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McLean County Tournament - Pictures and Memories… and Rivalries!

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  McLean County Tournament -  Pictures and Memories… and Rivalries! When I flip through pictures from past McLean County Tournaments, the memories don’t just come back—they blitz. They rush the lane. They pull up from deep. And sometimes they beat the buzzer with a hand in their face.  That’s the McLean County Tournament , one of the longest-running basketball tournaments in the United States, and brother, it’s built on  rivalries . I’ve been covering this tournament since 2000, and in that time, no school has leaned into the rivalry role quite like the  Ridgeview Mustangs . You could circle their games on the bracket in ink—bold ink. And if you were talking boys basketball, chances were good that somewhere down the road,  Fieldcrest  would be standing there saying,  “Not so fast, my friend.” The Mustangs and the Knights. Cue the dramatic music. For much of this era, the rivalry had two masterminds on the sidelines.  Rodney Kellar  patro...