Steve & Jeannine- Part II

Massey- Any unusual or funny stories to share about the Streaks when you have followed them?

Jeannine- The first year we went to Wisconsin, we stayed at a motel that could be a dead ringer for the Bates Hotel from the movie "Psycho".   Steve and Evan went to the local store for milk, OJ, donuts, and we had a breakfast on the picnic tables.   We have not stayed there again.........but it was a good time.

Pictures from Championship

2010 Charleston Tourney Champions!

The Scariest Team in Illinois

This from Doug Green's blog--

Green blog: The scariest team in Illinois

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I know it's the holiday time, but I want to talk about the scariest team in basketball.

Boys, girls, metro or area, the scariest team in the state of Illinois just might be the Galesburg girls.

That Grinnell style that they play is just mind-boggling. The only state record that the Streaks don't own (yet) is most consecutive games with a 3-pointer. That number by the way is 232 set by Rockton Honenegah from Dec. 2002-10.

Compliments on the Girls

After the championship game, it was very satisfying to have fans from T-town come up to me to compliment our girls on how they played. Some of the compliments they passed out about our girls....

"Hated to lose, but it is fun to watch your girls  because they just play so hard."

All-Tourney Team

We had 3 players voted to the all-tourney team. With 15 of our players all contributing to the championship, if you knew 3 players would be all-tourney, you could successfully argue that several of our other players would be equally deserving. It was definitely a "team championship."

Tai Peachey, Jamie Johnson, and Jessica Howard were all selected all-tourney. And Jessica was selected as the tourney MVP. As coaches and as teammates, we were all happy to see these three recognized as individuals.

Champions!!!!

The girls got the job done vs. a tough Teutopolis team. T-town came in with an 8 game winning streak. It might have been a different story if it was the first game of the tourney but it being the 3rd day and 4th game, our depth was the factor. Our ability to have played 15 players on the day before made the difference.

Still Raining Threes- Another State Record

After hitting 21 threes this morning vs. Paris, the Streaks came back to again get 21 threes vs. Rantoul. This was a game in which we went with a fifteen player rotation from the start of the game. We pressed the first quarter, then played half court defense the last three quarters. We quit rotating the fifteen players after three quarters. In the fourth quarter we went with Klinck, Boyer, Mangieri, both Diggins, Junk, and Anderson.

State Record- 21 Threes

It was "raining threes."

In Galesburg's 88-57 win over Paris, Galesburg established a new state record for made threes in a game with 21 threes. It broke the record of 20 which Galesburg and two other schools had hit before.

We rotated all fifteen players into the game in three separate units. We jumped to a 41-30 lead at half, then 67-44 lead after three. Paris did cut the lead to 3 in the middle of the third quarter but we got off to a huge run with a made three by Allison Mangieri.

Steve & Jeannine- Part I

Steve and Jeannine Bryant have followed the Streaks girls basketball team for years. It doesn't matter if it is in the winter or in the summer, they are there. They are not following the Streaks to see them win, they just seem to enjoy watching them compete. They never seem upset after tough games, they always seem to be able to find the positives. They really care about the girls. They are not big on second guessing the coaches or the players- they are supportive fans.

The First System Team in the Midwest

No, it was not Grinnell College that first brought the System to the Midwest. And no, it was not me that was the first to bring the System to Galesburg. The real System pioneer was Brett Wolfe. He along with Jay Redfern coached the first System team in the Midwest and the first in Galesburg.

                                                 1988-89 GYBA- Galesburg's First System Team

Front row, from left: Devin Gunderson, Brian Peterson, Jason Price, Justin Ford, John Kimbell, Mike O'Dean and Jeremy Parcell.

Back row, from left: Coach Jay Redfern, Todd Fox, Jason Uhlmann, Brian Fulton, Jeremy Howard, Benji Henson, Troy Rosenberg, Wes Corzette and Coach Brett "Westhead" Wolfe.

