What Is Freedom of Movement?

I am all for the basketball concept of “freedom of movement.” 

Since the beginning of this WNBA season, everyone says the emphasis for officials is to allow freedom of movement. 

1983 Illinois Girls Basketball Class AA State Tourney

 

State Champion- Peoria Richwoods

2nd- Chicago Maria

3rd- Chicago Marshall

4th- Sterling

Don’t Have Rules You Would Not Enforce with Your Starting Quarterback

The other night watching the Fever vs. the Aces, I was reminded of some coaching wisdom that was shared with me. 

HOF Insights- Basketball Coaches October Checklists

In the “HOF Insights”, I ask a group of successful, veteran coaches to share their thoughts on a variety of topics. Each week, I ask a different question. The questions can be focused on helping coaches, parents or athletes to have a more successful athletic experience.  

October is a busy month for basketball coaches. Coaches are trying to finalize plans for the upcoming season. It involves everything from organizing equipment to organizing the staff. Coaches want to hit the ground running when practices start in November. This group of coaches share their October checklist. 

Massey Quiz #65- Dog Breeds

I am going to show you a picture of a dog, your job is to identify what the dog’s breed is. 

Coaching 101- Daily Dozen

Years and years ago, I attended a clinic where Sam Alford (Steve Alford’s father) of New Castle, Ind gave a talk on developing a program. One of the concepts he talked about was giving his JH coaches a set of 5 drills to do each day in practice. The idea was that the first 30-45 minutes of each JH practice “belonged” to him as the Varsity coach. 

I thought it seemed like a great concept. The person who we hired to coach any of our lower level programs (JH thru FS), they were often inexperienced in coaching and often limited in their basketball knowledge. 

1983 Illinois Boys Basketball Class AA State Tourney

State Champions- Springfield Lanphier

2nd- Peoria Central

3rd- Harvey Thornton

4th- Chicago Marshall

Galesburg’s Role in Stopping Al Capone

Prohibition & Al Capone

Prohibition in the United States began in 1920 with the passage of the 18th Amendment. It ended in 1933 with the passage of the 21st Amendment. 

During this period of time, Al Capone in Chicago built a huge financial empire selling alcohol. By the late 1920’s, Capone was pulling in an estimated $100 million selling illegal alcohol. That would be equivalent to over $1 billion in today’s dollars. The center of his empire was on the southside of Chicago, but it is estimated that the Capone mob controlled over 6,000 speakeasies in Illinois.

Streaks Alumni Profile- Curt Morgan 1978

Today’s “Streaks Alumni Profile” features Curt Morgan from Galesburg HS’s class of 1978. 

Curt has been highly successful in the business world. He has had a positive impact in every area that he has worked because of his strong leadership skills. 

His success is no surprise to any of us who knew Curt while he was at Galesburg High School. Curt was a focused student at GHS, and he showed tremendous social skills. He was leader through his humility and respect for others. 

I am so glad that Curt was willing to share his memories and his journey after  GHS. 

1983 Illinois Girls Basketball Class A State Tourney

 

State Champion- Quincy Notre Dame

2nd- Rushville

3rd- Walther Lutheran

4th- Bloomington Central Catholic

This Week in Galesburg History- Sept 28, 2026

 

 

“This Week in Galesburg History” 

Can a woman become President?

What’s on TV

Teachers are fighting

Karaoke at Northgate

Streaks face winless opponent 

No more concession lines

This is a look back at the history of Galesburg (and the world). What was going on 100 years ago, 75 years ago, 50 years ago, 30 years ago, 20 years ago, and 10 years ago this week? 

“This Week in Galesburg History” appears on Mondays on the WGIL website and the Massey Basketball Blog.

1983 Illinois Boys Basketball Class A State Tourney

State Champions- Lawrenceville

2nd- Flanagan

3rd- McLeansboro

4th- Havana

Inside Hoops- Building Man to Man Culture

Early in my career, the varsity players did not have much basketball training before they got to high school. They had not played in the YMCA, they had not gone to camps when young, and most had not even had JH experience. 

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. 

Hall of Fame Insight: What Do You Miss?

This was the first of the Hall of Fame Insights- it was posted July 30, 2024

I am hoping to do this segment- "Hall of Fame Insight" on a regular basis. I have put together a crew of retired coaches, who were highly successful in their high school coaching career. My hope is to pose one question to them, every two weeks. 

Massey Basketball Quiz #5- Legendary Illinois HS Coaches from ‘30’s thru ‘60’s

   

 

 

Here are 16 pictures of legendary Illinois HS coaches from the 1930’s thru the 1970’s. This is just some of the legendary coaches- it is not intended to be all the legendary coaches of that era. 

I will give you a picture of the coach, and one of the schools they coached- your job is to name the coach. 

