03-03-08
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - For the first time in the storied history of the IHSA state tournament – the two Carbondale Supersectional's will be played on the same night.

Certainly Ernie Banks of Chicago Cubs fame would approve of Tuesday night's SIU Arena double-header when the Class 1A and Class 2A Southern Illinois representatives will be determined.

In the opening contest – Nokomis will bring a 28-5 mark to Carbondale to take on Okawville (26-6).

That contest is slated for 6:30 pm.

In the nightcap – Trenton-Wesclin (24-7) will tangle with Pinckneyville (27-4) at 8:00 pm.

Those winners will be guaranteed two more games.

With the switch to four classes in basketball – the victors Tuesday will reach the semifinals and will play both Friday and Saturday.

Trenton-Wesclin vs. Pinckneyville
The Wesclin Warriors are getting used to the dramatic.

In the five tournament title games they played in this season (three regular season plus regional and sectional championship games) Wesclin trailed at halftime in four of them including Friday night's comeback against Columbia.

This “never say die” attitude must have something to do with head coach Brent Brede – who is sending his second team to a Supersectional in seven years.

Brede – as a senior player at Wesclin in 1990 – won a state title by leading his club to a double-overtime win over Prairie Central with 36 points and 13 rebounds in the 83-78 triumph.

This coach would like nothing more than to become the first person in IHSA history to win a title as both a player and coach.

As for the players - Sean Rakers has devastated opponents for three seasons at Wesclin.

This 6-foot-7 senior center has carried his club to the brink of the state finals.

Powerfully built and skilled with an offensive touch around the basket – Rakers was named ABV Carbondale Supersectional Area “Player of the Year” in Class 2A.

Rakers averages 22 points and 10.7 rebounds a game for the Warriors and has come up big when the lights were shinning brightest.

He netted 33 points and hauled in 10 rebounds in the sectional title game victory over Columbia.

Against a front line of 6-6, 6-6 and 6-8 Rakers dominated the contest by fouling out two of the Columbia big men.

Rakers isn't alone on the list of players to watch from this Warriors' squad.

Casey Ainslie – a 6-foot-3 senior guard/forward – has been a God-send for Wesclin in 2007-08.

Ainslie moved into the district after having starred at Benton in his first three prep seasons and made an immediate impact.

He is second on the team in scoring average with 12.9 points to go with 5.5 rebounds a game. He has shown he can drive to the basket or break down a defense from way behind the 3-point line.

He missed four games late in the season due to a knee problem but is back playing now.

His two huge baskets in the fourth quarter helped force overtime in the sectional final win.

The Warriors feature three other seniors who have contributed in their own special ways.

Tyler Shaw – a 6-foot-1 guard - and 6-foot Charlie Bair are starters for Coach Brede with each chipping in a combined 11 points a night.

The fifth element of the successful Warriors rampage has been Nate Fuhler – a 6-foot senior guard – who has been one of the team leaders on a squad that reached three consecutive sectional finals.

Fuhler is third on the team in scoring with 8.8 p.p.g.

“We have five seniors on this team that play a lot and when that is the case you expect them in big games to play big and they did that tonight,” said Brede after the Columbia win.

The reserve unit has been used sparingly but are capable of valuable minutes.

The two that have logged the most court time this season are Phil Kunz and Zach Haselhorst.

Kunz is a 6-foot-6 freshman who can be used to spell Rakers for a few minutes each game.

The 5-foot-11 Haselhorst comes in for backcourt support.

Both of these players have made it into 28 of the teams' 31 games and are adding a shade over two points a game.

In the two previous seasons Wesclin lost to Clinton County rivals Breese Central and Carlyle.

This year they wouldn't be denied a spot in the Super.

The are the champions of three regular season tournaments held at Carlyle, Vandalia and Nashville.

The topped Nashville and Columbia twice each – with the second victory against the Hornets and Eagles earning Wesclin a shot at the Pinckneyville Panthers on Tuesday night.

Sometimes the Southern Illinois basketball community takes those Panthers for granted.

Each season this juggernaut from Perry County vies for a trip to Peoria.

This season one of the top players in the state suits up in Columbia Blue and White.

Kyle Cassity is a talented 6-foot-6 player who could be listed anywhere in the lineup.

Guard, forward or center – Cassity can wear many hats.

He scored 15 points and brought down 18 rebounds in the sectional opener against Harrisburg (a 66-59 win) and then followed that up with 12 points in the Panthers' 56-38 win over Mount Carmel to capture the Benton Sectional title.

Cassity is being recruited heavily by D-I schools in a list that includes Michigan, Penn State and St. Louis University. SLU head coach Rick Majerus was on hand Tuesday night at Benton to see Cassity play.

The numbers for Cassity are 19 points, 8.2 rebounds, four assists and 2.6 steals per contest.

The alarming part about this squad for opponents to think about is that they have seven players that can all “ink the book.”

“Kyle is a good high school player but he is surrounded by good high school players, too, and they feed off of each other,” said Waggoner – who is in his first season leading the Panthers' program. “They are all unselfish and what makes us so good is the fact that on any given night any of our five guys out there can hurt ya.”

Ryan Rushing, Colin Woodside, Hayden Hicks and Miles Priebe are all in the five-to-ten points per game range for head coach Bob Waggoner.

Rushing (7.5 p.p.g./3.1 r.p.g.) is a 6-foot-1 senior guard that led the Friday night win with 18 points after sitting on the bench most of Tuesday night's win over Harrisburg with foul trouble. He is a defensive specialist (all of the Panthers can defend) who usually gets the job of shadowing the opposition's top backcourt player.

Hicks - a 6-foot-2 senior lefty - can play up front while also being able to step out to hit from long range.

