11/26/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - It's yet another year in the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference and any preview of the league will be about teams that are thinking not only regular season championships but also postseason hardware.

The boy's basketball programs in the SIRR will always be in the conversation on who is going to reach the state finals in March.

When adding up regional, sectional and super-sectional championships, this conference is way ahead of any other in the Deep South part of the state.

Last season Benton stepped forward and made it all the way to the 2A state championship game and Coach Ron Winemiller's club has enough returning talent that will put them in position to make another run for the state finals and, of course, the Mississippi Division crown.

One can always pencil in the schools Nashville and Pinckneyville when it comes to regular season and postseason hardware.

That will also be the case in 2024-25 as both programs look to be in the hunt.

Coach Stote Reeder and Coach Matt Laur each have returning players ready to work towards dethroning the Rangers.

All three of those juggernauts have large trophy cases full to the brim with the fruits of their labor from the many years of success and they share the same division of this talented conference.

Anna-Jonesboro and DuQuoin will need to play extremely well for either to crash the conference party.

Coach Mike Chamness will have his Wildcats working hard as will Indians' mentor Coleman Fitch.

West Frankfort has had a rough stretch in boy's basketball for Coach Josh Sertich, and in a tough as nails conference, it makes picking up victories a difficult endeavor.

The other side of the River-to-River might be a bit more in play.

Coach Daryl Murphy and his Murphysboro Red Devils are always in the chase for regular season and postseason awards.

The same can be said for Coach Joe Hosman at Massac County.

Veteran coaches who are getting the job done.

Herrin and Coach Sayler Shurtz are in a tough situation being 3A in the state tournament, which translates into a tougher road to the state finals.

Despite the graduation of ABV 2A POY Cam Ande last spring Coach Andy Fehrenbacher at Harrisburg will always have competitive teams.

West Frankfort has had a rough stretch in boy's basketball, and in a tough as nails conference, makes victories hard to come by.

Carterville and head coach Shane Hawkins will also have something to say when the battles begin, eventhough a top player for the Lions is still on the mend.

The bottom line on both sides of the conference is that you will need to play well every night to keep from going home with an “L.”

The Benton Rangers reached a plateau that none of the best teams in the storied program's history had ever reached.

Coach Ron Winemiller and his team made it to the 2A state championship game last season.

Benton had made two trips previously to the final four of the state basketball tournament, finishing third in both 1933 and again in 1992.

But the Rangers took the next step last March, getting to the finals where they faced Chicago Phillips.

Playing short-handed in the title game because of a key injury to one of the starters, Benton came up just a bit short, losing to the Wildcats, 54-47 to end the season at 33-4 while bringing home the biggest hardware of the program's history.

Coach Winemiller lost the services of three senior starters from that squad to graduation in the spring.

Isaac Billington, a 6-1 senior guard and first team 2A ABV All-South has left along with senior guards Luke Melvin and Evan Munoz.

Melvin sprained his ankle in the Rangers semifinal win over Byron and couldn't suit up in the Saturday title game, which hurt Benton's chances.

Despite the loss of the departed, the Rangers look to be in the chase for a return trip to Champaign-Urbana in March of 2025.

Six-eight senior forward Docker Tedeschi returns after a stellar junior season.

Tedeschi was also first team ABV along with first team Associated Press all-state while averaging 15.5 points a game and hauling home seven rebounds a contest.

He added six blocked shots and three assists for the Rangers, which makes him a multi-dimensional player.

The star forward signed with Division I Colorado State University to continue his basketball career.

Also returning for the Rangers is 6-1 senior Grant Owens, who was a starter from last season.

The first player off of the Benton bench last winter was 6-2 senior Kyle Thomas and the seventh man for Coach Winemiller was 6-5 junior Nolan Schafer.

The Rangers, with the way that their schedule shapes up, will need depth to the bench.

Six-foot senior Treyson Severin has varsity experience and so does Jackson Zettler, a 5-10 senior.

Add 5-9 junior Clay Gage to the mix with 5-10 junior Jake Van Horn and 6-1 Lane Croslin.

Ethan McCommons, another 5-10 junior, 5-11 junior Dane Krueger, 6-1 TJ Hamilton, 6-1 junior Kaleb Dawson and 6-3 sophomore Jaxon Wiggs will all be part of the club that will need to be ready early.

