03-30-2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE – When you're the two-time player of the year in the top 1A basketball conference statistically in the state, you will get a lot of attention.

North Clay senior guard/forward Logan Fleener has performed at a high level against some of the best teams in southern Illinois for the past two seasons.

On Saturday his Waterloo Gibault Hawks completed the mission, winning the state championship.

03/09/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHAMPAIGN - Twenty percent.

Now matter how you say it, in sports or in daily life, if you're only successful 20 percent of the time you're going to have days like the one Tuscola had at the State Farm Center Thursday.

Like mama said in the famous song, there would be 'days like this'.

The slate of games featured teams he believed would be part of his state tournament path to reach Champaign and could prepare his kids for a postseason run.

03/09/2023
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
MOLINE –- Here are the Illinois Associated Press Class 1A-4A All-State boys' basketball teams as voted on by a statewide panel of newspaper sports writers/editors, TV/radio broadcasters, and internet-site editors/reporters. All media members covering high school basketball in the state were eligible to nominate and vote for players. Compiled by Quad Cities media veteran Steve Tappa (currently of MC22-TV and QCSportsNet; formerly of the Moline Dispatch/Rock Island Argus). Players received five points for a first-team vote and three points for a second-team vote. A five-player first team and five-player second team were selected in each class. A player must have been named on two ballots to receive honorable mention. All selections listed in order of voting points. There were a total of 30 voters, but not all cast a ballot in each class (29 in 1A & 2A, 26 in 3A, 22 in 4A). There were no unanimous selections (players named on every ballot).
x-write-in candidate.
All ABV Area Players are in RED.
CLASS 1A FIRST TEAM NAME, SCHOOL (HT., YR., POS.) POINTS
David Douglas, Yorkville Christian (6-5, Jr., G) 113
Roderic Gatewood, Mounds Meridian (5-9, Sr., G) 101
Danny Stephens, Augusta Southeastern (6-7, Sr., PG/C) 94
Tyler Franklin, Cobden (6-6, Sr., F) 72
Jakson Baber, Bloomington Cornerstone Christian (6-2, Sr., F) 70
SECOND TEAM NAME, SCHOOL (HT., YR., POS.) POINTS
Hank Alvey, Glasford Illini Bluffs (6-9, Jr., F) 64
Kaden Augustine, Waterloo Gibault Catholic (6-1, Sr., G) 61
Thomas Hereau, Scales Mound (6-2, Jr., G) 57
Jordan Quinn, Tuscola (6-3, Jr., F) 50
Baylen Damhoff, Fulton (6-6, Jr., F) 50
HONORABLE MENTION (23 TOTAL; IN ORDER OF POINTS) Ross Robertson, South Beloit (6-8, Soph., C) 48; Wyatt Thompson, Dwight (6-7, Sr., F/C) 40; Logan Fleener, Louisville North Clay (6-2, Sr., G) 36; Aidan Dodson, Farina South Central (5-10, Sr., SG) 33; Justin Durham, Wayne City (6-6, Sr., C) 33; Sebastian Hill, Decatur Lutheran (LSA) (6-3, Jr., G) 32; Ju'Juan Cozark, Chicago Marshall (6-5, Sr., F) 27; Parker Boehne, Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran (6-0, Jr., G) 19; Qi'Andre Washington, Chicago Manley (6-0, Sr., G) 18; Mason Robinson, Altamont (6-3, Sr., G/F) 17; Korbin Gann, Pecatonica (6-5, Sr., G/F) 16; Ben Lothery, Elgin Harvest Christian (6-1, Sr., G) 12; Camden Figgins, Serena (5-11, Sr., PG) 11; Martin Ledbetter, Hinckley Big-Rock (6-5, Soph., F) 11; Alec Thomas, Lexington (6-2, Sr., F) 9; Zack Evans, Winchester West Central (6-1, Jr., G) 8; Avery Jahraus, Altamont (6-2, Sr., G) 8; Austin Wittenberg, Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg (6-3, Sr., G) 8; Elijah Aumann, Nokomis (6-2, Sr., G) 6; John Kveck, Grant Park (6-6, Sr., C) 6; Nick Moore, Camp Point Central (6-1, Jr., G) 6; Lucas Simpson, Sterling Newman Central Catholic (6-2, Jr., F) 6; Michael Wilson, Jacksonville Routt (6-5, Sr., F) 6. -- NOTE: Also receiving a single vote (thus not receiving honorable mention): Gannon Dodd, New Berlin; Brock Fearday, Effingham St. Anthony; Malachi Persinger, Peoria Christian; Myles Pryor, Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran.

