Chad Thompson- Streaks Boys Basketball's Summer

Anyone who follows Illinois high school basketball is aware that there is the winter season, and then there is the June season. June is the time when coaches can evaluate players and evaluate new systems and strategies they may want to use in the winter. Teams can play against other competition and become aware of what works and what doesn't work. 

Like everyone, the Streaks boys basketball team was busy in June. I have asked Coach Thompson about how June went for the Streaks.

Massey- You’ve wrapped up your summer program. It was unfortunate that Thiel was shut down the entire month of June. What kind of adjustments did you have to make for that?

Thompson- Luckily, we were informed very early by Eric Matthews that Thiel was going to be shut down. He allowed us coaches to work together (Basketballs, Volleyball, and Football) to create a schedule that would work for everyone. We had to be very strict regarding time management and keeping everything on time to not interfere with other activities, but we made it work and it went as well as it could have. As a basketball team, we also received a week of help from CSC. Their coaches and AD allowed us to have varsity camp there for 4 days and that really helped avoid some major gym conflicts. 

Massey- It seems like every year there are more and more options for young kids. How were your numbers for grade school and JH players? What role do your HS or college players have with those programs? Did the younger programs go well?

Thompson- This year, we had a very good turnout for both our elementary and junior high camps. Our 1-4th grade camp had over 50 campers and our 5-8th grade camp had over 70 campers. At these camps, we had a total of 18 high school players working with the campers in different shifts and we also had two former Streaks and current college players (Demarco Harden and Carl Dortch) come assist with all levels of camp. I believe that the the camps went very well and we are very appreciative of the community for coming out in these great numbers to be a part of Silver Streak Basketball. 

Massey- When will Future Streaks get started up? What ages are involved in that?

Thompson- Future Streaks is our youth basketball program here in Galesburg. For the boys side, My staff and I will oversee 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teams for this coming winter. For the girls, Coach Demott will have the same teams (3rd-6th). Last year was the first year that we had a girls team at each grade level and we are very excited about that and are hoping that it continues. Tryout information will become available in August and tryouts will be taking place in late September.  

Massey- What were your numbers with the HS players? Is your staff the same with the HS?

Thompson- For the high school, we had a great group at the varsity level that showed excellent dedication and commitment to improving this summer. Familiar faces such as Jackson Crock Sibbing, Leslie Kelley IV, Keigen Crummer, Tobi Kivunina, Jaxon Wyatt, Cody Jones, Ethan Oxley, Kellan Oxley, and Demetrius Watson all put in countless hours in the gym, the weight room and with our youth campers. Our Fresh/Soph camp was run by Coach Mark Harden Sr. and Coach Mark Harden Jr. This is a young group that we are very excited about and they had a very productive summer both in the weight room and on the court. To finish up the coaching staff, both Steve Hawkins and Eric Thompson are stepping away from coaching. Steve retired at the conclusion of last season and Eric made the decision this spring to step away to be around his new wife and their one year old son more. 

Massey- Brady Landis has been with you a couple years, I believe. I always enjoy talking bb with Brady. He seems like he brings good combination of knowledge and enthusiasm. What is his background in coaching? What role does he fill?

Thompson- Brady has been a great addition to the coach staff ever since he joined us two years ago. Brady is a great players' coach and had developed great relationships with our roster. His energetic and positive nature can light up the locker room. On the coaching side, Brady is a great offensive mind and also does a great job breaking down film for us. He provides in depth scouting reports as well as excellent reflection on our own needs on film. In practice, you can find him working with the guards on skill development, putting our scout team through our upcoming opponents trends and tendencies, and analyzing our offense to help ensure that each player is in a role to maximize their ability. 

Massey- Who are returning players on the varsity from last year? How did they do? 

Thompson- With the youth that we had on the varsity roster last year, we will be returning a lot to the team. 

Seniors: Cody Jones, Tyree Taylor, Ethan Oxley, Kellan Oxley

Juniors: Jackson Crock-Sibbing, Keigen Crummer, Tobi Kivunina, Rahkim McCellan, Demetrius Watson, and Jaxon Wyatt

These 10 faces will all be returning to the team. 

Ethan Oxley and Jaxon Wyatt had very good summers as we transition to a two big offense. They play very well off each other and both took huge strides on the offensive side. Jackson Crock Sibbing started the summer off slow offensively, but averaged over 20ppg in our final 10 games. When he plays with great rhythm and patience, he is hard to guard. Another guy that really maximized his summer was Tobi Kivunina. Tobi's growth from June 1 to June 29 was the largest on the team. Tobi is a physical guard that has the ability to guard multiple positions, rebound the ball at a high level, and is beginning to get some confidence on the offensive end. Tobi is one of the hardest workers that we have and absolutely loves the game of basketball. We are excited to still have him for two more years. 

Massey- Where are some of the places you went to play? It is obviously good to expose players to tough competition. Who are some of the better teams you played this summer?

Thompson- This summer we played at DeKalb, Millikin, Lincoln HS, Pekin, UW-Platteville, Morris, and the Normal West Live Event.

The best teams we played:

1. DeKalb (Unbeaten this summer)

2. Morton (Returning top 5 3A team)

3. Belleville East

4. Dubuque Senior

5. Belleville Altoff

6. Bettendorf (Coming off a state run in Iowa)

7. Loyola Academy

8. Peoria High

9. Springfield Lanphier

10. Kankakee

Massey- Just to educate us as fans, who are going to be some of the best players and best teams in the WB6 and Peoria area?

Thompson- Best Teams in WB6/Peoria Area

1. Quincy (Bradley Longcor, Dom Clay, Keshaun Thomas) 

2. Moline (Trey Taylor, Braden Freeman)

3. Peoria Manual (Dieterich Richardson) 

4. Morton (Wes Gudeman)

5. Metamora (Matthew Zobrist)

6. Rock Island 

7. Peoria High (LeShawn Stowers)

8. United Township

9. Washington

10. Richwoods 

11. East Peoria

Massey- I am sure this summer that you did some experimenting, but what do you think will be your “style” this coming season- by that- will you be similar offensively and defensively?

Thompson- This summer we experimented with a 1-3-1 on defense. We are still a man to man team, but we also liked what we saw with the 1-3-1. On the offensive end, we will be playing two post players at a time for the majority of games. This is something that we have not done in my time at Galesburg. Jaxon Wyatt will be one of those and he also has the ability to step out and knock down 3s so moving him to the 4 from the 5 spot is going to be huge for us. Ethan Oxley and Rahkim McCellan are our other two posts that will be seeing a lot of minutes. With this, we will not always play at a fast pace but will look to get out and run when the time is right. We will also run more sets this year than we have in the past. 

Massey- Coach Calhoun at UConn said that when you watch a practice that every coach emphasizes three things. If we came to your practices, what would the three things be that we would see as your emphasis?

Thompson- Three things that I emphasize on a daily basis are communication, effort, and coachability. While these are things that do not require skill; if you do them on a daily basis, you can improve your skill at a much quicker rate and the team will come together as one. 

Massey- Headed into your fourth year as a head coach, do you feel like you have changed as a coach during that time at all? In what ways?

Thompson- Now that I am entering year four as the head coach, I do feel that I have changed/grown. As each year has gone by I have gotten to know each player better and I am able to better approach each player individually. As I have been around more and more coaches and basketball minds, I have tried new approaches both on the offensive and defensive end as well as new and modern types of skill development. However, with all of this grown, I feel that my knowledge in the weight room has grown the most. We have put in a very successful weight program over the past two seasons and we are loving the results that the players are seeing.