1997 Streaks vs. Taylorville

In 1997, the Galesburg vs. Taylorville game set an IHSA record for girls state tourney attendance. Even though they do not publicize attendance figures anymore, I am confident the record still stands.

IHSA records for single session and for the entire weekend were set in 1997. Back then there were four sessions. Today there are 4 sessions for the A/AA weekend and 4 more for the AAA/AAAA weekends.

Feb 20!!!

February 20, 1997 was a big day in the Massey family. Allen Massey was born. He will be 15 years old on Monday night. From the moment he was born, basketball has gotten in the way of his birthday.

The night of Allen's birth, we beat LaSalle-Peru in the Regional Championship game 110-30.

If we are still playing on Allen's birthday, we know it has been a pretty good season.

Happy birthday- Allen!!

Streaks Win 21st Regional

Exciting night. 33 point 3rd quarter. 21st Regional title!

Chuck Daly's "Dalyisms"

Brendan Suhr’s Top 10 Chuck Daly “Dalyisms”
10. “12 O’clock Rule.” When you lose a game, feel sorry for yourself, be mad at your players, etc., but at midnight, you have to move on and get your team ready to play the next day.

9. “Nobody looks BAD in a blue suit.” Chuck loved to dress and he loved blue suits. He believed he was better at fashion than he was at coaching.

Senior Night- How Should Coaches Handle?

This past week, I had a conversation with a high school coach who discussed how "Senior Night" can turn into a difficult situation sometimes for a coach and for a team. His basic question centered around how a coach should handle playing time and starting for the senior players. There are many players, many parents, and many coaches who have differing perspectives on how the night should go. While coaches may have differing perspectives on how to handle Senior Night, all of the coaches want to honor the seniors in their program. I don't think the differing approaches to senior night are due to some coaches not wanting to honor their seniors.

Ethical or Not?

A dictionary definition of ethics is "to be in comformity with socially or professionally code of what is considered right or wrong."

When we play another team, if one player on the other team is grabbing our player's jerseys so it is tough for them to cut or get open- that is a violation of the rules. If the referee does not call that as a foul because they don't see it happen- it becomes a competitive advantage for the other team. If one player on the opposing team does this, you feel like it must be something the player learned "on the playground." If mulitple players are grabbing jerseys, you begin to wonder whether the opposing coach is ignoring the player's behavior or perhaps if the opposing coach is actually teaching them how to break the rule and not get caught. If the coach is teaching this behavior- is it ethical behavior?

Senior Week- Teammates Talk About the Seniors

We have had some great senior classes, and this year is no exception. Paige, Sadee, and Myra have given so much to our basketball program. To quote Allison Mangieri- “Each one CARES about the team and always come to play.”

Any memories from first meeting our seniors?

Jessica Lieber- I remember playing Junior Streaks bball with Sadee and Paige, Sadee was always the one we would always be scared of because she was so good just like she still is. I don’t really remember alot about playing with Paige or Myra but I remember Streaks Camps every year with all 3 of them.

Allison Mangieri- I first met Sadee in junior high and I thought she was very nice and worked hard at basketball. My thoughts are the same to this day!

I never knew Myra till I got to high school and I saw how she was always smiling and laughing- typical Myra.  Paige and I just became really close this season and I'm glad we did. I love her! :)

Senior Week- Sadee Hamilton

Sadee Hamilton is a 5’9” senior post player for the Streaks. She has been a big contributor on the varsity the last three years.

Sadee has the unique ability to play inside and be physical or step outside and become a ball handler and three point threat. She is our leading rebounder this year, and is number 2 in assists on our team. Although she plays a post position, she is like having a second point guard on the floor.

Paige Klinck- Senior Week

Paige Klinck has been a valuable, regular on the varsity the last three years. As a sophomore, she was minding her own business, playing on the soph team- when late in the year she was yanked to the varsity and moved into the rotation as a regular point guard. That is a pretty daunting thing for any soph to have to do- let alone doing it in the middle of the year and doing it at the point guard position. Paige not only handled it, she allowed us to be successful. Since that time Paige has played wherever we have needed her.

This past spring she had to have surgery on her wrist that prevented her from being able shoot, dribble, or play basketball. But I am convinced we are probably where we are this season because of Paige’s off-season contribution. Paige never missed any days of lifting, shooting, camps, leagues, or tourneys. She never complained, she did what she could. And the big thing she could do was provide an example to our younger players who were on the varsity. Her commitment to be at everything showed an unselfishness and dedication. Our teams approach to this season has been a reflection of what Paige showed this summer. Thanks Paige!!

UT's Old Gym

When I first started coaching girls basketball, we played our games at UT's high school building down past Soule Bowl but up on a hill. I am not sure whether it was a building that also housed freshmen classes or frosh-soph classes. It was an old building in the 1970's.

The gym was unique. On one side of the floor were permanent bleachers. There were probably about 12-15 rows of bleachers. The teams sat in the front row. On the other side, there was about a 3-4 foot drop off and theater seats. If the ball went out of bounds on that side, it would take awhile to locate the ball and get things back in play. As I remember, the edge of the basketball court was about 15 feet from the drop off so I don't remember any players going off the edge.

Senior Week- Myra Diggins

This is “Senior Week” for us, with our last regular season home game being played on Thursday vs. Washington. We have three seniors- Myra Diggins, Sadee Hamilton, and Paige Klinck. All three have been important to our success.

Myra at 5’6” has been a force for us the last two years. She is an active, aggressive defender at the front of our defense, and she has been very active on the boards. Myra’s constant energy will be greatly missed.

Gyms for Girls Teams

Over the last 40 years, a question that has faced schools is how to get all of their basketball teams into gyms for practice and how to get all the teams a spot to play the games.

At GHS when girls basketball was just getting started in the early 1970's, the varsity and soph boys teams practiced in Thiel Gym, and played their games there. Usually the boys varsity started practice at 1:30pm as part of "athletic PE." Then the sophs would come in for practice around 4:00 or 4:30pm. The girls teams went to Hitchcock school that had a small wooden court- today it is the Hitchcock apartments. Once a week, the girls would come in during the evening and practice in Thiel. Most of the girls games were played in Thiel but if there were conflicts, they played a few games at Churchill.

Playing in Big Gym at UT

Streaks vs. UT will be played in their big gym- "the boys gym." UT had scheduled to play all of their conference games in the bigger gym this year. It is not the first time the Streaks have played on this court.

We actually played three games on that court in 2003. Can you guess who we played?