“We will be different than last years team for sure. I think there are some things that we do very well but the success of this team is going rely heavily on our ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter. If we can make shots and stretch the defense it takes away the other teams opportunity to clog the paint and not give Doc room to operate,” said Coach Winemiller.

Coach Matt Laur's club went into its matchup in the regional title game against host Breese Central and came away with an embarrasing defeat.

The Panthers were dominated by the Cougars, 42-21 in a game that was never in doubt.

In fact Pinckneyville scored the game's final seven points after the benches were emptied in the final two minutes.

The contest was the final prep game for first team ABV standout 6-6 senior Karsen Konkel and teammate senior Hunter Smith.

But the other starters from last season return as they would like to improve on the 24-8 mark from a season ago.

AJ Keith, a 6-4 senior swing-man and Rend Lake College commit, is back for his third season wearing the Columbia Blue.

Keith tossed home 16.2 points per game as a junior while helping out on the boards with 5.2 per outing.

Also returning is 6-5 senior forward Riley Bauersachs, who also was a double-figure scorer and grabbed 4.6 rebounds.

Brady Conway, a 5-9 senior guard, also helped out last season in the backcourt for Coach Laur.

There are others who will look to crack the lineup and get into some serious varsity minutes.

Lucas Lietz, a 6-foot senior guard, 6-7 junior Ty Laur and 6-1 junior Kolton Smith all have talent and will be needed.

Some other Pinckneyville kids will look to move up, including 6-1 junior Reed Marlow and 6-6 sophomore Tyler McConnell.

Brayden Cleland, a 5-10 senior, has missed the past two seasons with injuries and is back for his final prep year.

Out of the 32-games played a year ago, the Panthers only play nine contests against teams with below .500 marks and 12 of the matchups were against teams with at least 20-wins.

So the competition was there for this storied program and it will be equally as difficult in 2024-25.

“We have a very tall/athletic team that can get out and defend and shoot the ball extremely well,” said Coach Laur. “Defense will continue to be the biggest key for us but we will have several weapons on the offensive end as well. I feel like we will be a very deep team as we will be able to play 10 or 11 guys per night.”

Continuity being what it is, the Nashville Hornets will return starters from last season for the first time since head coach Stote Reeder arrived in Washington County.

The Hornets have two key returning players, including top scorer 6-3 senior Maddox Ritzel from the 19-14 club that lost to Breese Central in the regional semifinals.

Another experience senior is Ty Schoenherr, a 5-11 senior guard.

Coach Reeder was expecting another experience backcourt player this season but football standout Isaac Blazier tore his ACL in Week 5 of the football season as won't return to the hardwood.

This is a huge blow for a squad looking to jump into the conference fray with Pinckneyville and Benton for the top spot in the SIRR Mississippi.

In this league you better have some athletes and it doesn't hurt a bit if you have some size.

Coach Reeder has a pair of 6-7 senior forwards returning in Griffin Briles and Parker Schoenberg.

It's not the first time Nashville has had twin towers in the paint but it, having size in the frontcourt is a blessing.

There will be backcourt help for the Hornets when they take the court the first week of the season at Wesclin for the annual Thanksgiving Tournament.

Five-ten senior Will Deidrich, 5-9 senior Brance Luessenheide, 5-7 junior Blake Brooks, 5-11 junior Max Reeder and 5-11 junior Tyse Reinburg will all have roles to play.

“For the first time since the 2021-22 season we have multiple starters back and rotation guys back. Pair that with solid junior and sophomore classes and there will be a lot of competition in practice this year. We are expecting a long postseason run from our football team that could impact the start of our season, but we are embracing that and hoping that it happens. It's about the end of the season, not the beginning,” said Coach Reeder.

Nashville will likely pass the 1,900-win mark for the program's history in 2024-25.

Head coach Mike Chamness knows what his Anna-Jonesboro program is up against each season in the SIRR Mississippi Division.

The top three boy's basketball programs (Pinckneyville, Nashville, Benton) have over 5,700 combined victories and for the Wildcats' to compete against the top dawgs they will need supreme efforts by all.

