Massey Quiz #16- Past and Present Galesburg

 I have fifteen Galesburg pictures of the past and present. There may be pictures of places, people, monuments, parts of buildings, and even more. The quiz is designed to celebrate how wonderful Galesburg is, and test your knowledge of our community. Enjoy and have fun!!

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. 

HOF Insights: Advice for First Year Coaches

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION- Share some advice for young coaches just getting started- What mistakes did you make as a first year coach or do you commonly see beginning coaches make? What is great advice that you got when you first started out in coaching? What advice would you have for beginning coaches?

George Washington Gale’s Legacy: A Community and It’s School

Minnie and Nellie taking a break early one morning.

One of my walking routes is to go south on Prairie St. then go around Knox College campus. The last few weeks it has been fun to see students back on the campus- students headed to classes, athletes headed to the gym, and some just sitting outside talking to each other. 

Minnie and Nellie like the walk because Knox students will ask if they can pet them. 

I like taking a lap around the campus as it brings back many good memories- my freshman dorm room, my fraternity house, Memorial Gym, Old Main. Each time it seems like more memories come back. Most memories are good, some like Calculus class not so good!

Streaks Basketball Alum: Sean Hanlon 1995

What were some of your favorite classes/teachers at GHS? 

My favorite teachers at GHS were Mr. Kessler, Ms. Hinman, Ms. Fulton, Mr. Hickey, and Mr. Moore. 

Inside the Huddle: Down 2, Your Ball, 7 Seconds Left

Situation- The other team just scored to go up 2 with 7 seconds to go. You just called a time out. You are taking it out on the baseline and need to go the length of the floor. You have no time outs left. You expect the other team to play either full or half court man defense. What are you drawing up?

Streaks Basketball Alums: Jaque Howard Gohlinghorst 2000

What was your favorite class, teacher? 

Science with Mr. Steve Peachey.  He is the best!

1953 Illinois Boys Basketball State Tourney

 

Optimizing Court Time: A Coach’s Guide to Players’ Minutes and Shot Distribution

I have put together an off-season exercise that might help you as you imagine what you want your team to be this winter. And it is an exercise you can come back to during the season, to evaluate if your team is becoming what you want it to be. 

North Carolina Women’s Soccer Team’s Core Values

At the foundation of all championship teams are solid shared values. Values that place the team first. 

In basketball when we think of dominate programs, we think about John Wooden and UCLA, the Boston Celtics of the ‘60’s, Geno Auriemma and UConn, and Pat Summit and Tennessee. All of those teams had a championship culture that separated them. 

One of the most dominant sports teams in America has been the North Carolina Women’s Soccer Team. Under Coach Anson Dorrance, North Carolina won 20 of 22 ACC championships, and 21 of 29 NCAA championships. 

Author Tim Crothers in The Man Watching: A Biography of Anson Dorrance, the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever takes a look inside the championship program. A key part is where Coach Dorrance shares the core values of the program and their significance. 

WNBA: Champs, Refs, Boos, and an Elephant

Dynasty & Goat?

Las Vegas won their third title in four years. Whether that qualifies as a dynasty of not, it is certainly a nice run. 

The Aces have gotten to where they are with four important things:

1- They have one of the top coaches in the WNBA in Becky Hammon. She was leader as a player then developed as a coach under Gregg Popovich. Pop may well be the best coach in WNBA history. 

The story was shared that one of the first things Hammon did when she took over the Aces was to meet with A’ja Wilson. In the meeting Hammon told Wilson, “If we are going to be good, I have to be able to coach you hard in front of your teammates.” This was learned from Pop about how he coached Tim Duncan. 

1970- Chuck Bednar Retires: Controversy Follows

Often when I go to the library to research one story, I come across another story as I look at old newspapers. The next thing you know, I get buried in a story. This is one of those stories. 

It is a story from June of 1970 that involves District #205, and the hiring of a new athletic directors. It is a story where you feel you need a program to know all of the actors involved. 

Inside Hoops- Pre-Practice Routine

I liked to have a routine the players would perform as soon as they came on the floor. I didn’t want the players to come on the floor and just do “free shooting.” I wanted the message to be that as soon as we got on the court it was time to be purposeful and to get to work. 

