Jimmie Carr was a great player for the 1959 Silver Streaks. He spent over 5 decades covering Streaks basketball on the radio. During that time, he watched some legendary coaches and their teams take on Galesburg. Not only did Jimmie have a chance to watch these opposing coaches and their teams, he had the opportunity to talk with these coaches.
Our conversation was about these legendary coaches. Jimmie shares some of his insights from watching them in action.
Massey- I am glad you are willing to share your thoughts on these coaches. It was certainly a great era for high school basketball. GHS played against some of the best. We won’t talk about Galesburg coaches, just opposing coaches.
Jimmie- Before you even ask the question, let me tell you that there were so many great coaches that I respect, but there are two coaches that standout at the top of my list- Don Morris from Alleman and Dick VanSyoc at Peoria Manual. I appreciate that I got to know both of them pretty well and they were tremendous coaches and tremendous people.
Massey- Obviously VanSyoc won and won and won, but what was it about him that you didn’t hesitate to identify as being at the top off your list?
Jimmie- As a coach, it was amazing how Dick could take some kids who didn’t have much experience growing up playing organized basketball and develop them into great players. He related to minority athletes and was able to show them that believed in them. I got to know VanSyoc more than any coach of the era, he was a quality person.
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| Dick VanSyoc, Peoria Manual |
Massey- I have never heard anyone say a negative word about Don Morris, what stood about Don Morris?
Jimmie- Nobody had more respect for their players, their school, and high school basketball than Don Morris had. He could talk forever about how important he thought Illinois basketball had been for so many kids. He was a hell of a quality man.
Massey- It is impressive that we didn’t even get started and without hesitation you wanted to single out Morris and VanSyoc.
Jimmie- You played for Harley Knosher at Knox, so you will understand what I am saying. Dick VanSyoc and Don Morris were Harley Knosher type coaches. They both wanted to win but they wanted to use basketball to impact players.
Massey- You did a lot of interviews during your time, who were you favorite opposing coaches to interview?
Jimmie- I have to go back to VanSyoc and Morris to start with, for all the reasons I already said. I knew them and just enjoyed talking to them. I liked getting to know lots of coaches, so I enjoyed that part of my job. The other coach I really enjoyed talking to was Sean Taylor. Sean seemed like he really appreciated being interviewed and wanted to help in whatever way he could help. He was smart and also funny.
Massey- Did any of the coaches catch you off guard and surprise you during interviews?
Jimmie- Duncan Reid was a challenge to interview. You didn’t always know where he was coming from. In some ways, Duncan was a throwback to a John Thiel. Both Duncan and John wanted to be candid and could say things that might be outspoken, and they both were showmen.
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| Sean Taylor, Quincy, Moline |
Massey- If you were going to hire a coach to build a program, who would you hire to do that?
Jimmie- I think I would pick VanSyoc or Duncan Reid. Both of them built schools into powerhouses. Dick obviously standouts. Duncan got everything out of his players that they had to give. As far as organization, Jerry Leggett would be on the list too.
Massey- As far as X/O’s and last two minutes of a game, who would you want on the bench?
Jimmie- In terms of both X/O’s and late game strategy, I would want Sean Taylor and Sherril Hanks on the bench. When Sean was at Quincy, I went into the lockeroom to talk with him and I saw the things he had on the board before the game. I was totally impressed with the detail he had and the things his players could do. In my mind, Sean was the best X/O’s coach I saw. Hanks offensively was a great coach.
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| Wayne Hammerton, Richwoods |
Massey- There were so many great coaches during this era. Who were some coaches that went under the radar, who were underrated in your mind?
Jimmie- The first name that comes to mind would be Wayne Hammerton at Richwoods. He was hard nosed, business like, and just a good coach. He wasn’t a self-promoter or flamboyant so maybe didn’t get the same attention as some others. When he was coaching, if you polled coaches hanging out at the State Tourney, the majority of people would agree with me about Wayne.
Cliff Talley at UT is very similar to Hammerton. He wasn’t entertaining like Ernie Kivisto had been when there. Cliff knew what he wanted to do, the 1-2-2 press and defense. He was stubborn and not going to change what he did but his kids knew how to do the 1-2-2.
Massey- We have talked about a lot of coaches and obviously there are many more that you admire that we haven’t talked about.
Jimmie- What Thom Sigel did in his career is pretty impressive. It is a lot harder going from small school basketball to large school basketball than people realize. He was able to win a State Championship at Rock Falls and then do the same thing at Rock Island. That is not easy, he was willing to change and adjust when he needed to. And it is not easy to be the man to follow the man, and Thom was able to do that. He had complete control of what he wanted to do on the court.
Massey- Any last thoughts about the legendary coaches from 1960 to 2000?
Jimmie- Those guys went after it. I wonder what would happen if they coached today.
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