Hicks averages 9.7 points and 3.5 boards per game.

The 6-foot-3 senior guard Woodside has come up with some big shots in big games for Pinckneyville.

He topped the Panthers' offensive attack with 21 points in the Harrisburg win and added 10 points in the Mt. Carmel victory.

Woodside is second on the club with 10.8 per game.

From behind the arc Woodside (51) and Hicks (40) have combined for 91 made 3-pointers this season.

Priebe – a 6-foot-6 senior forward – gives the Panthers a bit more length for opponents to deal with.

Brandon Hardin – a 5-foot-11 senior guard – has been a part of the successful recent Pinckneyville run.

Priebe and Hardin each average four points a game. Hardin can “dish the rock” with slightly less than two assists a contest.

Nick Logan is a 5-foot-11 senior who helps out with three points an outing.

Waggoner – in his first year as head coach at Pinckneyville – inherited a top shelf group of kids.

“We are fortunate that the kids take all of this seriously,” said Waggoner talking about his team's attitude about basketball and playing at Pinckneyville. “And that is why we have had our continued success. Winning is not something that is easy to do every year and our kids accepted that challenge this year. We have gotten the best shot out of everyone on our schedule and that has helped us keep our focus because every night we have been challenged.”

The winner of this war will play at Peoria against the winner of the Palos Heights Chicago Christian/Chicago North Lawndale contest at the Romeoville (Lewis University) Supersectional which is also slated for Tuesday night.

“They are probably playing the best defense they have played all year right now,” said Waggoner referring to Trenton-Wesclin. “Ainslie adds to what they can do as a scorer and rebounder. Rakers is a very good player and a great athlete. He is a tremendous inside presence for them.”

Nokomis vs. Okawville
The team with the furthest bus ride are the Nokomis Redskins. The bus driver will get to navigate roughly 284 miles round trip to Carbondale.

The Tribe got to the Elite Eight by posting wins over Beecher City and Altamont to win the Altamont Class 1A Regional.

They then had to rally from a 11-point halftime deficit to shake loose from a young Woodlawn team in the sectional semifinal at Nokomis.

Nokomis drilled Dieterich in the sectional final and will now face a familiar opponent in Okawville.

Those two clubs participated in a rotating Thanksgiving Tournament as recently as two seasons ago so both coaches will have an idea of what to expect.

Nokomis has been topped in scoring by Austin Bertolino – a 6-foot-1 senior guard – who averages 16.3 p.p.g. for head coach Steve Kimbro.

Bertolino scored 15 points in the Dieterich win and led the Redskins comeback against Woodlawn with 20.

Six-foot-three senior Wade Kimbro (the coaches' son) averages 13.1 points a night while 6-foot-5 senior Jared Spears adds nearly 10 points a game to the totals.

Nokomis under Coach K has used a “1-2-2” match up zone as its defense of choice and will extend the zone in pressing situations.

“They are well coached and are physical,” said Okawville head coach Jon Kraus when talking about Nokomis. “They do a good job with their matchup zone and they play hard. All those things that it takes to get to where they are at now.”

The Rockets and head coach Jon Kraus used a brutal regular season schedule to prepare for this trip and the work has paid off.

The Rockets – and Independent from Washington County – play a who's who of Southern Illinois and Metro-East St. Louis powerhouse programs.

On the slate included six Class 3A schools as well as games against three schools (Pinckneyville, Columbia and Lebanon) that won conference championships. They played five of the six Cahokia Conference Mississippi Division schools and the two best teams in the Kaskaskia Division.

Okawville posted wins over Steeleville and Marissa-Coulterville to win the Marissa Regional.

A strong defensive showing delivered a win over Sesser-Valier at the Meridian Sectional.

The Rockets held the Red Devils to just six points in the opening half on the way to a 46-33 win.

Coach Kraus' club rallied after trailing Trico for most of its sectional title game prevailing 51-44.

“We have played in big games before so our kids are used to big crowds,” added Kraus. “Most of our games are sectional-type games. When you play in games like this your kids don't panic and part of that is because of our schedule. We get tested each game. I think we would have been a “tough out” in 2A in the old system.”

Okawville has in its offensive arsenal Brandon Brammeier – a 6-foot-2 senior forward – who is tossing in 14.2 points a game for the Rockets.

Six-foot-two senior guard Kyle Heckert is a chipping in 11.8 points a game.

“Heckert is a team leader for us and Brammeier can beat you in a lot of ways,” added Kraus.

Bryan Leadendecker is another starter for Okawville. He is a 5-foot-10 junior guard who adds 4.4 points per game to the Rockets offense.

Six-foot-two Bill Segelhorst is a senior guard (6.4 p.p.g.) and is joined in the lineup by Devin Clary who adds 6.3 points an outing. Clary is the fourth player on the team listed as 6-foot-2.

Junior guard Clark Weeke – at 5-foot-10 - averages nine points a game for Coach Kraus.

Weeke led four Okawville players in double-figures with 17 points in the Trico win.

“We have six or seven kids that could pop 20 on somebody if they don't pay attention to them,” Kraus added about his balanced club. “They all can shoot it a little bit and can handle the ball.”

The six teams that the Rockets lost to combined to win 125 games in 2007-08.

Okawville faced both of the teams playing in the Class 2A game having lost to Pinckneyville 61-49 at the Benton Invitational Tournament on January 16 while beating Trenton-Wesclin 50-43 on January 11 at home.

Brammeier hit for 27 points in the win over the Warriors.

The Rockets are on a 10-game winning streak.

The victorious team on Tuesday night will face either Warrensburg-Latham or Fisher on Friday afternoon in the second Class 1A semifinal at Carver Arena.