Massey Quiz #15: Galesburg Places

 

I have fifteen Galesburg pictures of the past and present. There may be pictures of places, people, monuments, parts of buildings, and even more. The quiz is designed to celebrate how wonderful Galesburg is, and test your knowledge of our community. Enjoy and have fun!!

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. 

Lute Olson and the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Eyes and Ears: Galesburg’s Dick Lindstrom

Lute Olson during his days as basketball coach at Iowa.

Earlier I had set up a time to talk with Dick Lindstrom about some history of Galesburg’s downtown, and about Lindstrom’s back in the era of the 45 rpm records. Our conversations about both those topics was fascinating, but I couldn’t help myself- we had to talk some basketball.

If you know Dick Lindstrom, you know that Dick is a huge Iowa Hawkeye fan. It is a tough one to figure, he lives in Illinois but roots for the Hawkeyes. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in Illinois and not be an Illini fan. 

I asked Dick how he happened to become a die-hard Hawkeye fan. He attended Iowa Wesleyan University in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Evidently there is not a lot to do in Mt. Pleasant, and it is only about 30 minutes from Iowa City. So Dick and several of his buddies would drive up for Hawkeye football and basketball games. He became hooked. 

Streaks Basketball Alums: Myra Diggins Reed 2012

Favorite classes/teachers?

My favorite class would have to be, now don't make fun of me but Dance class when I had Emma Junk as a partner. 

HOF Insights: Handling the Unmotivated Athlete

This past month, the Chicago Sky disciplined Angel Reese by making her sit for 1/2 of one game. Unfortunately probably all of us have had a talented player who may lack work ethic, not understand being a good teammate, or were disrespectful. How did you balance handling the “unmotivated player with talent” in such a way as to try to get them on boards vs not letting them disrupt the team? Were their techniques or methods that seemed to work and not work for you? 

1970-1973 Carl Sandburg Men’s Basketball Teams

 

These are pictures from Tom Wilson’s scrapbook. It includes team pictures of the 1970-1, 1971-2, and 1972-3 teams. The coach of all three teams was Bill Hungate.

Inside the Huddle: Up 3, On Defense, 8 Seconds Left

Situation- You just scored to go up 3 with 8 seconds to go. You have taken a time out, so they will get the ball on the baseline and have to go the length of the floor. What do you play defensively? Do you press? Do you change your defense? Do you foul or play it out?

Streaks Basketball Alums: Casey Williams 2015

What was your favorite class (classes), favorite teacher (teachers)?

Surprisingly Math was one of my favorite subjects in school and I genuinely loved taking AP Calculus with Mrs. Kniker. It was a very challenging and work-load heavy course as it spanned over the course of a full school calendar year, but I feel like the competitive side in me loves a challenge. Not only did Mrs. Kniker teach that course on a college level, but it in fact did give me 8 college credits after passing the AP exam. She was the best to learn from. 

 

If we want to talk about least favorite teachers though, I did take Psychology at the high school and that teacher was something else…. Thank goodness he is retired now!  (Note- This is Casey’s humor, taking a jab at her HS coach.)

1981 Illinois Girls AA State Tourney

 

Don’t Wait ‘til Post-Season: Using Awards to Promote a Winning Culture

Early in my coaching career I did not give any post-season awards. It went back to my experience as a high school football and basketball player. 

The entire season my coaches promoted the value of a “team-first” attitude- it was all about the team not the individual. 

Then we got to the banquet, and they gave an MVP Award. It seemed the focus was not on the team’s achievements but the suspense of who would be the MVP. Players who had been great team players left the banquet feeling disappointed and perhaps unappreciated. 

As a result, I chose not to give any individual awards for much of my career. 

WNBA: What’s Up? How Do We Find Out?

Poor Coverage

At this point, I am not sure where the WNBA is headed. One problem is that the WNBA does not have the best reporters covering the league on TV and in the print outlets. 