The answers are at the end of the quiz. 

Vince Lombardi Quotes

I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victory.

If it doesn't matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?

Legends- Layne Langholf, Todd Hursey, John Gross

(This was originally published January, 2025.)

One of the goals for coaches and players is to win a State Championship. I have asked 8 high schools basketball coaches to reflect upon their championship seasons. Today Layne Langhoff (Peoria Notre Dame), Todd Hursey (Richwoods), and John Gross (Richwoods) reflect upon their championship seasons. 

It should be noted that by doing this blog page, there may be some of my former players who send me hate mail. That will be ok, I miss my players so whether good or bad messages, it will be great to hear from them!!!

1966 Galesburg HS Reflector

Hall of Fame Insights- Head Coach as a Leader

(The following first appeared in September of 2025.)

This Weeks Topic: The Head Coach as a Leader-Looking back, what do you consider the most crucial elements of effective leadership for a head coach with your staff? How did you try to empower your staff and foster cohesion in the staff? Can you recall specific instances where you “let go” some of your power and an assistant impacted a game or season?

The Challenges and Triumphs of Streaks Female Athletes in the ‘70’s

While Galesburg HS offered girls tennis from 1930-1949, the start of an entire girls sports program came in the 1970’s. In 1971-2, Galesburg formed an interscholastic basketball team with a schedule of just two games. Before they could play, the IHSA announced that interscholastic basketball was prohibited in Illinois schools. 

The program of sports started in 1972-3 with field hockey, volleyball, badminton, bowling, basketball, softball, track, and golf. The IHSA offered championships in only track and bowling. 

There was much excitement getting started sports, and the early girls teams had great successes. The first two basketball teams went undefeated, the 1975 and 1976 golf teams both took third in State, the field hockey team took third in State in ‘75 and made the Elite 8 in ‘76, and the tennis team in ‘79 and ‘80 took fourth and fifth in State. 

Not everything was joyful for athletes in the ‘70’s. Athletes sometimes had to practice in grade schools, they had very limited schedules, limited funding, limited media attention, and sparse crowds. 

I have put together a list of early highlights of girls sports, and I asked six female athletes from the ‘70’s to share the joys and the frustrations of being the first female athletes at GHS. Here are their memories…

Streaks Alumni Profile- Kelly Lange-Haider 1976

Today’s “Streaks Alumni Profile” features Kelly Lange-Haider from the Galesburg HS’s Class of 1976. 

Kelly was one of the pioneers in girls sports in the 1970’s. Like many of the girls in this era, she seemed to try any sport she could. She was one of the top early athletes at GHS. 

Knee injuries put a damper on her high school career but not before she helped lead the 1975-6 field hockey to 3rd in State finish. Kelly was the goalie who was instrumental in shutting down the opponents. To say she was a key to the team’s great achievement would be an understatement. Despite her team’s success and her tremendous performance, neither she or her team are in the GHS Athletic HOF. 

Kelly went onto to have an impressive career as a female pioneer in engineering.

I really appreciate Kelly taking the time to share her memories and her life story. 

1982 Illinois Boys Basketball Class AA State Tourney

State Champions- East St. Louis Lincoln

2nd- Chicago Mendel

3rd- Quincy

4th- Chicago Marshall

Inside the Huddle: Scrimmage Techniques

(This first appeared in December of 2024)

SCRIMMAGE TECHNIQUES

How much time do you spend going 5 on 5 full-court? Do you usually just go so many possessions or go extended times? Whether going 5 on 5 full or half court, do you have some favorite things you do to produce focus on something or to increase competitiveness?

Massey Quiz #64- What City Is This?

  

 

 

Here are fifteen famous places- what city are they located in?

The answers are at the end of the quiz. Keep track of your score and read exactly what your score indicates. If you would like- share your score on the Facebook or Massey Blog under the comments. 

1955 Illinois Boys Basketball State Tourney Program

1- Rockford West

2- Elgin

3- Pinckneyville

4- Princeton

Inside Hoops- What Do You Emphasize?

(This was originally published in January of 2025.)

There are many stats that are important to coaches and to players. Depending on each team's style of play, coaches choose emphasize particular stats. 

Stats can be used to evaluate why teams win and lose. Stats can be used to help educate players on how to evaluate their performance. 

HOF Insights- Role of Assistant Coaches

In the “HOF Insights”, I ask a group of successful, veteran coaches to share their thoughts on a variety of topics. Each week, I ask a different question. The questions can be focused on helping coaches, parents or athletes to have a more successful athletic experience.  

In this edition, I ask Coach Larry Schulte, Coach Mark Cooper, and Coach Ralph Gallo about the coaching staff. What should a head coach be looking for in the coaches in their program, and what are expectations of the coaching staff.