Legends- Sean Taylor & Thom Sigel

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 Sean Taylor (Shelbyville & Moline), and Thom Sigel (Rock Falls & Rock Island) reflect upon their championship seasons. 

Coach Taylor and Coach Sigel have a unique perspective, having won State Championships at two different schools. Sean's wins are more impressive than Thom's. It is obvious that Thom can only win a State Championship at a "Rock" school, so he is a little more limited in his abilities. 

I have a great deal of respect for Coach Taylor and Coach Sigel. They have always treated me as a coaching peer, and not all boys basketball coaches do that with girls coaches. 

X/O’s- Different Screen-Screener Action

Reversing the Ball- We are clearing #2 out of the one side, and then screening for #3 to get the ball at the top of the key area.

WB6 Update- Jan. 15

 Girls WB6 Standings

1- Galesburg  7-0  (17-3)

2- Sterling      6-1 (17-3)

3- Alleman     5-2  (15-6)

4- Quincy       4-3  (13-6)

5- Moline        3-4  (7-10)

6- Rock Island 2-5  (8-11)

7- Geneseo     1-6  (3-11)

7- UTHS         0-7  (0-19)

Boys WB6 Standings

1- Quincy       6-0   (16-1)

    Rock Island 6-0  (18-1)

3- UTHS         4-2   (13-5)

    Moline        4-2  (15-4)

5- Sterling      2-4  (10-8)

6- Alleman     1-5   (2-16)

    Galesburg   1-5  (6-13)

    Geneseo     0-6  (0-16)

WB6 Update- Matt Schuckman

In an era when local papers seem to have little interest in covering high school sports, Matt Schuckman of Quincy does a great job covering high school sports in Quincy and the Quincy area. 

If you don’t follow Matt at Muddy River Sports on Facebook, you should.

Legends- Layne Langholf, Todd Hursey, John Gross

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!!!

Inside Hoops- Does Your Coaching Staff Do This?

As coaches, we emphasize to our players that if they want to reach their goals, they need to be willing to work and improve in the off-season. We give them books to motivate them to work. We give them notebooks to chart their progress. We share examples of pros and college players off-season programs. It is clear- players must make a commitment to improving in the off-season. 

X/O’s- 5 Out Post Up

Set Double Screen Above Block- #5 & #3 go in to set double screen above the block. First cutter, #4 goes to wing. 

Streaks Scrapbook- Greatest Resource on Streaks Girls/Boys Basketball

 

Here is everything that was put together in 2024 on the Silver Streaks boys and girls basketball teams. There are pictures, newspaper articles, records, and quizzes. It is only going to get better in 2025. I will start with boys 1963 team and the girls 2000 team- and just keep going!!

Streaks Scrapbook

X/O’s- OB Screen-Screener with Backdoor

Screen-Screener Action- Traditional screen-screener action to set up #2 as shooter. The basic play can be run to send #5 right to the basket, and #4 can always slip the screen and go to passer. 

In this play, #5 does not cut to the basket but cuts to the inbound passer. 

WB6 Update- Jan. 9

 Girls WB6 Standings

1- Galesburg  6-0  (15-3)

2- Alleman     5-1  (14-4)

3- Sterling      4-1 (14-2)

4- Moline        3-3  (7-9)

5- Quincy       3-3  (11-5)

6- Rock Island 2-4  (7-10)

7- UTHS         0-5  (0-16)

8- Geneseo     0-6  (2-11)

Boys WB6 Standings

1- Quincy       4-0   (13-0)

    Rock Island 4-0  (15-1)

3- UTHS         3-1   (11-4)

    Moline        3-1  (13-3)

5- Alleman     1-3   (2-12)

    Sterling      1-3  (9-7)

7- Galesburg   0-4  (5-12)

    Geneseo     0-4  (0-14)

Old School Coaches- What Made A Difference In Your Program

This Week’s Question

There are many things involved in creating a successful sports program. As you look back, what a couple of the things that made your program successful?

Inside Hoops- Joey Range- Why Didn’t You Yell More?

Joey Range was an all-state basketball players at Galesburg High School. He finished his career with 2390, and his team finished 2nd in State. Many consider Joey to be the best player in Galesburg HS history and in the history of the WB6. So Joey knows something about basketball and about brining championships.

The last game I went to there was a dad who was out of control. He was yelling instructions to his player, criticizing other players, and second guessing the coach. This dad made me think about Joey Range. Watching this dad and thinking about Joey, I couldn’t get a question out of my mind. 

Players Playbook- Dealing with Adversity

On my walk today, I was listening to podcast with a baseball executive. His conversation was about how they evaluate prospects. I realize Major League Baseball is a long way from high school basketball, but this exec made a point that fits any level of sports. 

He described in the files they keep on prospects, one of the categories is “handling adversity.” Their belief is that every athlete is going to have to deal with adversity at some point. Adversities of a baseball player could be an injury, not being promoted, being in a slump, being held out of the lineup, losing, and more. 

The point is that all athletes will face adversity. According to this exec, one of the most important ingredients for success is the ability to handle adversity and go onto the “next play.”  

X/O’s- Press Break with Movement

Years ago, Dan Sullivan, Mike Jaskoski, and I worked the Bill Walton Big Man Camp for 3 days. Pro basketball coach Don Casey was across the hall from us. Every night we met with Coach Casey. He told us to bring beer, a posey board, and questions. 

At the time, my team’s were struggling. Because we struggled, everyone pressed us. A lot of my questions were about problems vs presses and ideas for press breaks. After about my 4th question about press breaks, Casey said,”My guess is that you need to do a lot of work on passing, cutting and catching. You team is struggling not because of their press break but probably because of their skills.” Rule #1- There is no magic press break.

Legends- 1977 Sterling State Champs

People who have only followed girls basketball 10-15 years are quick to label a player or a team as “greatest ever.” When people say such things, they are showing their ignorance of the history of girls basketball. There have been many great players and great teams in the last 50 years- the 1977 Sterling girls basketball team was one of those great teams.

Sterling’s “Golden Girls” captured the very first IHSA girls basketball State Championship with a perfect 21-0 record under Coach Sue Strong and Coach Jim McKinzie.