I listen to a lot of NBA, College Men’s BB, and WNBA podcasts, read a lot about the leagues, and watch TV programing. It is striking how often in college men’s and in the NBA coverage there seem to few, if any secrets out there. The reporters are always saying, “Inside sources tell me,” or “executives are telling me.”

If WNBA reporters are connected to management, coaches, or players- it does not come across in reporting. 

As in many sports a significant program in understanding what is going on is that the primary source of info is ESPN. ESPN has become primarily an entertainment network, not a news network. And what complicates it is that ESPN owns rights to the WNBA, so it is obvious they want as much as possible to just promote the sport and avoid the negative. 

My point is that the WNBA is in a worse position than we realize- the WNBA is in a worse spot than anyone is telling us.

Ted Lasso Wisdom: A Coaching Clinic

I always love a great clinic, the opportunity to learn from the best coaches in the sport. Ted Lasso doesn't do a lot with X/O's, but he deals with the MORE important things- team work, goal setting, handling success, handling adversity, and so much more. 

I am taking some of Ted Lasso's great quotes, and matching them up with quotes from some of the greats in sports and psychology. It is quickly evident that Ted Lasso totally understands how to be a great coach!!

Streaks Managers- Archer And Jacobs Reflect On The 1960’s

Dennis Jacobs (GHS ‘70) and Fritz Archer (GHS ‘68) were managers their sophomore years at GHS. It was an exciting time to be around Silver Streaks basketball. Both of them were to share some of their memories of Galesburg basketball and John Thiel. 

Dennis Jacobs- 1968 Streaks Basketball Manager

Massey- When did you go to GHS and when were you a manager for the Streaks?

Dennis Jacobs- I graduated from Galesburg High School in 1970 and was a Student Manager my Sophomore year for both the 1967 GHS Hall of Fame Football Team and the 1968 GHS Hall of Fame Basketball Team. A pretty good way to start my first year at GHS.

Massey- How did you get involved being a manager?

Dennis Jacobs- I had been a Student Manager for basketball and track in the 8th Grade and 9th grade at Churchill Junior High for Coach Bill Morgan and Coach Bob Morgan. My Dad had gone to school with Coach Bill and after I didnt make the cut in 8th Grade to play for him, he asked me to be a Manager. I was an OK basketball player, but was not a football player and did not fit Coach Bill's profile. We had really good Churchill teams those two years and I was hooked. In the Fall of 1967 after starting school at GHS I sought out Coach Bob Johns.  After telling him about my experience at Churchill and my desire to stay involved I asked if I could be a Student Manager at GHS and he said yes. 

Massey- What had been your involvement with the Streaks growing up?

Dennis Jacobs- I had grown up on Bridge Avenue and lived next door to 1962 - 1965 Silver Streak player John Pratt and across the street from Mike Bangert. I  attended many Silver Streak games and became acquainted with some of the Student Managers and even sat on the bench during games in those days. I also listened to all the games on the radio broadcasts and also attended practices. I would attend practices because I chose to cut through the halls of GHS on my walk home to Bridge Ave from Rose Hoben Welch Grade School. It was warm in the halls on my walk home and besides that, I loved basketball and the Silver Streaks. 

Massey- It is fun to be an “insider” but there is kind of a “code” when part of the team to keep somethings inside the locker room?

Dennis Jacobs- I participated in and was involved in sports my entire youth from Little League Baseball playing for my Dad and Clint Arenz and also youth basketball at the "Y" playing for Harold Canada and Glen Pepmeyer. I knew from a young age that conversations  between coaches and players were just that, between coaches and players. I was never told or heard "what is said here, stays here".

Massey- What were practices like?

Dennis Jacobs- Basketball practice for the Silver Streaks was intense and structured. Time was spent every practice session on drills to instill repeatable skills, discipline and also creativity.  Coach Thiel believed and taught players to recognize tendencies and take advantage of a defenders weakness. 

Players always did wall jumps, full court sprints and dribble defense. Players had fun too doing the Globetrotters 50/50 drill. Players also shot 25 Free Throws in sets of 5 after sprints and had to report, in front everyone, the number made. This reporting was always commented on by Coach Thiel with a "good job" or an "are you sure?" After the Free Throw shooting reports, colored jerseys were distributed to the "Starting Five" and a session of full court scrimmaging began with Coach Thiel leading the opposing group.