CLASS 2A FIRST TEAM NAME, SCHOOL (HT., YR., POS.) POINTS
Ty Pence, St. Joseph-Ogden (6-6, Sr., G/F) 120
Cole Certa, Bloomington Central Catholic (6-4, Jr., G) 116
Gianni Cobb, Chicago Perspectives-Leadership (6-0, Jr., PG) 59
Dylan Bazzell, Fairbury Prairie Central (6-4, Sr., G/F) 58
Grady Thompson, Princeton (6-4, Sr., G) 58
SECOND TEAM NAME, SCHOOL (HT., YR., POS.) POINTS
Jase Whiteman, Rockridge (6-1, Sr., G) 56
Caleb Siemer, Teutopolis (6-6, Sr., F/C) 45
Walt Hill Jr., Rockford Lutheran (6-1, Sr., G) 44
Jaheim Savage, Chicago Phillips (6-4, Sr., PG/SG) 41
JaKeem Cole, Chicago Perspectives-Leadership (6-1, Sr., SG) 39
HONORABLE MENTION (31 TOTAL; IN ORDER OF POINTS) Dylan Murphy, Columbia (6-7, Sr., F) 32; Owen Treat, Vienna (6-2, Jr., G) 31; Devon Peebles, Pana (6-3, Sr., G) 29; PJ Chambers, Chicago DePaul College Prep (6-2, Jr., G) 24; Isaac Hosman, Metropolis Massac County (6-0, Jr., PG) 24; Gavin Arthalony, Petersburg PORTA (6-2, Sr., G) 23; Mason Funk, Normal U-High (6-5, Sr., SG/SF) 23; Riley Weber, Pontiac (6-4, Jr., G/F) 23; Teegan Davis, Princeton (6-2, Sr., G) 22; Mac Resetich, Spring Valley Hall (6-0, Sr., G) 22; Christian Cummings, Rockford Christian (5-10, Soph., SG) 21; Caden Hawkins, Carterville (6-0, Sr., PG) 19; Cannon Leonard, Gilman Iroquois West (6-9, Sr., C) 19; Jaxson Provost, Kankakee Bishop McNamara (5-10, Sr., PG) 19; Tyler Heffren, Eureka (6-4, Jr., F) 17; Calvin Worsham, Chicago Christ The King (6-7, Jr., F) 16; Maurice Thomas, Chicago DePaul College Prep (6-0, Jr., G) 15; Grant Fridley, Trenton Wesclin (6-2, Sr., PG) 14; Paxton Giertz, Seneca (6-0, Soph., PG) 14; Adyn McGinley, Beecher (6-0, Jr., G) 14; Bennett Briles, Nashville (6-9, Sr., F/C) 13; Bryant Jenkins, Lawrenceville (6-3, Jr., F) 10; Cody Dickshot, Breese Central (5-10, Sr., G) 9; Docker Tedeschi, Benton (6-8, Soph., C) 9; Jacob Finley, Williamsville (6-9, Sr., C) 6; Karsen Konkel, Pinckneyville (6-6, Jr., C) 6; Cooper Loll, Robinson (6-5, Sr., G) 6; Connor Mowery, Johnston City (6-0, Sr., G) 6; Zach Powell, Pleasant Plains (6-5, Sr., F) 6; Wes Shats, Braidwood Reed-Custer (6-5, Sr., C) 6; James Stevenson Jr., Momence (6-7, Sr., G) 6. --
NOTE: Also receiving a single vote (thus not receiving honorable mention): Mason Shubert, Breese Central (received first team vote); Kerr Bauman, Pontiac; x-Christian Bentancur, Marian Central; Aidan Parker, Robinson; Landon Sanders, Lawrenceville; x-Dylan Schmidt, Johnsburg.

Those were the years respectively that Tuscola, Waterloo Gibault and Teutopolis last made it to the state finals in boy's basketball.

Or back in the 'good ole days' where it was referred to as the 'Elite Eight.'

03/06/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - One would have to look back to March of 2007 to find the last time that the Teutopolis Wooden Shoes made it to a Final Four in boy's basketball.