Doug Porter- Why the System Works

Doug Porter is the women's coach at Olivet Nazarene University. He believes that the System works because of three factors-
1- Depth trumps talent.
2- Threes trump twos.
3- FGA's trump FG%

Perfecting Situations

The perception of many would be that Grinnell is just helter skelter and total freelance. The reality is that Grinnell is very regimented in what they want to do in specific situations. In practice they are going to set up the following offensive situations-
1. Offense after a steal.
2. Offense after the opponent scores.
3. Offense after a defensive rebound.
4. Offense on dead balls when the ref handles the ball.
5. Offense after an offensive rebound.

Beau Shay- Leader in ACC

"Of course it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it. Hard is what makes it great."  Tom Hanks, A League of Their Own

Most of us when we were young had our pretend games in the driveway. We shot and pretended we were playing for UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, etc. When we were ten years old, we were sure it was a dream that would come true.

"All dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."  Walt Disney

For most of us reality sets in at some point, and we begin to realize we aren't quite tall enough, we aren't quite quick enough, or we just don't shoot well enough to live the dream of playing big time college basketball.

"I tell people I'm too stupid to know what's impossible. I have ridiculously large dreams, and half the time they come true."  Debi Thomas, World Champion Figure Skater. 

Jane Miller's Take on Threes

The following was written by Jane Miller in the Journal Star after our Washington game--

GIVING TIME: How do you make a run at the state 3-point record?

Practice, practice, practice.

Galesburg senior Jessica Howard hit 11 3s Tuesday night at Washington — one short of the state record — and scored 37 points. But the preparation for all that started in June.

Pat Riley- "Diesease of Me"

Great quote but I still hate the Heat!

From the Register-Mail today-  “Breaking these individual records is really nice,” Howard said. “But really it’s the team records that we can break that are even better. We are really playing together right now and it’s a lot of fun to see what this team can do.”

Pat Riley said the following- "Most people are generally selfish, and they're afraid. It's called the diesease of "me." Most people go into everything looking out for their own ass. They're looking out for themselves. They are taking care of number one. There's nothing wrong with that but you'll never be part of something truly significant if that's going to be your attitude. You have to change."

Pat Riley would like Jessica's attitude. And Pat Riley would be the first to point out why we are having not only a good season in terms of wins and losses but having a GREAT season in terms of team chemistry.

Vince Lombardi Quotes

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victory.

If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?

Beau Shay- Chasing Two Dreams

This story appeared in the Greenville News (Greenville, SC) on February 23, 2004. It was written as a tribute to one of two seniors on the Clemson basketball team before Clemson's last home game that year. It is the story of a high school player who had two dreams growing up- to play basketball in the ACC and to become a doctor.

When Beau Shay left Galesburg HS to be an unrecruited walk-on at Clemson, many envisioned either he would not make it on the team or that he would just be a glorified manager. As you read this article, you realize that Beau went from walk-on to senior leader who was willing to step up and take charge of his team.

I will have a Q & A with Beau coming up later- read this first to understand how impressive Beau is. 

#1 Streaks Fan in Carolina

Blog written by the #1 Streaks basketball fan in Carolina! Blog with stories about Run and Gun Basketball throughout the world. Check it out!!


http://kp2world.blogspot.com


Hopefully we will someday get back to Carolina Basketball Camp so he can actually watch us play.

1995 Camp Notebook

We had experienced great success in Streaks basketball from 1988 thru 1995. We had been rated in the top 20 each year and we had won 20 games. In 1995 we had our best team ever, we made it to the Sweet Sixteen. We won the Sectional at a packed Thiel Gym. It was a dream season. We lost some of our best players. Our expectations for 1995-6 were lower. People on the outside did not have high dreams for the team- but the players had very high dreams. The 1995-6 team surprised everyone but themselves. Sound familiar???