Massey- What was the atmosphere for “big games?”

Dennis Jacobs- In those days the game against Galesburg was always the biggest game of the opposing teams schedule and season. That is no exaggeration. Coach Thiel would prep his team accordingly.  I can recall no added emphasis on any particular "Big Game".... they were ALL big games! 

The only unusual practice I can remember is the practice after beating Quincy at Macomb in the Super Sectional and before the State Quarter Final game against Number 1 rated and undefeated Effingham. During the scrimmage that practice Coach Thiel and the opposing team played holding badminton rackets to simulate the excessive height of the Efffingham players. The end result of that practice was evident and obvious when our Streaks annihilated the Flaming Hearts 85 - 52. I don't recall any excessive celebrating. Winning was expected. Winning is what we did. As the saying goes: "act like you've been there". We HAD been there and we acted like it. 

Massey- What were the strengths of the ‘68 team?

Dennis Jacobs- The 1967-68 Streaks had many desirable attributes including excellent speed, good shooting ability and an unqiting attitude to play hard on both ends of the court with energy.

Massey- “Old-timers”, like you and me, sometimes debate the greatest GHS team- ‘59, ‘66, ‘68, or ‘98. What do you think?

Dennis Jacobs- I was not able to see or watch the 1958-59 team play but witnessed many of the 1965-66 teams games up close and occasionally from the bench.  I saw and participated in every game of the 1967-68 season as a Student Manager on the bench, at practice and in the locker room. I attended every game of 1997-98 season except two, the KMOX shootout game and the Fenwick game. 

In my opinion from the games I watched the 1968 team was the best. The deciding factor in a head to head game between the 1968 team and the 1998 team to me is that the 1968 team would have Coach Thiel. He would have had his team so well prepared and believing in themselves.  

Massey- What made Thiel so successful in your mind?

Dennis Jacobs-  I believe Coach Thiel was very successful because he was first a great athlete himself and his competative nature would shine like a beacon. Not all good athletes make good coaches, but because of his drive to win and his command of the English language he was able to communicate and  get players to believe in him and themselves. We didn't care if Pekin, Quincy or Moline felt the same way.... that was their problem. We had Coach Thiel, we were better and we knew it. 

I feel I had a very good relationship with Coach Thiel. I was good friends, and still am, with Zack. My Dad coached the Galesburg Little League team in 1967 that Mark played on. Dad led that team to the City Championship Series and Coach Thiel was at every game. So we were acquainted prior to me attending GHS. I always wanted to do my best for Coach Thiel and the team. I think he knew that and respected me for it. 

Massey- You were a manager during a very exciting time. What are some of your favorite memories?

Dennis Jacobs- I like a lot of others remember the colorful language of Coach Thiel. I remember in particular early in the 1967-68 year Coach Thiel bending down in front of me and letting lose with a string of profanity thinking I had done something wrong, when in fact his comments were directed and intended for the official who had missed and errored in his call on the previous play. I learned later that he had employed this ploy during many of his coaching years in order to not confront the official directly although he was not opposed to that either. 

I also and more importantly remember that Coach Thiel was the very first grown man I ever saw crying. After the 1968 Championship game and our loss to Evanston, with tears streaming down his face, he addressed every single player and thanked them for doing their best. That is all Coach Thiel wanted and asked of anyone,  to be able after you cross back over the sideline and look your teammate in the eye and say: "I did my best". I will and  have carried that with me until today because of Coach Thiel.

Fritz Archer- 1968 Streaks Basketball Manager

Massey- You got an "inside" look into a great Streaks team. As coaches, you hope some things from practice, games, and lockeroom, stay within the team. Do you remember feeling that there was a code or being told that?

Fritz Archer- I'm not sure you call it a code, but I guess that's what coaches called it. Whatever, there was a code. It was pretty quiet as far as players or managers sharing what went in the locker room. I don't think players knew they weren't supposed to be talking about things that went on. I was told by an assistant coach after an intense post-game, not to be saying stuff. 

Massey- What do you remember about practices?