It was the final season of the two-class basketball and the tenure of Hall of Fame head coach Ken Crawford and his winning run at the program.

After dealing with an emotional four overtime win over Altamont last Friday night, Coach Justin Bozarth might have been a bit concerned about his kids having a let down .....

Meridian, Pinckneyville, Waterloo Gibault advance.

Tuscola, Breese Central, Teutopolis win Wednesday.

03/01/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
JUNCTION - Mounds Meridian senior guard Roderic Gatewood, Jr. has made some big shots in his four year career but none were bigger than the one he hit in the final seconds of his team's sectional semifinal win over Wayne City on Wednesday night.

He is the all-time leading scorer in the program's history and his 25-foot shot from right in front of his team's bench while being triple teamed added to his legacy.

Altamont, Gibault, Lawrenceville, Webber win Tuesday.

02/28/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
PINCKNEYVILLE - On Tuesday night the Pinckneyville Panthers proved once again that the formula of defense and rebounding is still the best way to win a high school basketball game.

And it didn't hurt that they put three players in double-figures while shutting down nearly every Massac County player on Tuesday night in their sectional semifinal.

Regional title game winners advance to sectionals this week.

At Tuscola on Friday night, it is fair to say that while two Douglas County teams and foes for the Illinois High School Association Class 1A Tuscola Regional Title, the Tuscola Warriors and the Arcola Purple Riders, were on the court for 32 minutes, the game was decided sooner than that.

02/24/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
SPARTA - The Pinckneyville Panthers have added another regional championship to the program's long list of accolades.

And they have senior guard Pearson Launius to thank.

The 6-2 guard led the Panthers with 19 points and he was the one that bailed them out ....

02/22/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
BLUFORD - The Sesser-Valier Red Devils have had a rough year under first season head coach Tommy Holder.

A combination of injuries and setbacks made for a 'not so pretty' won-loss record heading into the postseason.

In what could have been his final basketball game for his school on Saturday night, he helped make sure his team would play again on Wednesday.

02/14/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
DU QUOIN - The Nashville Hornets have really turned things around since the beginning of the year and they closed out their regular season schedule with an overwhelming performance on the road Tuesday night.

Nashville cruised into DuQuoin and put a damper on the Indians' Senior Night Celebration.

As I've said for years, the roller coaster effect of high school basketball happens every season.

I've never liked the fact that coaches get to decide who gets seeded in the state tournament.

The Foxes took down Gallatin County on Saturday night, 44-35, to improve to 12-15 on the season.

The host Altamont Indians made certain of that with a domineering defensive effort as they totally shut down the Bulldogs in a rather convincing 51-32 win by the top-seed.

Starting the season just 1-10 with kids learning as they go, there have been some struggles.

However the lessons are being learned and on Tuesday night the Cougars picked up .....

The Hawks, behind a strong showing on the boards and the scoring of 6-4 junior Noah Richardson, moved into the semifinals of the annual event with a 56-44 win over Galatia.

After starting the game with eight-consecutive points Central put the game away in the second half.

01/17/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
SPARTA - The Lovejoy Wildcats trailed for most of their opening game at the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic game against Murphysboro.

In fact they trailed 2-0 with no time going off the clock as the game began with a technical foul caused by a pregame dunk by one of the Lovejoy players.

Carterville lit up the Blackcats from the outside, nailing down 5-of-6 3-pointers and 12-of-16 overall as the took command 30-17 at the end of the first quarter.

The top teams in 1A and 2A stay the same as Columbia and Altamont have done nothing to diminish what they have accomplished so far.

01/14/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHESTER - You don't always have to play well to win championship games.

Sometimes you just have to play well enough.

Or as former Raiders' owner Al Davis would say; “Just Win, Baby.”Saturday night in the title game of the 59th annual Chester Invitational Tournament, the Waterloo Gibault Hawks .....

At least not for programs like Pinckneyville.

Tuesday night at home the Panthers did what they needed to do against Breese Mater Dei ...

01/07/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
JOHNSTON CITY - It has been an interesting season for Johnston City so far in 2022-23 and it is clear that they're better than their record.

Four of the teams' six losses were by single digits and Coach Burzynski has seen signs of how good the Indians can be.

01/06/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARTERVILLE - Since joining the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference in 2010-11, the Carterville Lions have yet to win a Mississippi Division title in boy's basketball.