What I Look for in a Player- Pete Carril

Pete Carril became famous as the Princeton basketball coach in the 1990's. He is the originator of the famous "Princeton offense" that drove other teams nuts with all of its backdoor cuts. In his book The Smart Take From the Strong, Carril looks at what he thinks is important in evaluating a player. The following are concepts from his book:

Big Win at Maine South (Updated)

Streaks upset Maine South 67-60 on Saturday. Maine South had an 8 game winning streak going into this game, including wins over highly rated New Trier and Niles West. They are the #4 seed in the Bloomington Tourney.

Fun Day in Chicago

Varsity relieving pregame tension with serious word game.

Alicia Brannon- Start of 20 Wins

We went 35-14 my first two seasons at Galesburg. Then over the next six seasons, we had one winning year and were a combined 65-85. We definitely were headed for mediocracy. Why weren't we winning?  Maybe part of the problem was the school district eliminating junior high sports. Maybe part of the problem was an inexperienced coach. Then in 1988, we won 20 games (20-8), and we continued to win 20 games for the next 21 years. What turned things around? I think it was simple, we got some good players who were great people.

Exploring Our Limits- Dr.Terry Orlick

Until 1995, our gym was full of banners for state appearances. They were all boys banners. In 1995, girls basketball put their first banner up. It was a "Sweet 16" banner. The next year, we struggled early. We lost three in a row in one stretch. But the team voiced they wanted to put another banner up. 

We did it! We won the Sectional championship, which meant we could put a banner up. The next day before practice, some players and I were talking. I said, "Isn't it great, we are going to put up a banner." Jennifer Bulkeley interrupted the conversation with a simple statement, "We haven't decided what this one is going to say yet." Her message was simple and powerful- we can do more!

It is a message all of us need to be reminded of. Individually it can be the player who sets a goal of being a starter, instead of a goal of being All-Conference or All-State. It can be that freshmen or sophomore who thinks I can't start or be a regular on the varsity next year, but wait until I am a senior. We don't challenge ourselves. We don't recognize until it is too late that we are capable of more than we realize.

Years ago I got a book entitled "The Pursuit of Excellence" by Dr. Terry Orlick. One of his messages was that sometimes in our pursuit of excellence, the biggest obstacle we have to overcome is ourself. Without realizing it, we may not challenge ourselves as much as we should. The following is an excerpt from Dr. Terry Orlick's book:

My personal experiences as a competitive athlete have been rich ones. There have been some memorable highs which remain with me. Some involved achieving personal goals, others involved the sheer joy of being absorbed in the experience. One of my achievement highs was when I first did a quadruple twisting back sommersault on the trampoline. Some might say-- so what? Who cares if you can spin your body around in the air four times before coming down? What difference does it make?

Jessica Lieber- Athlete & Fan

Jessica has been involved in sports since a young age. She has already successfully competed on the varsity level in both golf and basketball. She was part of a highly successful GHS varsity golf team this fall, that concluded the season by qualifying for the IHSA State Tourney. In basketball she was able to play some on the varsity as a freshman, and was leading scorer on the frosh-soph team that year. This year she is one of the regulars and one of the leading scorers on the varsity level as a soph. Her future in athletics is certainly bright.

John Wooden- 7 Point Creed

1- BE TRUE TO YOURSELF-  Your integrity begins with you. If you are not true to yourself, how can you be true to others?

2- HELP OTHERS- Your true happiness comes from giving not from getting. It's the basic precept of all great religions- the Golden Rule.

Micaela Rodriguez- Still Playing

Micaela Rodriguez is not your typical basketball player. Most kids in her situation, choose not to stick with sports. In 7^th and 8^th grade, she seldom got to play in games. As a freshmen, she had a classmate on the varsity and another classmate on the sophomore team. She got to play on the freshmen team but was not a star. 

What Is The Best Shot?

There are different ways to evaluate shooting effectiveness.

Traditional Field Goals Percentage= FGM / FGA.  This would mean if a play attempted 100 shots and made 40 shots, they would have a FG% of 40%.