Fritz Archer- I'm not sure I remember a lot about the practices because I was busy. I was doing things with the sophomore squad, moving baskets, getting rid of the basketballs- I was kept busy. The thing I remember most probably is the warm-ups before practice. Certain guys had specific rituals. I remember one of the guys would shoot baskets with his left hand, right hand, left hand, right hand. Other ones would be dribbling and talking to each other. Whether rituals or not, each player did a lot of the same things to start every practice. 

Massey- Do you remember what the lockeroom was like before and after big games?

Fritz Archer- It was generally quieter before big game and when coach came in, everybody listened. They got the motivation that they needed. 

Massey- What made the 1966 team so good? Fans want to debate whether 1959, 1966, 1968, or 1998 teams were strongest, what do you think?

Fritz Archer-  The debate about the teams 1959, 1966, 1968, 1998 teams, not sure- they were all different. They were all good at certain things. I think the ‘66 team was one of the better defensive teams. The ‘68 team didn't have the star player, but they had a great group of starters and again a pretty deep bench which always seemed to be something Thiel did- creating a bench. He always had pretty decent benches. 

I think Thiel was really a pretty good defensive coach and I'm not sure he ever gets a credit for that. He just knew how to use players defensively if the other team had a great player. 

I think the 66 team was kind of a defensive team even more so than an offensive team. What made ‘66 team so good obviously was that Dale Kelly could score, everything revolved around him. You can't deny he was a great shooter. I can remember we played Rock Island and he had like 52 points that that night. But he had a pretty good cast around him too. I mean McDougall was probably one of the best point guards GHS had. You had Bob Jasperson. He was a good defender. 

‘66 team was a great defensive team and they had depth as far as players. They had 10 good players. I just think it was like a really pretty good team and doesn't get a credit for the defensive part of there of the team.

Massey- You got to see the inside workings of things. What do you think made Thiel so successful?

Fritz Archer- What made Thiel a great coach? He could pick talent, I said before our team had three sophomores on the tournament team. They played, it wasn't like they sat on the bench during the tourney, they all played. Mac (Roland McDougall) and Lugene (Finley) started several games. Woody (Dave Wood) was a good shooter too so that again we had we had three sophomores on that team. I don't know many coaches that do that. He knew what he was doing. There's no doubt about it. 

Massey- What was your relationship with John Thiel?

Fritz Archer- Coach Thiel was always nice to me and the other managers. We kept stats in those days and I was in charge of assists and I think rebounds as well. Hell, I didn't know what an assist was and he explained it all to me the first game. He explained what the importance of the assists were. 

Sometimes I got wrapped up in the game and I wonder if I gave Mack enough assists or somebody else an assist that they didn't really get because I'm screaming on the bench. 

Thiel respected us as managers. Years after I graduated, he was always very cordial and really a pretty nice guy. 

Massey- What are some of your favorite memories?

Fritz Archer- Thiel never liked to play in tournaments during Christmas. It was like a week, two weeks off for the players. We had practices, don't get me wrong. You'd be off Christmas day. Some years we struggled a little bit with the games after Christmas. I think we played Chicago Marshall the first game back and Quincy that same weekend if I'm not mistaken. We got beat by them. That's what I remember about the regular season. We were a good team, we had been undefeated going into the holidays.

We played Quincy again and we won in the game that Dale Kelly had been having nosebleeds and he struggling a little bit. After halftime, he came back out and was Dale Kelly again. The defense did a great job on Quincy. I think we won by a bucket or two maybe a point, I can't remember for sure.

Then the Springfield game, I still see this image of Bob Jasperson at 6’3” standing in front of David Robisch, who was a great player and later a pro. Robisch was about 6-10 or 6-11.  Jasperson and the defense of Galesburg held that guy to like 14 points, which is I think the lowest he had in the season. 

I have to say this about being a manager for GHS basketball team with John Thiel. He knew people. 

We ate well. When we played away games, we ate at some pretty nice places. In Galesburg we always ate at the Canton Café. 

It was kind of fun and interesting, and I obviously remember the camaraderie I had with the players and the other managers that have lasted for life.