What were your main goals for your summer program? What were some of the best things you ever did with your summer program?
Both communities have proud basketball traditions. Taylorville and Dolph Stanley had been a state power in the 1940’s in boys basketball. Galesburg and John Thiel had been a power in the 1960’s in boys basketball.
In 1997 both communities were out in huge numbers to support their girls basketball teams. The result was largest crowd in IHSA girls basketball history, and the largest attended girls basketball State Tourney.
I knew I wanted to have my teams play man to man defense, but early I made an horrible mistake. I looked at everything that I thought needed to be taught, and decided that teaching man to man to the first teams would be too much. So I took the easy route. Although we pressed some 1-2-1-1 and some 2-2-1, our primary defense was to sit in a 2-3 zone. It was not a 2-3 “matchup”, it was a straight zone. As a player had never played 2-3, I knew nothing about it, we just sat in a 2-3 zone.
The 1963-64 Corpus Christi team had a very good year, going 19-5 on the season. They were coached by Rex Davis, who was in his second year. His first year they had gone 15-10.
Key players were Pat Prina, Jim Kennedy, John Noonan, Mike Hanrahan, Jim Kemmer, and Bob Scott. They took second in the Little Six Conference, won the Knox County Tourney, and earned the #2 seed in the Galesburg Regional. Other team members were Mike Prina, Bob Calderone, Mike Rice, Bob Scott, and Craig Wilke.
The student fans think what they are doing is funny. Two people on the bench- Allen Massey and Matt Pogue have been around Coach Reynolds enough that they know it is not a time to smile.
A great idea is to run one of your regular sets as a “false action.” Pick out something that you use a lot. You run this action again for maybe the 15th time in a game, but in the middle of it or at the end of it, you go into your “trick play.” Often the defense is caught off guard- they are busy defending your false action.
In 2003, Amanda Gunther was a 5’8” All-State post player. We lost to Fenwick in the Elite. On our run to State, Gunther was averaging close to 25ppg and we as a team were scoring only 55ppg. Amanda had a knack of catching the lob and either scoring over some 6’2” posts or drawing fouls. Vs. Fenwick, we wanted to slow the game down, so we might run our basic zone reversal action 4-5 times and then run this lob action for Gunther. She had a big game and kept us close but eventually we lost.
Key Events in Streaks History
1913- State Championship
1929- Gerald Phillips hired
1931- Streaks 3rd in State
1950- Gerald Phillips resigns
1955- John Thiel hired
1959- Streaks 3rd in State
1966- Streaks 2nd in State
1968- Streaks 2nd in State
1972- IHSA goes to 2-classes in basketball
1972-3- Girls Basketball Started
1973- John Thiel resigns
1976- Streaks in Elite 8
1982-3 GHS becomes 4 year high school
1982-3 All JH sports were cut (some for 1 year, others longer)
1993- Wicall Gym built
1998- Streaks finish 2nd in State
2008- IHSA goes to 4-classes in basketball
2014- Kimbrough Fieldhouse built
A great idea is to run one of your regular sets as a “false action.” Pick out something that you use a lot. You run this action again for maybe the 15th time in a game, but in the middle of it or at the end of it, you go into your “trick play.” Often the defense is caught off guard- they are busy defending your false action.
I am not saying to use my false action, pick out something in your playbook to use. Draw it out and then see how you add one of your tricks at the end.
He was from Peoria, where he went to Richwoods High School. Then he went to Beloit College. He was lured to Galesburg by work at Knox College by Harley Knosher.
Tom was not a good sportswriter, he was a great sportswriter. The characteristics that made him great were:
1- He was thorough. I can picture Tom in a Beloit English class having a professor telling him,”Just get one more source.”
2- He realized that although he was covering a basketball game, the story was not about basketball, it was about the people playing basketball.
3- While he is a great writer, he is an even better listener. He let the “people playing the game” tell him the story.
4- He was curious. He always had one more question. He wanted to make sure he understood what the person was saying.
From the 2000 girls basketball season, here are some samples of his writing.
Some coaches then grade players on defense and give them plus/minus for some of the areas.
Leggett always left one spot on his varsity tourney team to be filled by the player off the FS team who had the highest TV score.
At this time the IHSA had coaches seed the entire Regional/Sectional Complex. Galesburg was seeded #1 by the coaches, so they received a first round bye and then hosted the winner of the #8/9 games- LaSalle-Peru for the Regional Championship. LP was coached by Luke Yaklich, who went onto to be a men’s assistant at Illinois State, Michigan, and Texas before becoming the head coach at Illinois- Chicago.
Here are a couple great resources to look at the history of Illinois basketball. If you are a high school basketball fan, you can literally spend hours with the information they have.
Replacing the “Legend”
Phillips was the longest tenured boys basketball coach in GHS history, coaching 21 season. In his 21 seasons, he became a Galesburg legend. The Streaks won 332 games, 67% of their games, 16 Regional Championships, 7 trips to State, and one 2nd place finish.
As we know, it is always tough to be the “man to follow the man.” Probably no hire in GHS history brought more glitz and must certainly have “won the press conference,” that the hire of Ken Menke. If the administration wanted to hire a name, they sure did it with Ken Menke.
I think it looks fantastic, share your thoughts in the comments!!
At the start of the season, the Streaks started Jaque Howard as point guard, Michelle Flaar as a wing, Rachel Bicego and Shanell Jackson played the other wing, Whitney Snyder and Sarah Pacheco started as posts with Ashley Shepherd first in as a sub.
If there are two shooters on the weakside, they space on the arc. If it is a non-shooter, they go to the dunker spot.
In 1961, Collinsville went a perfect 32-0 with legendary Coach Vergil Fletcher. Their top two players were Bogie Redman and Fred Riddle.
25-30 Correct= Send in your application to be the head coach.
20-24 Correct= Send in your application to be the manager.
15-19 Correct= Start learning, send in your application for season ticket.
14 or less Correct= You are from Quincy, get off this blog!!!
We stayed at the team hotel in downtown Indianapolis. It was so much fun to see the excitement of the parents/families staying at the team hotel. The players were royalty when they went thru the lobby for the team bus. There was a police escort for the bus to take them anywhere they were going.
I have included in this post, three examples where his Streaks roots came out in his work.
I felt there was one coaching decision and 4 offensive possessions that were critical in helping Florida win the championship.
This is a look back at some clippings from the Galesburg Register-Mail from November, 1999 thru March 2000.
Paige Bueckers was the star of UConn and is one of the all-time most exciting college players. She will enter any debate on best all-time college players. And she is projected to be the #1 draft pick in the WNBA draft, which will be in on Monday, April 14.
Bueckers is great but Sara Strong is the player that really impressed me. Strong is a 6’2” freshman. I am not saying Strong is better than Bueckers but it is a question to revisit in few years.
In the articles, Jay interviews- Barry Swanson, John Thiel, Ralph Cannon, Frank Dexter, Dale Kelley, Dave Wood, Jim Reinebach, Dave Peck, Jimmie Carr, Chuck Bednar, Lyle Snyder, and David Gunderson.
Glory Days- 1960’s Made Galesburg Famous in Illinois for Streak Basketball
Will It Ever Be the Same?
GHS Looking To Increase Attendance
