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Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Illinois Winningest Schools- Girls & Boys Basketball Wins Combined




























There may be schools who should be on this list but the school has not submitted records to the IHSA. These are total from the beginning of the 2024-5 season. The order is Total Wins, Boys Wins, Girls Wins. Thanks to Steve Allen of the IBCA for the work he does with win totals. 

Parents Share Playbook for Making Sports a Positive Experience- Part 2

The Woods- Mike, Sara, Ryan













I asked some parents to share their experiences helping their sons/daughters have a positive experience in athletics. They share how athletics can be made to be a valuable experience. 

The parents are: Jim and Angie Noonan, Dave and Sandy Wood, Bill and Joyce Allison, Shawn and Melissa Hickey, and Brian and Steph Woodard. All of them are able to provide not only their insights as parents but also their insights as coaches, athletes, and sons/daughters of coaches. 

Parents Share Playbook for Making Sports a Positive Experience

Dave and Sandy Wood


Participation in high school athletics can provide an opportunity for young people to develop important life skills- leadership, handling adversity, team work, and work ethic. Strong, positive parenting can help athletes have a positive experience. 

I asked some parents to share their experiences helping their sons/daughters to grow in athletics. They share how athletics can be made to be a valuable experience. 

The parents are: Jim and Angie Noonan, Dave and Sandy Wood, Bill and Joyce Allison, Shawn and Melissa Hickey, and Brian and Steph Woodard. All of them are able to provide not only their insights as parents but also their insights as coaches, athletes, and sons/daughters of coaches. 

Monday, November 17, 2025

Andie Allison Leibach Credits Parents for Positive Sports Journey





















Winter sports seasons are starting up. Parents can play such positive role in their son’s/daughter’s sports experience. This week I have a series of posts that are designed to help parents as they try to help their young athletes. 

TONIGHT- Andie Leibach shares how her parents helped her have a positive experience. 

TOMORROW- WGIL.com will share, “Parents Share Playbook for Making Sports a Positive Experience.” In this post five sets of parents share their journey as a sports parent. 

I reached out to Andie Allison Leibach to ask her about how parents can help make athletics a positive experience. Andie has seen it all in sports- she played for the Streaks basketball team, she coached the Streaks, and now she is the parent of three young children starting out in athletics. 

Illinois Winningest Boys Basketball Programs

The totals are supplied by Steve Allen of the IBCA and from the IHSA school records. If your school should be on this list and is not, it is because your school has not submitted information to either the IBCA or the IHSA. 

Totals are thru 2024-5 season-




























1- Centralia.   2410

2- Collinsville. 2242

3- Quincy.     2175

4-Pinckneyville 2104

5- Mt. Vernon.  2050


Sunday, November 16, 2025

Streaks Alumni Profile: Zach Shay 1994

















Today’s Streaks Alumni Profile catches up with Zach Shay from the class of 1994. Zach had a great athletic career at GHS. He was able as a sophomore to play both varsity football and basketball.

History- Illinois Winningest Girls Basketball Programs

Totals thru 2024-5 seasons. 

Thanks to Steve Allen from the IBCA for the work he does in tabulating schools and wins. If you believe your school should be on this list and is not, it is most likely because your school has not shared information with the IBCA or with the IHSA. 





















1- Marshall.    1211

2- Teutopolis   1203

3- Richwoods   1123

4- Carthage (Illini West)  1109

5- Whitney Young  1086

Streaks Girls Basketball- Looking for Another Great Year


















Basketball season is here! The Silver Streaks girls basketball team had a great year last year going 24-8. The good news is that 7 of the top 8 players return for this season!

The Silver Streaks girls basketball team will tip off on Tuesday vs. Camp Point Central. The Streaks will be under the direction of 2nd year coach, Lexi Demott. 