Effective Field Goal Percentage= (Field Goals Made + (.5 x 3 Pointers Made)) / FGA. So the same player above who made 40 field goals of 100 shots, if they made 10 threes and 30 twos then there eFG%= 45%. This is a stat that the NBA originated. It is an attempt to weight the value of making a three point shot.

Cindy Ricketts- The Athletic Mom

When we first become parents, I got three bits of wisdom from three different people. 

1- Peggy Watson gave advice on toilet training. And although my son was a slower learner in this area than I wanted, her advice was great.

2- When Allen was 2-3 years old, I told Dawn Snyder I wished he could stay that age. Her wisdom was, "You will find every age is different but they are all enjoyable." And she was right.

3- And finally, Harley Knosher told me, "If you want a model on how to raise kids, watch Duane and Cindy Ricketts." And he was right.

Wooden's Two Sets of Three

John Wooden was given the following,”Two Sets of Three” by his father.

1- Never lie.

2- Never cheat.

3- Never steal.

1. Don’t whine.

2. Don’t complain.

3. Don’t make excuses. 

Coach K- Leading With the Heart

Coach K’s book, Leading With The Heart is a book focused on leadership. It could apply to how to be a leader in a family, at school, in business, or in sports. 

Often as coaches when we look for books to help us with our team, it is easy for us to focus on or look for books that share X/O’s to help us build our offense or our defense. The reality is that a book like Coach K’s really is giving coaches much more important information that X/O’s, it is giving information on how to develop a foundation for a program. This book is a valuable tool for coaches and for players who want to become leader. 

The following are Some highlights and quotes from Coach K's book, Leading with Heart.

When most people think of success, they think of the season ahead and they set a final destination goal. Many coaches select winning the national championship as their end goal. But I think it  is a pretty shallow view of success- because only one team can win it all.

I’m also certain that many people out there set that goal because the fans and the media tell us that winning a national championship is the only way we’ll be successful.  Well, if you’re always striving to achieve a success that is defined by someone else, I think you’ll always be frustrated.  The only way to get around such an unhappy ending is to continually define your own success.

When we play a basketball game, we win it or we lose it. And the outside world defines us based on that win or loss. We’re either good or we’re bad on that day. Basically that is how most people look at it.

Why Every 35 Seconds

I had watched Grinnell play at Knox many times since the mid-1990’s. I knew the basics of the “Grinnell System”- fastbreak, quick shots, taking threes, pressing all over, and subbing five for five. In the winter of 2009 I had begun to read more about the Grinnell approach and was thinking about whether I wanted to go that direction. So when I went to the Knox vs. Grinnell game in the winter of 2009, I went more as a student than as a fan. One of the things I was struck by was how often Grinnell was subbing. I knew they would sub often and five for five, but not as often as they were subbing. Everything about the Grinnell system seemed to make sense, except how often they were subbing.

Paige Klinck- Stepping Up

Winston Churchill said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

In sports some things don’t happen as we plan. Often the successful athletes and successful teams are the ones who work and work, and then when an opportunity appears, they are ready to take advantage of the opportunity. Paige Klinck was someone who took advantage of opportunities last year.

Foul Shots

It is interesting that you don't think of a three point shooting team as being a team who is going to shoot a lot of foul shots. But this year opponents have been selling out to take away our three point shooting. As a result, we have done a lot more going to the basket and getting the ball inside. One consequence shows up at the foul line-
Galesburg-- FTs Made 119- FTs Attempted- 195
Opponents-- FTs Made 51-  FTs Attempted- 91
If you look at successful college teams, the top teams will often make more ft's than their opponents will attempt. It statistically says something not only about a team's offense but also about a team's defense. It is interesting to look at some of the free throw numbers of some of our teams in the '90's and early 2000's.

Keeping Busy- Sarah Main

Participation in extracurricular activities has changed during the time I have been in coaching.  It is hard to get kids to remain involved in school activities and athletics if they are not going to be the “star”. Obviously in sports it can be very discouraging to work hard and not get a chance to play. It seems like at many high schools, you see fewer and fewer kids involved in sports and activities.

