball is tradition and the fact that Michigan has other urban areas besides Detroit where basketball is king. Cities such as Saginaw, Flint, Grand Rapids and Lansing all have schools with long-standing traditions.

When you add to that the Detroit Catholic League and other top suburban programs such as Pontiac Northern, Clarkston and Romulus, you have quite a few areas where basketball is taken seriously.

Detroit's all-time first five

G -- Steve Smith (Pershing, Detroit)
G/F -- George Gervin (M.L. King, Detroit)
F -- Chris Webber (Detroit Country Day)
F -- Dave DeBusschere (Austin, Detroit)
C -- Spencer Haywood (Pershing, Detroit)

Michigan's all-time best players
(Expanded for Great State Debate final)
B.J. Armstrong (Brother Rice, Birmingham)
Shane Battier (Detroit Country Day, Birmingham)
Derrick Coleman (Northern, Detroit)
Mel Daniels (Pershing, Detroit)
Earvin "Magic" Johnson (Everett, Lansing)
Antoine Joubert (Southwestern, Detroit)
Chris Kaman (Tri-Unity Christian, Wyoming)
Voshon Lenard (Southwestern, Detroit)
Grant Long (Romulus)
Dan Majerle (Traverse City)
Terry Mills (Romulus)
Glen Rice (Northwestern, Flint)
Jason Richardson (Arthur Hill, Saginaw)
Jalen Rose (Southwestern, Detroit)
Ralph Simpson (Pershing, Detroit)
Roy Tarpley (Cooley, Detroit)
Rudy Tomjanovich (Hamtramck)
Robert Traylor (Murray-Wright, Detroit)
Chet Walker (Benton Harbor)

Michigan school with most state titles
River Rouge with 17. None of this school's titles was in the top division and all except two were won under the direction of Lofton Greene, the winningest coach in Michigan history. Greene guided River Rouge to 15 state titles from 1954 to 1972.

Michigan state championship attendance record
17,801 for games in 1991 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. This was the final round that involved 1991 national player of the year Chris Webber of Detroit Country Day. He had 27 points and 22 rebounds and led DCC to a 68-57 win over Albion.

Player from Michigan we wish was famous
Reggie Harding, Detroit Eastern. He was a 7-foot center who dominated in the early 1960s. Harding then became the fourth prep player to go straight to the professional ranks. Drug problems then afflicted him and limited his progress. He played professionally from 1963 to 1968, when he was shot during an attempted burglary.

Mark Tennis is the deputy sports editor for ESPNRISE.com. Doug Huff is a senior editor for ESPNRISE.com.