Winning State Championships- Taylor & 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. 

Sean Taylor- Shelbyville, Moline

Coach Taylor is the ultimate professional as a coach. He is a class act, who is highly respected by his peers. And on top of it, he is probably the most humorous banquet speaker in WB6 history! As a fan, his teams are always fun to watch play. 

He is in his 35th season coaching. He won a State Championship at Shelbyville in 1996 and then 27 years later won another State Championship at Moline. 

Before First Championship, Previous Trips to State- 1995 (Elite 8)

Before First Championship, Previously Farthest Advance in State Series- 1995 (Elite 8)

Years As Head Coach When Won First State Title- 6th Year

Year Won First Title- 1996 (Shelbyville), 2023 (Moline)

Massey- Did you go into the season thinking you could win state? 

Coach Taylor- In 1996, at Shelbyville, we were returning all 5 starters from a team that went 28-4. In 2023, at Moline, we were returning 3 starters from a team that went 28-5. On both teams, we had an elite point guard and a dominating center. I always feel going into the year that there are a handful of teams which have a great opportunity to win State. In both of those years, I thought we were one of those teams.

Massey- Did you at some point talk to the team about winning state? 

Coach Taylor- From Day 1, we set it as a goal and talked about it. Players are smart and they heard the talk in the community and in today’s case on social media. I have always thought, if there is an elephant in the room- let’s talk about it.

Massey-Was there a play in the championship game that made you say to yourself – we are going to win state? 

Taylor- In both cases, there wasn’t one play but what stood out was the mindset of each team. They were focused on what they needed to do, but more importantly they were aggressive. From the tip, each team played like they were the hungrier team which was a great indicator of the tremendous leadership that was on each team.

Massey- What are the craziest things you remember from the first hour after you won state?

Coach Taylor- Watching the joy in each of the players' eyes. Appreciating and thanking them for the sacrifices they made to be such an important part of the TEAM. At Shelbyville, I remember spending a few minutes with my dad, who had a stroke at

the beginning of the season. He was a teacher and a coach and he was very proud of that team. I think it brought him a lot of happiness watching them play throughout the season. At Moline, I was able to share the experience with my wife, Lisa and my three children; Whitney, Kyle, and Cory. Having them all there meant the world to me.

Massey- How has winning state impacted you personally going forward? 

Coach Taylor- Not much. I still love teaching, coaching, and spending time with my family. I hope winning a trophy has not changed my values and priorities.

Massey- How often do you think about that run? 

Coach Taylor- For my ‘96 Shelbyville team, I think about it when I run into my former players or get a chance to visit with their families. It is fun to hear their stories about that year. With Moline, it is fun to run into people who are graduates and have been a part of the Moline community for a long time. It makes me appreciate the experience that much more when they tell me how much bringing home the championship to Moline has meant to them.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls, Rock Island

Coach Sigel was an assistant boys basketball coach at Galesburg thru 1995. I don't know if it is just a coincidence but he left Galesburg in 1996, and our girls program at GHS then went to State each of the next 9 seasons. Perhaps for our program it may have been "addition thru subtraction."

Thom is a basketball junky, if you call him up to ask a basketball question, he could start telling you that he remembered a play that a speaker at clinic shared 20 years before. If players respect their coach, they will play hard. At Rock Falls and at Rock Island, Thom's players always have played hard.

Thom has been very good and very patient with me thru the years.

Before First Championship, Previous Trips to State- 1998 (Sweet 16)

Before First Championship, Previously Farthest Advance in State Series- 1998 (Sweet 16)

Years As Head Coach When Won First State Title- 4th Year

Year Won First Title- 1999 (Rock Falls), 2011 (Rock Island)

Massey- Did you go into the season thinking you could win state? 

Coach Sigel- I always felt that each year after the holidays, even though a lot of teams may talk about winning State, there were 10 or less teams who may have a legitimate chance to set that as a realistic goal.  Now, if things fall right, it doesn't mean others can't.  But in 1999 and 2011 I felt both of those teams were in the select group that had a shot.  