They have stood by and watched Nashville and Pinckneyville dominate this division, winning or sharing the last 12 championships.

01/01/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Here are the ABV Rankings for January 1, 2023 with very few surprises in the six weeks of basketball so far.

The good teams that were expected to be in the hunt for hardware for the most part have stepped up while the rebuilding teams have struggled at times.

12/29/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
FREEBURG - The first two and a half quarters in the championship game of the Freeburg/Columbia Holiday Tournament on Thursday night couldn't have went much better for the host Midgets and head coach Matt Laur.

Shots were falling from everywhere and the defense was frustrating their rivals from Columbia.

12/28/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO - The fans of the Herrin Tigers on Wednesday night summed up what had happened in the championship game of the 58th annual Eldorado Holiday Tournament late in the fourth quarter.

The crew at the south end of the gym began chanting “Just Like Last Year” as the final moments wound down in the Tigers' 67-49 rout of Ohio Division SIRR rival Massac County.

12/26/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER - On Monday night in the fourth quarter of the first day of the 41st annual Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament the New Athens Yellow Jackets had squandered all of a 12 point first half lead and appeared headed for the consolation bracket.

Sesser-Valier rallied in the second half for a six point advantage with just under a minute left in the fourth quarter.

The hosts have decided to decrease the number of teams to eight beginning in 2023, which means eight other schools will need new holiday homes next winter if they choose to.

Herrin enters the event undefeated at 9-0 having an average margin of victory of 23 points so far in 2022-23.

But the ending left everyone in attendance in a somber mood.

Senior guard Grant Fridley tossed in 19 points as the Warriors jumped out to an .....

12/20/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
DUQUOIN - Everything was going as planned for Anna-Jonesboro in their road contest Tuesday night at DuQuoin heading into the fourth quarter.

Coach Mike Chamness' club had weathered the pressing defensive of the Indians and had shot well from the field to lead 48-37 heading into the final eight minutes.

12/17/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - The Wayne City Indians were on the doorstep of taking home the program's 17th Conrad Allen Holiday Tournament championship on Saturday night.

The Indians led for most of the contest and had the North Clay Cardinals frustrated.

The hosts were executing their game-plan and 6-6 senior forward Justin Durham .....

Harrisburg committed seven first half turnovers, allowing the Patriots to get separation and a big third quarter by the visitors resulted in a 52-41 win for Coach Joe Hosman as his team evened its conference record to 1-1 and improved to 8-1 overall.

12/10/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - The Cisne Lions are a streaky shooting team.

On Saturday afternoon in the first game of the 68th annual Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament Coach Kevin Bowen's kids had stretches where they lit up the scoreboard.

However they also had a couple of cold spells that allowed Webber Township .....

12/09/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
HERRIN - The Herrin Tigers needed big plays late in their SIRR Ohio Division against Benton on Friday night.

Head coach Sayler Shurtz and his club were holding on to a lead when senior Reese Billingsley and junior Jonathan Harrison came to the rescue.

12/10/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY - Not only has the Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament reached its 68th annual, the event has expanded to feature 12-teams for the first time since the old days of the 16-team bracket.

The brain-child of Wayne City head coach and athletic director Jake Talbert, the 12-team bracket will feature four pools of three teams, a format used over the years by.....

However they managed to remember to bring their “R” game. As in “rebounding.”

The ending was even better.

Coach Conrad Widdersheim had his kids ready and they led from the opening tap .....

In their first season in the MSM Conference, the Redskins finished 7-1.

This team produced a 29-4 mark last winter, tying a program record for single season wins with the 2000-01 team that finished second in the state in Class A (29-5).

The Tigers and head coach Rob Flanagan won their first 27 games last winter, taking home championships in three major tournaments (Lawrence County Capital Classic, Pinckneyville “Duster Thomas Hoops Classic” and the Little Illini Conference ......

Perhaps anywhere but Nashville.

The state championship run last season was special for the seniors who .....

Tyler Franklin, a 6-6 senior guard/forward, is the lone Cobden player with any sort of varsity time spent in key games.

But it is obviously by design.

Head coach Kevin Bowen and his mostly young club last season took on some .....

11/23/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
The Altamont Indians had a great season in 2021-22, another 20+ win campaign and won the NTC tournament championship game.

However things didn't end as planned.

Coach John Niebrugge's club got ambushed in the regional championship ...

