Friday Fotos- Little Eyes Upon You

There are many young kids who look at high school athletes as their heroes. 

History- 1934-5 Siwash- A Record, Gambling Debt, & Title

The Knox Siwash experienced the worst and the best of sports during the 1934-1935 school year. 

Inside Hoops- WNBA/NBA Thoughts 5-20-25

This is not intended to be a deep analysis, but just want to share some thoughts on the first week of WNBA, and the NBA playoffs. I am hoping you will share your reactions and your thoughts.

Old School Coaches- Thom Sigel’s Blue Print for Success

Thom Sigel has won a State Championship at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. He has won many games and many championships. Thom is a legend in Illinois basketball coaching- the best of the best. 

The most impressive thing about Thom is that he is the same person he was when I first met him as a recent grad of Knox College and a new assistant boys coach at Galesburg High School. 

If you were a school administrator who wanted to bring in a coach who would win basketball games, Coach Sigel would be your man. If you were parents and you wanted a basketball coach who would treat your sons with respect and teach them values to become solid young men, Coach Sigel would be your man. With Thom, he had that rare combination in coaching- knowledgeable of basketball, driven to win and still humble and principled. 

I value the friendship that we developed thru the years. He is the kind of guy you know you can text at 3am to ask for suggestions on side OB’s. He may not answer ‘til 8am, but he will answer. 

Inside Hoops- 10 Things To Watch in NBA Conf Finals

Yes, I think as high school coaches, there are things that can be learned watching NBA teams. This time of year, each HS coach is looking at their own teams and own style, and figuring out if they want to make some adjustments to their team. 

Here are 10 things that a high school coaches can study in the conference finals. I am not suggesting a coach looks at all 10 of these things, but look at what areas relate to your team’s needs.

Old School Coaches- Greg King’s Blue Print for Success

I believe football programs have the ability to establish a culture that can have a positive impact on the entire athletic department, and for that matter, the entire school. 

Sterling High School has always had strong, tough competitive teams in many sports over the last fifty years. As an outsider looking in, Greg King not only took Sterling football to an elite level, he took Sterling athletics to a different level. It is obvious Sterling athletes work hard, compete with passion, and strive for excellence. I am sure many coaches have contributed to building this terrific high school culture, but there is no doubt in my mind that a huge part of the “Sterling culture,” started with Greg King. 

I have reached out to people who coached with, played for, or coached against Coach King. They share their thoughts on why Coach King has been so successful. 

Fast Break with Greg Leibach- Growing A Program

I need to start with an apology, “Fast Break” is not an appropriate title for a wrestling post. Just understand that “Fast Break” is the title used to index all the Q/A posts. Sorry!

So many coaches and athletes don’t understand how much they could learn from coaches and athletes in other sports. Greg Leibach coaches wrestling at Galesburg High School. If you are a young coach starting out and you are wanting to build a program- Greg Leibach is someone to learn from. 

Players Playbook- Off-Season Focus

 

“There is so much room for me to improve.”  Caitlin Clark

There are lots of way a basketball player can improve their game in the off-season. Caitlin Clark could have made some money and played in the Unrivaled League. Instead of “playing basketball” in the off-season, she chose to “work on her game.”

Fast Break with Gauge Shipp- Heart of a Champion

Apologies for the “Fast Break” title in a wrestling post. For indexing and finding stories, “Fast Break” is a reference for all of the Q/A posts that I put up.

This is an “interview” that I have wanted to do for three years. Gauge’s high school career was beyond fabulous. I have been associated with GHS athletics for the last fifty years. There have been many great athletes during the past fifty years. In my opinion, Gauge Shipp is definitely on the Mt. Rushmore of the greatest GHS athletes of all time. 

Caitlin Clark- 2025 Indiana Fever Preseason Thoughts

I am really looking forward to the 2025 WNBA season. In particular I am excited to see how the changes to the Indiana Fever work out. I have immersed myself, trying to do as much research as I can about this season in the WNBA and the Fever. 

Friday Fotos- Weight Room Important?

Old school says that basketball players don’t really need to lift. 

Lifting weights is not fun! 

Lifting weights is work!

Caitlin Clark found out that the WNBA is much more physical than college basketball. She did not play in the Unrivaled League this winter, instead her focus was to become physically stronger. 

Legends- 1964 Cobden Appleknockers

The Amazing Appleknockers

This blog post is based on information from four sources. The most valuable resource was the book entitled,”The Amazing Appleknockers.” It was written in 2010 by Teri Campbell and Anne Roman. If you have not read it and you are a basketball fan, read it. 

I also had conversations with Galesburg players/fans, who played Cobden in 1964. I made a special visit to Cobden and attended a basketball game. And I delved into old newspaper articles.

Old School Coaches- Mike Tracey’s Blueprint for Success

 

Mike Tracey and I grew up a couple blocks from each other on the east side of Savanna. We went to different grades schools and junior highs, but ended up together at Savanna High School. 

We were project partners in Ron McCready’s World History class where we solved many of the world problems when we weren’t talking about sports. 

We were teammates in football. He was a lineman, and I was a defensive back and a wide receiver. During those rainy, muddy games, I had the clean jersey that all of them could wipe their hands off on. I had a huge impact on his later coaching career. I am convinced my inability to block helped him develop a strategy on how to hide a weak player in his lineup. 

Unfortunately our youth came before video games so we could only play sports board games. None of us could beat Mike in football. While we threw lots of long passes, he kept going with the runs up the middle and moved the ball up and down the field on us. 

It has been great to remain friends thru adult life. With both of us coaching in the WB6, there were numerous times that I have reached out to pick his brain. I think most of the time my conversations started with,”Have you ever had this happen…” 

I have reached out to some of Mike’s coaches and players to share their thoughts about him. 

Inside Hoops- 8 Thoughts From The NBA

I believe strongly that there are things that can be learned watching the NBA and WNBA games. I know there are a lot of critics of the pros, but you are watching the best players and in many cases some of the best coaches in the world. 

It is easy to say that the pros are a different game than the high school game. That is true, but what the pros are doing this year will be done by colleges in the next 2-3 years and then it will be done by high schools 2-3 years after that. Like it or not, the game evolves from the pros to college to high schools. 

Old School Coaches- Mike Cooper’s Blueprint for Success

In Illinois girls basketball, Mike Cooper was one of the most respected coaches by his peers. For me, although he was a competitor, he was and still is a respected friend. I can’t count the number of times that I called him for advice. 

Sometimes I was calling to seek his advice on X/O’s. His knowledge of the game was second to none. If it was calling to ask him to share some scouting info or to share how to handle a certain defense- he was willing to share. 

Once before we were to play an opponent in the Sectional who played  a zone vs OB’s, he shared a zone ob with me. We scored 4 points on the play and it made the difference in the game. 

In 1999, we went to State and I wanted someone to scout for us at the State Tourney. Coop was willing to do this. His insights were tremendous, and with his help, we took second in State.

While I enjoyed our X/O’s conversations, my best conversations involved his insights about building relationships. Coop is thoughtful of others, professional, and respectful. I have not met anyone who doesn’t have the highest respect for Coop as a coach and as a person. 

I asked coaches and players to share their memories of working with Coop.