Last season A-J went 17-15 and 4-6 in the Mississippi before losing to Harrisburg at home in the first round of the Massac County Regional.

While most of the teams in this division have tons of experience returning, Coach Chamness is missing five seniors; Dylan Harvel, Evan Hall, Drew Page, JJ Geraldi, and Noah Cavins.

Harvel was a first team ABV 2A all-south pick.

However the groundwork has been laid out for the club this season with some kids returning with experience.

Two players who started for the Wildcats last winter return.

Taj Hodges, a 5-11 senior guard and 6-foot junior Aidan McFadden are back after contributing to the A-J success.

Both averaged around seven points a game for Coach Chamness.

Six-four senior forward Daylon Butler and 5-9 senior guard Trevor Goins had players in front of them last year taking up minutes but it is time for these two to move up.

Foster Needling, a 6-3 junior forward, and 6-foot junior guard Dawson Nicholas will see action.

Another junior; 5-11 guard Graydon Edmonds, will also have shot at minutes along with sophomore guards 6-5 Kaleb Gore and 5-9 guard Leon Patterson.

Brandon Plott, a 6-3 senior forward, moved into the district after playing for Egyptian last year.

“I think McFadden and Hodges have to be the guys who we lean on with their experience and leadership, I'm also excited about our Junior group and those guys taking the next step and a few sophomores who are going to play meaningful minutes this year. I thought Butler had a really good summer and looking forward to him being a guy we can count on. Our league will be as good as it's been in awhile with Benton returning Tedeschi and Nashville returns everyone and Pinckneyville brings back most of their guys,” said Coach Chamness, who is two victories shy of becoming the program's all-time winningest coach.

Out of all the teams in the SIRR this beginning this season, the DuQuoin Indians have the most missing from their lineup last winter.

Head coach Coleman Fitch lost eight seniors to graduation, and that's a ton to overcome.

Eli Maynor, Tiyon Bardo-Spiller, Jaelyn Smith, Trelin Smith , Da'Marion Johnson, Drake Juhl, Conor Gross and Dwayne Wilmington departed the program after being part of a 9-20, 2-8 club in 2023-24.

The Tribe didn't last long in the postseason, dropping a 64-37 decision to Carlyle at Breese Central.

Coach Fitch is trying to build up a program with the athletes available.

Five-nine senior Jayden Davis is one of the key returning players for DQ having been on the varsity since he was a freshman.

Luke Baumen, who played extensive varsity minutes a couple of seasons ago, is back after sitting out basketball as a junior.

DuQuoin is looking for a large junior class to come together to help out the program and move forward.

Six-foot junior Jonathan Brown, 5-6 junior Jeremiah Jones, 5-5 junior Amir Grant, 6-5 juinor Layne Pyron, 5-5 junior JJ VanZandt and 6-foot junior Noah Seifert were all mentioned by Coach Fitch as they were all part of the junior varsity last winter.

“This season we're really looking to just reestablish a good culture here. We have a brand new coaching staff, all the way from freshmen coaches to volunteers to myself. Our school has struck gold in football and baseball, so the first question we asked ourselves was "Why not basketball?" As a staff, we're really emphasizing the importance of attitude, character, and toughness to our players. This summer wasn't exactly a blast for our players, because they played a whopping zero games against other schools. Our kids didn't need that--they needed to dribble around chairs and do form shooting and know what help defense is. These are the kinds of things that will change things around here,” said Coach Fitch.

The West Frankfort Redbirds struggled last season, being in the same sort of predicament that the rest of the SIRR Mississippi Division teams that have to play games against the Big Three.

Coach Josh Sertich and his club finished 10-20 overall but only 1-9 in the division.

Losing to 41-39 to Hamilton County in the first round of their own regional didn't help matters.

Four seniors; DJ Thomas, Brady Melvin, Jayvion Isaacs and Keagan Bowers were the leaders last season and have left.

Three kids who started last winter and some youngsters ready to move up is what this coach will have to work with to begin 2024-25.

Six-foot senior guard Eli Tyson has earned three letters in basketball for WF while averaging just over nine-points a game as a junior.

Quentin Osburn, a 6-2 junior, added some points last winter as did 5-11 senior guard Jack Herrell.