11/22/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
Heading into 2022-23 the St. Elmo/Brownstown Eagles will have a mix of seniors, juniors and a sophomore in the rotation as they look to improve on a 17-17 mark from a year ago.

Coach Greg Feezel heads into his 17th season with some kids returning from the team that won the Mulberry Grove Thanksgiving tournament and finished second in their own holiday event.

11/22/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
When it comes to success in southern Illinois boy's high school basketball in the past two plus decades there haven't been many programs better than Breese Central.

The Cougars have been one the top teams in the state under head coach Stan Eagleson and now Coach Jeremy Shubert.

11/21/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
Injuries plagued the Carmi-White County Bulldogs season in 2021-22, a year that ended with a 9-20 mark.

Bryce Conner was playing well (16.1 points per game) before an elbow injury ended his season in December but the 6-4 junior returns for Coach Wolff.

11/22/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
Norris City-Omaha-Enfield did something last season that hadn't happened in the boy's basketball program since February of 1992.

The Fighting Cardinals won a boy's basketball regional championship.

Coach Jordan Johnson helped orchestrate a pair of big wins over Hardin County and Carrier ....

Just one event in which every school that had a boy's basketball team was invited to play.

For about a month and the end of the basketball season, this sport captivated .....

06/06/2022
BY JACK BULLOCK
HARRISBURG - There will be a new head basketball coach this coming winter at Harrisburg High School.

For the first time since the 1993-94 school year, Randy Smithpeters won't be the head basketball coach.

The Harrisburg school board has hired former Teutopolis and Salem head coach Andy Fehrenbacher to fill the position previously held by Coach Smithpeters.

On Friday Coach Fehrenbacher was hired by a 6-0 vote in a special school board meeting.

Coach Fehrenbacher brings to the program an impressive resume from his stint at Teutopolis, guiding the perennial powerhouse program to six regional championships and four sectional titles in his eight seasons at the helm.

His Wooden Shoes were 200-44 in that run before Fehrenbacher left to take over a program at Salem that had just 13-wins in its previous three seasons.

Coach Fehrenbacher turned things around and led the Wildcats to consecutive 18-win campaigns where they reached a 3A regional championship game in 2017-18.

His total record overall is 254-106 (70.5 winning percentage).

He was also a top assistant coach (nine seasons) for Hall of Fame head coach Ken Crawford at Teutopolis, helping to lead the program to six-consecutive regional titles (eight overall) and four Elite Eight appearances in Class A, which included a second place finish in 1999-00 and a third place finish in 2006-07; the final season of two-class basketball.

In the nine seasons at Teutopolis as an assistant, Teutopolis was 230-50 (82.1 winning percentage.

“I'm very excited about the opportunity to come to Harrisburg to lead the boys basketball program as head coach. First of all, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Hall of Fame coach Randy Smithpeters, who led the Bulldogs program for 29-years,” said Coach Fehrenbacher. “That is quite an accomplishment and it shows the dedication he had to the school and program. I want to continue to build upon the success and expectations that have already been established by Coach Smithpeters.”

Fehrenbacher takes over for a Harrisburg legend, who was forced to resign because of a state law that makes coaches who retire from teaching to also step away from coaching.

Smithpeters was allowed to reapply for the coaching position 30-days after his retirement.

Following a lengthy board meeting, Smithpeters was hired back however he abruptly resigned.

Smithpeters took over a basketball program that hadn't won a regional championship in 23-years (since 1970-71 which was the final season of one-class basketball in Illinois).

His won/loss mark in his tenure was 514-316 in the 29-years as head coach.

In this run the Bulldogs won 12 regional championships, six sectional championships and two super-sectional titles.

Coach Smithpeters led Harrisburg to the school's first and only boy's basketball state championship in 2012-13, winning the 2A championship and finishing with a school-record 33-1 record.

The Harrisburg boy's athletic program has the distinction of being one of the few in the history of the state to sport state championship teams in four major sports; Baseball (1988-89, 2003-04), Basketball (2012-13), Football (2000-01), and Track & Field (1914-15, 1994-95, 1998-99, 2000-01).

“Harrisburg is a very well known, respected sports town that is competitive and has a will to win,” added Coach Fehrenbacher. “I'm very excited about that and I look forward to working with the young men there. I also look forward to working with the entire athletic program and coaches of HHS.”