   

The 1999 Rock Falls team lost by 4 to an undefeated Farmington team in the 1998 Super Sectional, so we went into the off-season with a goal of getting past that point and making it to Peoria.  We set up a summer schedule that allowed us to face some of the top Class A teams in Illinois and fared well.  So early on, we felt that if we could get to Peoria, our goal was to win it.  

   

The 2011 Rock Island team lost in OT at the 2009 Super Sectional to Oswego (who finished 2nd in Class 3A), then lost a close game to Peoria Richwoods in the 2010 Sectional final (who also finished 2nd in Class 3A).  So we knew we were knocking on the door, and with a strong senior class had the goal to finish the season at State.

Massey- Did you at some point talk to the team about winning state? 

Coach Sigel- Without repeating much of what I answered in the previous question, yes we did talk about how we were a team that had a shot in 1999.  We tried to keep our focus on making the last weekend of the season, but once we got there, we put the focus on trying to come away with the championship.

     

In 2011 it was very similar in trying to take the next step from where we had gotten and to be playing in the final weekend. While there was talk about the ultimate goal, as the season progressed, we knew we couldn't look too far ahead.  Even though we weren't at full

strength, Peoria ND handled us at the State Farm Classic.  And our Sectional had 5 teams ranked in the top 10 (PND, Rock Island, Manual, Central, and Galesburg), so our first goal had to be to get out of the Sectional.

Massey-Was there a play in the championship game that made you say to yourself – we are going to win state? 

Coach Sigel- Both of our championship games were nailbiters, so I pretty much didn't have it sink in until the very end.  In 1999 we were down 11 with 3:00 to play.  The ending of the game was a little chaotic with a number of huge plays, ultimately having Brian Vance hit the 3 pointer to put us up with .7 left.  So many scenarios go through your mind at that point, so the focus was still on what we needed to do to finish it out, so it didn't hit me until we tipped the inbound pass and the horn sounded.

    

The 2011 game went into two overtimes, and was a grind it out battle.  It wasn't really until we got up 10 points in the second overtime and got a rebound with about 30 seconds left did I really allow myself to realize we were going to pull out the win.  The huge possession was when Royce Muskeyvalley drilled two clutch free throws 'with 12 seconds left in the first OT.  I definitely didn't feel like we had it won at that point, but it was such a huge boost that we ended up carrying into the second OT.

Massey- What are the craziest things you remember from the first hour after you won state?

Coach Sigel- The first thing that comes to mind for this question is how much of a blur it can be.  I tried to take it, and I remember seeing people close to me on the court after each game.  However, both times there were others I didn't remember seeing until later looking at photos or watching videos.

In 1999 my wife was able to make it to the court carrying my year and half old daughter Haley, and my brother Todd got my 3 year old son Trey down there with them.  Someone got a really nice picture of me hugging Alicia with the kids down there. Also in 1999 one special memory was how the Rocket fans packed the lobby at the Pere Marquette and welcomed us when we returned to the hotel that night.  

Something that comes to mind from 2011 was after we got back into the locker room after the press conference.  When I turned on my phone, the notification sound went off continuously for what I remember must have been about 30 text messages.

Massey- How has winning state impacted you personally going forward? 

Coach Sigel- It is hard to describe how things change.  In some circles you may be viewed a little differently having won a state title.  However, I tried to remain humble and realized how fortunate it was how things played out.  My honest feeling is that if we would have finished 2nd in 1999, I may not have gotten the job at Rock Island.  Finishing with the championship seems to have a different aura about it to some people.  At Rock Island, being able to bring home a championship lifted some weight off my shoulders by reaching the ultimate goal.  
   

Unfortunately, it seems you work so hard to reach the mountaintop, and then realize that there wasn't more at that point.  Then it seemed to raise the bar, and it was hard not to compare future teams to that standard.  I had to work on being patient and learn to coach each team without comparison.

Massey- How often do you think about that run? 

Coach Sigel- When I was coaching, I didn't think about them much.  Reminders might pop up each March during the post-season, but my focus was on the current team.  In 2019 we held a great event as a 20 year reunion for the 1999 team which brought back some great memories seeing all of those guys again.  Since I have retired, there has been more free time which has brought about opportunities to relive some special memories.