Saturday, November 15, 2025

1913 Galesburg: State Champs with Best Player in the State



Not the Silver Streaks

The 1913 Galesburg basketball team was not the Silver Streaks. The nickname of the Silver Streaks was not coined until 1935. By 1930, the boys basketball teams were the Red Devils, while the other GHS sports teams were the Tigers. There is no evidence that in 1913 GHS teams had any nicknames. 

Galesburg Athletic Director with 1913 State Championship Trophy.

















My Thoughts on Refs and Rules





















Officiating a basketball game is not an easy task. This is a potpourri of thoughts directed at the IHSA, rule makers, refs, fans, and coaches that I think might help the game. 

Friday, November 14, 2025

Streaks Scrapbook- Girls 1995 Sweet 16


























1995 Silver Streaks
Sweet 16   
29-3   (State Rank #6)

The 1995 Streaks were the first girls basketball team to qualify for State, winning the Sectional and making it to the Sweet 16. To fully understand the 1995 Streaks and their season, you have to look back.

In 1993 the Streaks went 26-4, won the WB6 with a perfect 10-0 record, and were ranked #7 in the State. The 1993 Streaks won their Regional, and advanced to the Limestone, where they faced the host Limestone Rockets. Earlier in the year, the Streaks had beaten Limestone by 20 points at Galesburg, but lost the first game of the Sectional to Limestone by 10 points. Stef Mitchell as a sophomore was the second leading scorer on that team. 

Pete Carril- The Smart Take From The Strong




Pete Carril became famous as the Princeton basketball coach in the 1990's. He is the originator of the famous "Princeton offense" that drove other teams nuts with all of its backdoor cuts. In his book The Smart Take From the Strong, Carril looks at what he thinks is important in evaluating a player.

Thursday, November 13, 2025

Massey Quiz #20- 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. 

Coaches’ Corner: Missing FT Intentionally

















Coach Anderson- If you are in the game long enough, you could very well be faced with the following situation. You’re down 3 and your opponent just fouled you with only 3-4 seconds left, and you are shooting 2 free throws.

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

1912 Galesburg: Despite 3 Tourney Losses, Takes 2nd in State
















Trivia questions for you…

What team did not win their District but still went to State?

What team lost a total of 3 games in during the State series but took 2nd in State?

The answer to both questions is the 1912 Galesburg basketball team. 

Galesburg High School’s boys basketball team finished 1911-1912 season with a 14-5 record and finished in second place at the State Tourney at Peoria. 

Coaches’ Corner: Going For Three vs MM or Zone Defense
















Probably every coach has a go to play to get a three vs man to man defense. Maybe 70% of coaches have a go to play to get a three vs zone defenses. The tough thing is at the end of game when you need a three and you don’t know if they will be mm or zone. You have to have something that will work vs. mm or zone

Tuesday, November 11, 2025

HOF Insights: Evaluating Players




EVALUATING PLAYERS- As you look back at making player decisions about playing role (starting, subbing, sitting) or keeping or cutting- were there characteristics or hidden skills that influenced your decisions? What were examples of characteristics or hidden skills that made some players more valuable than maybe people on the outside realized?


Streaks Alumni Profile: John Watson 1992




John Watson comes from one of Galesburg’s all-time best basketball families. His father (John) was a coach at Costa JH, and younger sister (Molly) and younger brother (Jordan) were both great guards for GHS. If there was a 3 on 3 tourney, they would be a tough family to beat. 

John was a great, long range shooter. While the three point arc was in effect at the time he was in high school, the shot was not encouraged the way it is today. Most high school teams in the early ‘90’s might shoot just 5-10 total threes in a game, whereas today they are shooting 15-25 threes per game. John hit 8 threes in a game back then, if he had played in today’s era, one can easily imagine him making 10 or more threes in game. 

GHS Teacher’s Last Lesson: William Allen’s Sacrifice in World War II

 

William Allen- Knox grad, GHS teacher





















“That’s another shocking thing about this war- a hero, contrary to fiction and Hollywood, seldom dies a hero’s death. It’s just an unlucky hit which gets him when he doesn’t even have a chance to fight back.”
U.S. Soldier, William Allen describing death on the battlefield. 