When Adolph Rupp Came to Savanna

I grew up at perfect time. Growing up, I never had a house key. You didn’t need one because the side door was always unlocked. No one locked there doors in Savanna. The only violence I experienced was watching the Three Stooges.

I grew up in a perfect place. By my count there were 11 boys within 3 years of each other in our neighborhood. I don’t know how many girls lived in the neighborhood because we never paid attention to them. We were too busy. We had a baseball diamond in the field behind our house, football was played on the empty lot one house away, and basketball was in the street between our house and Davis’.

Why Is This System Called "THE System"

Definitions for “system” in Webster’s dictionary include:   A complex unity formed of many often diverse parts,  subject to a common plan or serving a common purpose.

In regards to basketball, the first time I heard the use of “the system,” was when I heard Paul Westhead speak at a clinic.

Practice Player in the Big City

We have been very fortunate to have some good guys help us out through the years as practice players. Their added size and quickness can challenge the girls to improve their skills. And they can often prepare us for an opponent by simulating things our opponents may do.

Internal Leadership

“The single most important ingredient is internal leadership. It’s not the coaches as much as one person or people on the team who set higher standards than that team would normally set for itself.”

Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Men’s Basketball

Galesburg 68 Rock Island 61

We won in an unusual game. The first quarter we played as well as we have all year. We were effective creating turnovers with our press, and we moved the ball well versus their defense and made open shots. We jumped out to a 22-8 lead and looked in command. It seemed like we played with a lot more energy than Rock Island, we seemed to get all the 50/50 balls- on rebounds and loose balls. The second quarter was an absolute flip. Rocky totally dominated, outscoring us 22-9. They got all the 50/50 balls and played with much more energy that us. And on top of it, our defense was ineffective. We reached and fouled. Fortunately we took a 1 point lead into the half.

Gary Smith- The Defensive Coach w/ 132.4 Points

Top Scoring Teams

132.4  Redlands, 2004-5

126.5  Denver Nuggets, 1981-2

126.2  Grinnell, 2003-4

122.4  Loyola Marymount, 1989-90

Something I have always enjoyed in coaching was the opportunity to “network” with other coaches. I have enjoyed the relationships with other coaches, I guess it is sometimes a form of group therapy for us.

Motivation

“Playing for championships or titles is very overrated. It always stuns me when someone outside our team fabric comes up before a critical game and assumes that the team’s going to be motivated because of the event. In my experience, teams aren’t motivated for a championship game; they’re motivated for each other.”                     
Anson Dorrance, N.Carolina Women’s Soccer

(North Carolina has won 20 of 22 ACC titles, and 20 of 28 NCAA titles under Dorrance.)

Mark Massey & Bill Walton

Mark Massey with Bill Walton

Happy birthday to brother Mark. His birthday is November 30. He is very age sensitive. When the team went to Clinton, Jessica Howard (with some guidance) asked my brother if he was my father. His reaction was priceless! Let's just say that brother Mark was born a little before one of the presidential assassinations- you guess which one!

Megan Young Interview

My first awareness of Megan Young was when my Assistant Coach Steve Peachey had watched Megan play on a travel team. He told me,”You are really going to like Megan Young, she plays so hard.” When she was playing on the freshmen team, it was obvious she was the most intense player in our entire program. Megan is just non-stop.

Tim Engebretson-The Leader

If you are a parent, this about a coach you would want your son or daughter to have. If you are a player, this is about the kind of coach you would like to play for. And for us coaches, this is the kind of coach we would aspire to be like.

Tom Loewy and I had an interesting relationship as writer and coach. I think I interviewed him more than he interviewed me. I enjoyed Tom covering my teams because after we got done talking about the game, we then just talked about sports and politics. The general theme of our conversations about sports was always about what each of us thought made for successful teams, programs, and coaches. The name that kept coming up in Tom's conversation was Tim Engebretson, the football coach at Monmouth Warren at the time. So that is how Coach Engebretson become my choice for an interview.