Key reserves returning include 5-8 senior guard Travion Johnson, who missed most of 2023-24 injured.

Six-foot senior guard Evan Goforth had a good summer according to Coach Sertich.

Two 6-foot juniors; Will Scales and Cannon Cass are back.

“We don't have much size this year and our depth is a concern. We will have our challenges, but this is a smart group of guys that will work extremely hard and have the ability to overachieve. Even though our margin for error is small, I am looking forward to working with this team and continuing to see if we can keep moving this program in the right direction,” said Coach Sertich.

11/26/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - After a 21-9 season, with a 5-3 mark in the Ohio Division, the Herrin Tigers and head coach Sayler Shurtz believe things can be better this season.

Just three seniors are gone from the club that won the Eldorado Holiday Tournament, the DuQuoin Tip-Off Classic and finished third in their first appearance in the new-look Benton Invitational Tournament.

The Tigers, playing in 3A, lost to host Marion, 41-35 in the semifinals of the regional.

Keegan Weber, Exavier Williams, and Jonathan Harrison are gone from the squad but there is a senior guard who will be playing in his fourth varsity season.

Kyrese Lukens, a 6-foot senior guard, has carried a lot of the load for the Herrin program and that should continue again this season.

He averaged 12.2 points a game and 3.1 assists per contest as a junior.

Six-five senior Grady Cox missed a ton of time due to a knee injury last season but came on strong at the end.

A transfer in from Marion is 6-foot senior Jared Staple who should add immediate help while 6-2 senior Madox Billingsley, who didn't play a year ago, returns for the Tigers.

Coach Shurtz also mentioned Chance Estes, a 6-2 senior, who has experience.

Three others worth a mention are 6-5 senior Rajion Price, who gives Herrin another tall one in the paint.

Sophomore Jaxton Faulkenberry, a 6-1 guard, played varsity last winter.

Six-one senior Carter McCree will give Coach Shurtz minutes.

“We are in a unique situation. We lost four starters, but gained two back this year that would have started last year and add a transfer. I saw things I liked over the summer, but I do think it will take a little bit for these guys to gel. The upside is very exciting. I think by the middle of the season this team can be dangerous,” said Coach Shurtz.

Hosman was a four-year starter, a four-year member of ABV 2A All-South Team and is the schools all-time leader in assists.

In the past three seasons the Patriots took home regional championships only to lose in the first round of the sectionals each time.

If Massac County is going to get past that next plateau, this mentor and staff will need see marked improvement from the ones returning.

The other seniors missing from last season's 22-10, 4-4 club are guard Will Harmon, forward Jackson Lee and forward Hunter Box.

Lee was the first one off the pine.

The key component of the returning players is senior starter, 6-1 guard Kris Garnett.

Garnett was a big time scoring threat last winter and that should continue into 2024-25.

Senior guard Jack Turner is also back for Coach Hosman.

After those two, the experience level is of mostly junior varsity minutes.

Grady Bormann, a 6-3 senior forward, is back for the Patriots along with 6-3 senior Nate Eskridge.

Six-five junior Eli Brown and 6-foot senior Ethan Goines should also get PT right off of the bat in the Vienna Tournament.

“If we can stay healthy, we have a chance to stay competitive. We have to develop some depth over the season. We have a chance to be a very good defensive team,” said Coach Hosman, who is now fourth all-time in coaching victories with 849.

Coach Andy Fehrenbacher and his Harrisburg Bulldogs will feel that emotion when the 2024-25 season starts.

Gone from last winter's club is ABV 2A “Player of the Year” Cameron Ande.

The 6-3 guard put up the big numbers that a scorer can do as he led the Bulldogs in all major categories.

The senior scored 827-points in 33-games, good enough for 25.1 points a game.

Conner Henshaw was the other senior lost to graduation as he, too, was important for the Bulldogs last season as they finished a misleading 14-19 overall, 1-7 in the division.

Considering that they only played four games last season against team's with losing records, the schedule was tough enough to make things rough on the won-loss mark.

Three starters return for Coach Fehrenbacher, who enters his third season at Harrisburg.