Monday, November 10, 2025

Inside Hoops- Offensive Rebounds, Fake HO, and More
































It is exciting that basketball season has gotten started. Yes, I have gotten out to several games in person, and lots of TV games. Here are some early season things that I have observed:

1955 Illinois Boys Basketball State Tourney














Inside the Huddle: Free Throw Shooting in Practice











FREE THROW SHOOTING

How much time in practice do you spend on free throws? When in practice do you work on free throws? Do you have favorite free throw drills? 

Sunday, November 9, 2025

Streaks Alumni Profile: Kristen Watters Adams 1985

The Yearbook sums up Kristen’s career!!



















Kristen Watters is one of greatest athletes in Silver Streak history. As a cross country runner, she finished 5th, 6th, and 7th at the State meet. ALL of the Chicago suburbs were in her class. In some sports there can be 10-15 events, in cross country there is only one event. 

Kristen Watters was First Team All-State three years in a row!! In the area, Kris won big invitationals often by 2 minutes over the second place finishers as she dominated the fields. She held the course record on most every course she ran. She trained with our boys team, and was good enough to be the 5th or 6th runner on a Streaks boys team that was State ranked.

1985 Illinois Girls AA State Tourney

Coach K- Leading With the Heart



































Coach K’s book, Leading With The Heart is a book focused on leadership. It could apply to how to be a leader in a family, at school, in business, or in sports. 

Often as coaches when we look for books to help us with our team, it is easy for us to focus on or look for books that share X/O’s to help us build our offense or our defense. The reality is that a book like Coach K’s really is giving coaches much more important information that X/O’s, it is giving information on how to develop a foundation for a program. This book is a valuable tool for coaches and for players who want to become leader. 

Saturday, November 8, 2025

1924 Knox vs Lombard: The Road to the Shot Clock Started in Galesburg

Galesburg’s Armory























To say the game of basketball has changed through the years would be a huge understatement. There have been changes to the ball itself and to many of the rules. Basic things have changed- the distance of a free throw line, how many points for a made basket, allowing dribbling, allowing more than two fouls, and not allowing players to stand under the basket on offense. 

One of the biggest concerns in basketball has been about the speed and flow of the game. Throughout the history of basketball, it seems coaches have wanted to slow the game down and have more control. The latest attempt to force coaches to play faster has been the advent of the shot clock. Starting next year, high school’s will have a shot clock. 

Basketball historians cite a game played at the Galesburg Armory on January 22, 1924 as being a game that started the movement to “modern basketball.” 

Slappin’ Glass: Analytics with Ken Pomeroy and Jordan Sperber

































Pomeroy and Sperber are deep into basketball analytics. You may say you aren’t an “analytics coach”, I would dispute that. Every coach makes countless decisions based on their sense of analytics. 

** Who do you send to the foul line for a technical- analytics.
** Why do a you tell a player to quit shooting threes- analytics.
** Why do you sit certain players at the end of a game- analytics.

Massey Basketball Blog: Vintage Gear, Galesburg Basketball



















One of my favorite blog activities is to research Galesburg basketball history. I have done a lot of stories about past great GHS girls and boys basketball teams. And this winter, I plan to do even more stories. 

I have come up with another way to celebrate Galesburg boys and girls basketball’s tradition. 

Friday, November 7, 2025

Coaches’ Corner: Last Shots from OB’s














Coach Bob Anderson- Williamsfield

Baseline OB Lob

This is something you can use with .3 seconds left and out under the basket. As we know, you only hve time to tip the ball. 

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

Coaches’ Corner- Last Shot Thoughts
















Coach Anderson- Williamsfield

You’re coming out of a time out and it’s your ball. Here are some things you need to think about….