First I asked Jay Redfern for information on Coach Engebretson. Jay's reply---

“Here are a few things I dug up on Tim Engebretson, who I consider one of the best coaches around, and a really nice guy. He has guided the United Red Storm/Warren Warriors to the playoffs in 17 of his 18 seasons at the helm. Tim Engebretson has a (147-53) record as head coach at United and the former Monmouth Warren (now a part of United). He led the Red Storm to a Class 1A state championship in 2004, the first year of the school's existence.”

Streaks at Tennessee

Streaks this summer at University of Tennessee Camp with Coach Jason Shay. 

Execution

Bob Knight is not a "system coach" but his perspectives on coaching often apply to lots of different coaching situations. When your team loses, Coach Knight says that all too often the coach's and fan's reaction is that they need to change their style of play, their set plays, or the defensive schemes. So the coach who plays Bob Knight style mm defense, panics and puts in a zone defense. The coach who has been a motion offense coach, watches some ESPN games and puts in some new set plays.

In the mid-'80's, I had some teams that struggled to win (but they played hard). As a result, it seemed like everyone we played would slap a full court press on us. And we struggled vs. pressure. So every Sunday I would call coaching friends and ask them about pressbreaks. We kept putting in pressbreak after pressbreak looking for the "magic pressbreak." One summer Dan Sullivan took me to Milwaukee to work a basketball camp. Don Casey, a pro assistant was at the camp and spent each evening diagraming x/o's for us. After 2-3 hours one night going thru pressbreak after pressbreak, Don Casey made the important comment, "Coach, if your kids can't handle the ball and executre, it really doesn't matter what pressbreak you run."

Sometimes when we struggle it is easy and convenient for me to blame it on the "system." The reality is some of our best teams in the '90's were "system-like." Our '96 team pressed all over, looked to fastbreak, and played 10 players regularly. Last summer I watched some of the old tapes, our '96 team averaged a shot within 12 seconds of getting the ball.  So yes, the system can work on a high school level, we have already proven that. It is not the "system", it is the execution of the "system". There is no short-cut to success, success is the result of repetition until execution is automatic.

Howard Goes Over 1,000

Jessica Howard scored 17 points tonight to become the 13th players in GHS girls basketball to go over 1,000 points for her career. She presently rests with 1,006 points. She has been on the varsity all 4 years of her career at Galesburg. All-time career points at GHS are:
1- Sarah Larson       1,906
2- Tiffany Sibley     1,806
3- Megan Pacheco   1,445
4- Molly Watson      1,430
5- Brenna Saline      1,414
6- Sarah Pacheco     1,260
7- Stefanie Mitchell  1,135
8- Debbie Roberts    1,090
9- Ann Henderson    1,080
10- Taylor Young     1,014
11- Shannon Johnson 1,012
12- LaToya Wright    1,010
13- Jessica Howard   1,006


Jessica has certainly had an outstanding career at GHS. We have had many girls at GHS who worked hard and were committed to the basketball program. Jessica is one of the hardest workers and most committed players we have had. I am confident with the amount of time she has invested shooting in the off-season that no one has shot more in Thiel Gym. Her success is no accident, she has spent hours working to become a great basketball player. Congratulations to Jessica. The good news is that she still has a lot of games left to play for the Streaks!!

Jessica is certainly a great representative of Galesburg as an athlete, student, and citizen. We really have a very good group this year that is lead by an outstanding group of seniors.

Video of Jessica's 1,000th point can be seen by going to the home page of   www.ihssn.net

Interview with Jane Miller

This blog is an excuse for me to talk to some of my “buddies” in sports. The first on my list is Jane Miller, sports reporter for the Peoria Journal-Star. This gives me a chance to reverse roles and ask the questions of her.