Adrian Mann, a 6-1 senior guard, Reed Rider, a 6-1 senior forward and Owen Rann, a 6-4 senior forward, bring experience back to the table for the Bulldogs.

Letterwinners returning help the cause and HB has a couple back in 6-3 senior Cayden Young and 6-2 sophomore Braxton Murphy.

Six-foot senior guard Chandler Questelle, a 6-4 junior forward Gage Thomas and 6-2 junior forward Brenden Davis are listed.

Jalon Ellis, a 6-1 senior guard, played his first three seasons at nearby Carrier Mills-Stonefort and should add some scoring.

“We have a good nucleus of players returning this year that have a lot of varsity experience. We return three starters and two more that got significant playing time off the bench. We also have a couple of newcomers that will contribute and a transfer that will have an immediate impact on our team. We lost two good players in Cam Ande and Connor Henshaw, that will both be hard to replace. But I am confident in the guys we still have that we will come together and be a competitive team in the area. Our conference is once again very tough and our potential post-season opponents will be good. Should be another exciting season in southern Illinois,” said Coach Fehrenbacher.

While there were some good ones at Carterville last season that have moved on head coach Shane Hawkins has four returning players with experience as the Lions look to defend their Ohio Division championship in 2024-25.

Gone from last year are senior starters Brandon Skelcher, Josh Waller and Braden Wakey as they were part of a 20-12, 6-2 club that were 64-48 victims of Benton at the West Frankfort Regional last February.

But Coach Hawkins has much more to be concerned about heading into 2024-25 with the injury bug having bit the team with senior guard Drew Barrington having suffered a knee injury earlier in 2024 and Hawkins is hoping that Barrington can return in some capacity in December.

His presence will be vital for the Lions this winter as they play a pretty tough slate of games.

Barrington scored 13.8 points a game as a junior.

Six-four junior Colton Hawkins, the coaches' son, averaged just under 10-points a contest as a sophomore.

Barrington and Hawkins, when healthy, form one of the better backcourt combos in southern Illinois.

Six-foot junior Kaden Wilson and 6-foot senior Alex Kimbrough proved to be valuable off the bench for Carterville last winter.

“Kimbrough and Wilson were able to change our team off the bench last year because of their athleticism and toughness,” said Coach Hawkins. “They will have much bigger offensive roles for us this year.”

Parker Poole, a 6-4 senior forward, missed last season but is back to help out, especially inside.

Logan Ingle, a 5-11 senior guard, is another one who missed a season but is back.

Both of those 12th graders will be welcomed additions to the Lions.

“We have four guys back that played a key part in our success last season. Their roles will increase this season and may be a little different than last year. Because of that, it may take us some time to find out who we really are. We have guys who are used to winning and competing - that may have to carry us early until we find our identity. We will have to build some depth with our sophomores and possibly a couple of freshmen. They quicker they can help us out, the sooner we will be able to identify who we are,” said Coach Hawkins.

Head coach Daryl Murphy at Murphysboro is one of those mentors that always has dangerous clubs, especially when the winter creeps into the month of February.

His Red Devil teams are always a threat for postseason runs.

Consecutive losses last season to Carterville, one in the regular season finale and in the regional opener at West Frankfort ended the Murphysboro season at 18-12.

The Red Devils finished 4-4 in the SIRR Ohio but graduation took a good one away.

Missing from the Murphysboro lineup this season is graduated senior Karmello Abernathy, an ABV first team all-south pick.

His leadership, according to Coach Murphy, will be sorely missed.

Most everyone else returns with most having had success on the football field this past fall.

Six-five senior A.J. Boese has started the last two seasons for Murphysboro.

Myles Guthman, a 6-4 junior, is also back for the Red Devils.

Six-three Amartez Bankhead came off bench last season but will open the year as a starter, according to Coach Murphy.

Senior Gibson Fager, the football team's starting quarterback for the last two seasons, is another of the good athletes for the basketball floor.

Six-six junior Kemmeon Hale will also look to move up into more playing time.

Cade Brooks, a 6-2 senior guard, is also a two-year starter.

“I have seven players that we feel will be ready to play valuable minutes,” said Coach Murphy. “We have kids that will provide us with great play off of the bench. Experience returning is huge and we feel we really improved over the summer.”