January 2009

SI SPORTS CONNECTION •JANUARY 2009




Publisher/Editor Jim MuirGraphic Design/Layout Michael ThomasPhotographers Christopher Kays Ceasar MaragniContributing Writers Teri Campbell Danny Czerwinski Chris Denault Jeffrey Drake Roger Lipe Ceasar Maragni Jim Muir Mike Murphy Mario Moccia Sean Patrick Joe Szynkowski Shannon Woodworth Nathan Wheeler Tom Wheeler

You can get your monthly issue of Southern Illinois Sports Connection at the following businesses: Subway Sandwich in: Mt.Vernon (three locations), Rend Lake College, Sesser, Chris-topher, Benton, Pinckneyville, Du Quoin, Carbondale (four locations), Herrin, West Frankfort, Johnston City, Carterville, Vienna, Metropolis, Harrisburg, Anna, Marion (three locations), McLeansboroCircle K Convenience locations in: Carbondale, Murphysboro, Benton, Mt. Vernon (three locations) Farm Fresh locations in: Benton, Har-risburg, West Frankfort ROC One Stop locations in: Eldorado (Rt.45), Mc LeansboroAll Stars & Stitches in BentonBeav’z Sporting Goods in ChristopherBoccie Ball Club in BentonBP One Stop in NashvilleBP Convenience Rt. 148 in EnergyEldorado Discount LiquorsFielder’s Choice in West FrankfortFood Park in McLeansboroHunt’s Hardware & Groceries in DaleJD Street BP in Johnston CityJumping Jimmy’s Convenience in SesserLake Zone Convenience in WhittingtonLee’s Sports in NashvilleMikey B’s Bleacher Bum Cards in CartervilleMoto Mart in Du Quoin Moto Mart in PinckneyvillePhillips 66 Gas Mart in NashvillePhillips 66 Gas Mart in ChristopherShell Convenience Rt. 154 east of PinckneyvilleSun Mart in SesserWilli Shell Rt. 51 South in Du Quoin

4

The Lineup

COVER STORY 16: What’s in a Name? – A lot when you’re talking about some of the leg-endary gyms in Southern Illinois.

FeaturesJanuary 2009

Ask the Coach 8: Each month SISC asks Southern Illinois coaches a timely question. This month: Has the 3-point shot hurt or helped high school basketball?

One Person’s Junk ... is Another Person’s Treasure 10: A $1 purchase at an auction gives an area man a ‘treasure’ to cling to dur-ing worrisome times.

Toughness Defined 12: As the area’s only female high school wrestler Carbondale’s Alli Ragan is 125 pounds of determination, competitiveness and high expectations.

Waltonville’s Basketball Barn 18: One of the most unique bas-ketball gymnasiums in Southern Illinois finally succumbed to old age on Nov. 18 when the 84-year old Basketball Barn in Waltonville was demolished.

Old School ... New School 30: Ernie Reynolds worked for more than 25 years as a high school basketball official in Southern Illinois and helped chart a path for young referees like 17-year-old Cory Hastings, a high school senior who is embarking on a career as a Southern Illinois high school sports official.

46: JALC Journal Teri Campbell

49: Ask the McDocs Dr. Dennis McGuire Dr. John McConnaughy

50: SIC Athletics Jeffrey Drake

51: FCA - Transforming Lives Roger Lipe52: Around The Horn Sean Patrick

54: SISC Viewpoint Danny Czerwinski

6: Publisher’s Greeting Jim Muir

34: Ask the AD SIU Athletic Director Mario Moccia

36: In Focus Ceasar Maragni

38: Goro’s Rant Chris Denault

40: From Where I Sit Tom Wheeler

42: RLC Report Nathan Wheeler

44: Murf’s Turf Mike Murphy

Cover: Some of the legendary gyms of Southern Illinois. (Photos by Ceasar Maragni)

SI SPORTS CONNECTION •JANUARY 2009 5

!