I have been very fortunate as a coach because I can only think of one sports reporter who was unfair toward my players in what they chose to write. So I have gotten to know and work with some great reporters. My three favorites to work with have been Jay Redfern, Tom Loewy, and Jane Miller.

Jane is a GHS grad (before I started teaching). She left Galesburg for the glamour of the big city (Peoria). Jane has the tough task of being the “hometown” reporter for about 20 schools each winter. And she does a fair job, understands the purpose of high school sports, and really cares about the kids she covers.

Massey-  If you were able to go back, what sporting event/game that took place when you were in high school, would you like to go back as a sportswriter and cover?

Miller- This will probably surprise you but one of the football games my sophomore year that Dave “Louie” Nichols played in. The basketball state tournament stuff was too intense and we always lost the big games. Dale Kelly’s 50-point game was before I was in high school or I might have said that.

 Massey- Same idea, if able, who would you like to go back and interview from the '60's in Galesburg sports?

Miller- Coach Thiel, of course. We were so in awe of him so I would have liked to get to know the person he was a little more.

Massey- What are some of the most exciting events/games you have gotten to cover in your career?

Miller-You won’t like this, but the coolest thing I have ever covered were the Formula One races in Indianapolis because it’s something I NEVER thought I would have a chance to see. But I also love the state cross country meet and state track. And there have been quite a few basketball games over the years which have been highlights.

Massey- I agree with your feelings about cross country. The state meet may be the most spectacular high school sports event in Illinois. But that car racing stuff I don’t get.

Massey- How in the world did you get involved in this auto racing thing?

Miller- There was a car in 1968 called the Lotus Turbine. It was a color of orange that can’t be reproduced on film. It was the coolest car I ever saw and it raced at Indianapolis. I got interested in the 500 from that and listened to it on the radio every year until I finally got to go there in 1975. As soon as I walked in to the Speedway, I felt like I was in heaven. I feel like that to this day every time I drive into that place.

Massey- Jane, this interview is not going the direction that I had hoped.

Massey- What are a couple stories of yours that you think were either the most interesting to write or you think turned out to be one of the best you produced?

Miller- One of my favorites was when I walked the cross country state course with Heidi Knapp and she described her strategy at each part. It was only two miles then. I always enjoy the stories I write from the Peoria TT because the riders are so great. My favorite preview that I ever did was the one for the sectional at Galesburg a few years ago when John (Gross) gave a scouting report on all the teams. I like feature stories on people most of all. The best compliment I ever get is from a parent who says I completely captured their child’s personality in my story.

Massey- Basketball gets much more attention than cross country. What do you think basketball players could learn from cross country runners?

Miller- Self-discipline, self-motivation. Those kids are the such dedicated and hard-working athletes who certainly get a much smaller share of the spotlight than most. And they run all year and work out on their own.  

Massey- How long have you covered girls basketball? How do you see it has changed during that time?

Miller- Probably 17 years – eight when I first started then nine in this last stint. Quality of play overall is much higher. And there’s more interest. But when I first started, the top players over here were Nora Lewis, Cindy Bumgarner, Jonelle Polk, Tracy Krick and Carla McGhee and I don’t think we’ve had a group of that caliber at one time since then. I do think I have the best winter beat.

Massey- When you come back to Galesburg what do you do?

Miller- I visit my mom and sister and eat at Gray’s, Taco Hideout and Pizza House.

Massey- The best part about growing up in Galesburg was what?

Miller- Everything. I couldn’t imagine a better place to grow up. But I guess I’d have to say going to basketball games with my dad from the time I was little. And hanging out at Lake Bracken.

Massey- Jane may have moved to Peoria but she still has strong feelings for her hometown. When we were able to pull off the big upset vs. Loyola in 1999, she certainly got caught up in the joy of the moment. But that is Jane, sportswriting is not just a job, it is a passion. On the outside she keeps her "professional face" but on the inside she jumps for joy when any of her 20 plus "hometown" teams succeed.