GHS Legends Share Secrets of the Streaks 2-1-2 Offense

1958-1959 Silver Streaks

In 1970, while playing basketball for Savanna HS, we were playing Sterling Newman. The Comets came down the floor in the second half, and they yelled,”Streak.” Their “Streak” offense meant they were going to get into a 2-1-2 offense. 

Through the years talking to Streaks players from the Thiel era, they always talk about the “2-1-2 offense.” This past year, I have had a chance to talk with several former Streaks about the 2-1-2 offense. 

The group I was able to talk to were certainly Streaks legends- Jimmie Carr, Frank Dexter, Dale Kelley, Barry Swanson, Dave Wood, and Zack Thiel. They were able to share the nuances of the offense and where they thought the 2-1-2 fit into the total Thiel system. 

1963-1964 Silver Streaks

The Positions

The offense featured two low posts on each block, a player in the high post, and two guards outside. 

With the low posts, Thiel was adamant that they not change sides. They did not screen across for each other. And as you faced the basket, the best post up scorer always was on the right block. The three best back to the basket scorers were Bumpy Nixon (‘60), Mike Davis (‘64), and James Reinebach (‘69). Davis made the turn around jumper famous in Galesburg. 

The player on the left block tended to be the athletic jumper. With the ball more apt to go into the player on the right block, the player on the left block often had their defender leave to help across the lane. And the player on the left block was usually on the weakside as a rebounder. Obviously the players on the left block were getting defensive rebounds too, there were games where Dave Cox (‘59) , Marv Harris (‘64), and Ruben Triplett (‘69) had unbelievable rebounding totals. It was not unusual for these guys to have games with 15-20 rebounds. 

1965-1966 Silver Streaks

Jimmie Carr said that Coach Thiel made it clear who was to be on which side. Jimmie said, “Sometimes Dave (Cox) would tell Bumpy to switch sides. When Thiel saw that in practice, he stopped practice and told them to go back to sides Thiel wanted. In games, he usually immediately subbed or called a time out, but was unhappy.

The high post was the position which changed the most over the years. In the ‘50’s and early ‘60’s, the high post was most involved as a rebounder, crashing the offensive boards. Rick Callahan (‘64) in 1963 is credited with changing the 2-1-2 offense. He was such a good shooter (held the GHS record for FG% until Eric Thompson broke it over 50 years later). As a result, the high post with Callahan, Barry Swanson (‘66), and Dave Wood (‘68) became a much more involved offensively than it had been before. 

Unlike with the posts, the guards would move from side to side depending on the fastbreak opportunities and how the defense played them. The tendency was for the main ball handler to end up on the right side. In 1966, early in the season Barry Swanson was moved from guard to high post, and Roland McDougald (‘68) inserted as a guard. Swanson claimed that having McDougald move into the lineup was significant for the ‘66 team. According to Swanson, “Mac was left handed, so he tended to balance our offense more, we were tougher to guard as a team because we used both sides of the floor.”

1967-1968 Silver Streaks

Strength of the Offense

Frank Dexter (‘64)

“It was great as a guard. I had so much freedom, I had the whole side of a court to operate in. It really helped me develop skills that helped me later in college too.”

“We had Davey Lundstrom and he was like a “Bob Cousey” type ball handler. The space of the offense made him tough to guard.”

Barry Swanson

“We were taught the offense in JH. It was designed to get the ball inside and get the other team in foul trouble.” 

“We could take advantage of mismatches and post up the high post. Coach Bob Morgan used to say,’It’s like the Green Bay Packers’ sweep, they know it is coming but they can’t stop it.’”

“I hated when I went to college and we ran set plays. In HS, we had freedom to play and just read the defense.”

“We learned the offense in JH. You modeled your game after the older players. I copied my game after Rick Callahan.”

Jimmie Carr (1959)

Dave Wood

“Thiel believed you wanted to get the ball to the basket, so why not put two players posted up.”

“It was really hard for the defense to help on the strong side post. They couldn’t leave the weakside post to rebound. If they left the high post, the high post had a nice jumper or crashed the boards. And they couldn’t leave the guards open for shots.”

Zack Thiel

“We could isolate the weakest defender. We could take the weakest post defender and weakest guard defender and play a two man game with them.”