easar Maragni


Letter from the PublisherS O U T H E R N I L L I N O I S

SPORTS CONNECTIONGreetings and welcome to the January issue of Southern Illinois Sports Connection. Let me begin by first wishing all our loyal readers and advertisers a happy and prosperous New Year. Despite some of the bleak economic forecasts that have surfaced recently we remain optimistic here at SISC that 2009 will be a good year. Some of the best story ideas we come up with originate in casual conversation and that’s exactly the way this month’s cover story came to life. I was recently involved in a conversation about high school basketball (imagine that) and the subject of Southern Illinois gymnasiums came up. “You should consider doing a story about some of the old gyms around Southern Illinois,” was the comment that started the wheels turning and quickly evolved into the idea to feature some of the great old facilities around the region. Shortly after the project was initiated SISC photojournalist Ceasar Maragni happened on a story out of Waltonville featuring one of the areas oldest basketball facilities. Showing his skills as a reporter Maragni captured the inside of the gymnasium in pictures and also found a couple of former basketball players – Rod and Max Shurtz – who played in the old Basketball Barn more than 60 years ago. Ironically, only days after Maragni photographed and also videoed the old gym the facility went the way of the wreck-ing ball, meaning that SISC captured the last ever images of the grand old barn. Perhaps it’s my ever-increasing age but it seems that history becomes more important to me all the time and I certainly feel its imperative for a younger generation of Southern Illinois sports fans to understand what the names on some of these old gyms represent. For instance, fans trudge off by the droves to Max Morris Gymnasium in West Frankfort … but who is Max Morris? And where did the name Changnon Gym – Mount Vernon’s venerable basketball facility – come from and why is it affectionately known as “The Snake Pit?” And of course there’s Duff-Kingston Gym, Anders Gym, and who is this guy named “Duster” that has a gym in Pinckneyville named after him. I think you’ll enjoy our nostalgic look at some of the great old gyms of Southern Illinois. Another feature I think is very important today is one we’ve entitled, “Old School … New School” – a feature that takes a con-trasting look at officiating in Southern Illinois through the eyes of 17-year-old Cory Hastings, of Pinckneyville and 82-year-old Ernie Reynolds, of Carterville. Hastings, still a high school senior, is embarking on a career as a sports official and talks about paying his dues and his plan to climb the ranks of officiating while Reynolds, who officiated five state tournaments during his distinguished 25-year career, remi-nisces about his days as an official and gives some expert advice to younger officials about what it takes to be successful. Those two features are only a small sampling of the good things you’ll find in our first issue of the brand New Year. So, enjoy and once again I hope 2009 is a great year for you.

All the best,

Jim Muir, Publisher



Coach Darin Lee, Nashville High School varsity basketball coach respond-ed this way

“I think it has helped add excitement to the game, especially at the end of close games. I also believe that it is a neces-sary part of the game since it is also a FIBA (International) rule. Every kid in each country (except the USA) plays by FIBA rules which employ a 3-point line at 20-feet-6-inches. International bas-ketball players seem to have developed at an alarming rate and I think our rules should be similar, if not the same. Other

countries also play with a 24-second shot clock (FIBA rules) at every level but that is a subject for another day. It’s also worth noting that the FBIA 3-point distance increases to 22-feet in 2010.”

Coach Lenny Clark, veteran Lady Indian’s basketball coach at Johnston City High School answered this way:

“I like the three point line. I think it is an equalizer for some teams, and has forced teams to work on perimeter defense more than before. I think teams are playing more man to man and pressure defense and less tightly packed zones. In the girl’s game, I think teams are developing better shooters and passers. I think it has had a more drastic impact on the girls’ game than on the boys”

Waltonville High School Athletic direc-tor and Varsity basketball coach Mike Denault says:

“Although I was still pretty young when the 3-point line begin being used, I do remember how the game was played prior to its introduction. I think the 3-point shot has changed the game in many ways. First, I think it has caused the game to speed up. Before the 3-point shot, teams were forced to be a bit more patient on the offensive end to work for a quality shot, as defenses weren’t as likely to extend to guard long shots that were worth only two points. Now, coaches fear giving up open 3’s and are forced to extend in an attempt to take away the 3, thus I think it has created a more difficult situation for the defense by stretching the floor creating a larger area to defend. In the same way, offensively, I think the 3-point shot has helped open up the floor and create better spacing for post play and penetration via the pass or dribble. I am hesitant to pass judgment on whether these changes are negative or positive; however as physical as the game has become, I have to wonder how difficult it would be to score without it.” “I think the 3-point shot affects how we coach as well, without it we would have to spend more time creating ways for our team to score. With it, we have to spend a great deal of time figuring out how to stop not only the 3-point shot itself, but all of the other things you give up when you extend your defense to defend it. Now you’re giving up more dribble pen-etration and it’s more difficult to double a good post player.” (If you would like a particular question asked please contact SISC at – [email protected])



By Shannon Woodworth

CYPRESS — It was cold and spitting snow on a Sunday in November when James Darden stepped outside the com-fort of his home, carrying with him the thoughts of his son serving thousands of miles away in Iraq.

Sometimes Darden looks for things to do just to keep from worrying about his son, Andrew Darden, a senior airman in the United States Air Force. Andrew, 23, is on his second tour of duty in Iraq, and his father is well aware of the dangers his son faces each day.

The mental anguish for both he and his wife, Beth, are amplified during the holidays. So on a cold Sunday after-noon shortly after Thanksgiving and with Christmas right around the corner, Darden didn’t mind facing the biting air to clear his mind.

“Holidays are the worst,” Darden said. “As a parent, when your child is away in Iraq, it is a very difficult time, and not something you want to constantly dwell on.”

Darden had talked himself into going to an outdoor auction in Vienna. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but he quickly stumbled upon a personal treasure that eased his mind and filled his heart with joy.

“I saw this old football in a box that was filled with toys,” Darden said. “There were a number of signatures on it which caught my attention, so I took it out of the box and set it by itself. I asked the auctioneer if the football could be bid on by itself and he agreed.”

Darden quickly made an offer of $1, and not a single person at the auction bid against him. He paid for the ball and made his way to his pickup truck, where

he turned on the truck’s heater and began drying the ball, which was wet from the spitting snow.

As he began turning the ball over, he noticed, to his surprise, that one of the signatures was his son’s.

“I had no idea my son’s signature was on this ball,” Darden said. “I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

As he held the ball, Darden said his thoughts went back to the days when his son played football for Benton High School. “There are so many good memories of that team. My son was so proud to put on the uniform and play for the Rangers.”

Darden said, in fact, the lessons his son learned from Coach Jeff Roper and by being a team player is what primarily prepared him for the military and wear-

Beth and James Darden, employees of Shawnee Community College in Ullin, say a football found at auction for $1 brought holiday joy to their hearts.


ing his country’s uniform. “He gave 100 percent for the team then, and he is giving 100 percent for his country today,” Darden said.

Darden couldn’t wait to show the ball to his wife. And then share what he had found with his son.

“We talked for a long while about the team, and he pointed out that two others whose names are on the ball, T.J. Craven and John Osborn, are also serving their country,” Darden said.

Darden said that made the ball even more special.

“During my son’s first tour in Iraq, the war and our soldiers were thought about a lot and the men and women serving over there were always receiving letters of encouragement and packages from people all over the country. It isn’t like that now. In a lot of ways, these men and women have been forgotten.” As his conversation ended with his son, neither could remember why all the play-ers signed the ball or who had posses-sion of the ball after it was signed. The auctioneer, Jon Simmons, said the ball was simply part of an estate he had pur-chased, but had no idea what significance

the ball played for the people who had owned the estate.

Darden just looks at it as a gift from heaven, and something he can clutch when he needs to until his son returns home safely.

“Whether you look at it as a late Thanksgiving blessing or an early Christmas present, what matters to me most is that it connected me to my

son in such a tremendous way,” Darden said. “When Andrew gets back, I will present it to him. Right now, it means more to me, but it will mean a lot more to him when he gets home.”

