TriCounty

A truly dominating player in every facet of the game, Manual High School all-state basketball standout Sergio McLain is the Tri-County Male Athlete of the Year.

Son of Manual coach Wayne McClain, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound junior has triple threat ability: he can score, averaging 17 points; rebound, bagging 6.3 a game; and play sturdy defense.

McClain has had a career that high school players only dream about. In his first three varsity seasons, he had been a major reason Manual has won three consecutive state Class AA tournaments.

He has been an automatic all-stater several times, honored by the Chicago Tribune and the Champaign News-Gazette, and named to the first team of the Journal Starís Class AA team.

Wrote veteran Journal Star prep expert Bob Leavitt of McClain: "The strength muscular McClain added to Manual's lineup was nothing compared to the mental toughness his leadership gave the Rams."

Pursued by dozens of major college coaches, McClain and teammate Marcus Griffin, also a consensus all-stater, will attend the University of Illinois.