Cuonzo and LaPhonso.
Two of the greatest players our area has ever seen ... and from the same school? At the same time?
Winter sweltered. It was the 1987-88 season, and the hottest hoops team in the area (in the nation?) was Lincoln High School in East St. Louis. There was spunky sophomore Cuonzo Martin, now the coach at Mizzou. And senior LaPhonso Ellis, a future fifth pick in the NBA draft, “The Phonz” as cool as “The Fonz.” He hit a 3-pointer to seal the ’88 state title game, proclaiming “That 3-pointer was kind of live, wasn’t it?