Jimmie Carr

“For us the offense was designed to get the ball inside. Our job as guards was to get it to the posts. If we were going to score as guards, it was gong to be on the fastbreak or getting steals.”

Rick Callahan (1964)

Some Scoring Options

Simple Post Up- The guard would dribble down to a 45 degree angle and feed the ball into the post. Players like Bumpy Nixon, Mike Davis, and Jim Reinebach developed deadly turn around jumpers. 

Guards Relocate- As Dave Wood mentioned, it was tough for the other low post to help or the high post to drop, so often the defense had the defender on the guard drop to help. The guards then would relocate. Dave Wood described it as, “Guards like Dale Kelley and Zack Thiel would just move to an open spot for a jumper.”

Roll the High Post Down- Often players like Callahan, Swanson, Wood, and John Tuszinski would have a mismatch. So the low post could step out on the baseline, and the high post would then go down and post up. And low post players like Ralph Cannon, Bumpy Nixon, Terry Childers, Mike Drasites, and Reinebach were proficient jump shooters on the baseline. 

Two Man Game- The low post could come out and run a pick and roll with the guard on that side. 

Two Man Game- The high post could come out and run a pick and roll with the guard. Players like Rick Callahan, John Tuszinski, and Swanson would be apt to roll to the low post. Players like Dave Wood could screen and pop the screen for a jumper. 

How Did Dale Kelley Score

Dale Kelley was the most prolific scorer in Galesburg HS history. During the ‘66 team’s State Tourney run, he had 30+ points vs some of the best players in Illinois. 

The obvious question would be how did Kelley use the 2-1-2 to score all those points. The first thought would be that they must have run some set plays for Kelley. Barry Swanson didn’t feel Dale needed sets, “We really might run a pick and roll for Dale but not any sets. It was Dale getting shots.”

Dale Kelley (1966)

Zack Thiel commented that, “We didn’t have sets. Dale got a lot of shots on his own or on McDougald penetrating and Dale sliding behind him, or hitting the post and moving into open spots. Dale was could shoot off the dribble and was such a great jumper that he could just shoot over people.”

Dave Wood recalled,”Dale was such an incredible jumper, he could also take the ball inside and surprise post defenders by jumping over them.”

Dale Kelley saw it this way, “God gifted me with the ability to jump so I could shoot over a lot of people. I was right handed but my best move was going to my left and pulling up. You have to realize that Roland McDougald was the best player I ever played against in HS. We worked out together all summer. Roland was just a great passer, he had the ability to hit me with the ball right when I got open. He got the ball at the right place and at the right time.” 

Jim Reinebach (1969)

Offense or Defense?

When I asked Frank Dexter about the role of the 2-1-2 offense, he replied,”The 2-1-2 offense was really the third or fourth most important thing for us. The most important thing was our fastbreak. We really didn’t set up much, we got out and ran. And we could run because of our good man to man defense and our pressure defense.”

When I told Zack Thiel what Dexter’s thought had been, Zack echoed the opinion, “Our fast break was definitely #1 thing for us. I am sure we set up the 2-1-2 less than 50% of the time, and ran over 50% of the time.”

Barry Swanson added,”Coach Thiel didn’t call it a fastbreak, but called it a “controlled break.” 

Dale Kelley was clear that it all started defensively, “Barry Swanson was an incredible leader, he was determined we would never lose. I got credit because I scored a lot of points, but our best all-around player was Bob Jasperson. He was a great defender for his height and a phenomenal rebounder. He allowed us to get out and run. The fast break was the #1 thing for us. That is where I got most of my points. Either I had the ball or Mac penetrated and hit me as a trailer.”

Anyone who watched the 1968 team vs. undefeated Effingham would have no doubt that Galesburg’s thing was the fastbreak as the Streaks ran out to a 30+ point win over the #1 team in Illinois. Dave Wood was part of the 1968 team, which set records for points per game. Woody put their success simply, “We pressed and we ran.” 

Dave Wood (1968)

It’s the Whole Package

All the pieces fit together for the Streaks- the defense and pressure led to the fastbreak. Perhaps Dale Kelley summed things up the best, “We ran and wore people out. At the end of the game, we were in better shape.”