Darden and his wife are both employ-ees of Shawnee Community College. Andrew attended Shawnee Commu-nity College before enlisting in the Air Force, which he personally felt it was his calling and responsibility at a time of war, his father said. The 2004 Benton High School graduate has already been accepted at Southern Illinois University Carbondale after he returns home and is discharged from the military next fall.

“I had no idea my son’s signature was on this ball. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

-- James Darden--



By Joe SzynkowskiPhotos by Ceasar Maragni Beating boys is nothing new for Car-bondale wrestler Alli Ragan. Her real challenge lies in everything that comes with it. Stereotypes, doubters and preconceived notions are also her opponents. History and tradition are against her. She knows what people think is “supposed” to hap-pen when she grapples with a guy – she should lose, and handily at that.

But even if Ragan can feel these pres-sures, she can’t see them. The only thing in her line of sight during a match is the 125-pound male across from her. And she’s going to beat him. “When she’s wrestling she’s just like anybody else on the team,” said Alli’s coach and father Dennis Ragan. “If you start getting easier on her she might not grow in the sport. She wants to win and is probably harder on herself than I am.” As a freshman in the 112-pound weight class, Alli Ragan won 39 varsity matches – the most wins in Carbondale history by any freshman. She became only the second girl to qualify for the state tournament and followed that campaign with 35 wins last season in the 119 pound division. Now in the 125-pound weight class, the 16-year-old junior is lead-ing the Terriers to another success-ful winter. Her older brother and former Carbondale standout, Jared, is away to college on a wrestling scholarship, leav-ing her with a more prominent leader-ship role.

And she’s all for it. “This year I was just more used to it I guess,” she said about the difference between the beginning of her junior and freshman seasons. “When I was a fresh-man I was really nervous because I had never wrestled high school boys. This year I’m feeling more confident. I’m not really a captain but I’m always here for the boys. “There weren’t too many girl wrestler role models for me to look up to, so that’s important to me if I can be one for girls.”

“When she’s wrestling she’s just like anybody else on the team. If you start getting easier on her she might not grow in the sport. She wants to win and is probably harder on herself than I am.”

– Carbondale High School wrestling coach Dennis Ragan –

High School wrestling runs in the Ragan family as seen on this CCHS poster which featured both Alli and her brother Jared as team members who have qualified for the state tournament.


pursue wrestling, but she recalls the reason.

“If my dad wasn’t

the coach I never would have

done it,” Alli said. “My parents

have been big influences

since they’re both coaches and my brother

played a big part, too.”

Alli doesn’t stop wrestling when Car-bondale’s season ends. “I’m hardly ever home during the summer because I’m so busy with wrestling,” she says. She has competed in a large national tournament the past two years in Fargo, N.D. She lost only one match her first year of the tourney in the girls freestyle event, claiming third place. Last year she finished second. Ragan also took second place last year at the United States Girls Wrestling As-sociation tournament in Michigan. Her dominance over female wrestlers sent Alli home with confidence. “Wrestling against girls is definitely easier for me because most of them aren’t as strong as I am,” Alli said. “To me she’s in the group of elite female wrestlers,” Dennis said. Dennis thinks one of the keys to Alli’s success has been her reluctance to use her gender as a crutch when she takes the floor against any opponent – male or female. “She’s never thought of herself as having a disadvantage but it really is,” Dennis said. “She really should be able to sit back and say, ‘I’m not supposed to win against guys, but I am.’ But the way she looks at it is, ‘Somebody’s going to win and I want it to be me.’ When she goes out there she expects to beat them all.” Joe Szynkowski is a freelance writer for SISC. He can be reached at [email protected]

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Dennis says Alli has all the attributes to be a positive influence to any females aspiring to compete in a sport dominated by males. “It’s become a very fast-growing sport for women since it was introduced in the Olympics (2004),” Dennis said. “I think more and more girls would compete if they didn’t have to go against the guys.” To go along with her wrestling success, Alli is also a varsity letter-winner in vol-

leyball and soccer. Her interest in sports and her athletic skills, she says, can be traced directly to her family. Dennis Ragan landed the wrestling coaching job at Carbondale in 1980, fresh out of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. He wrestled in high school and passed his passion down to his son and daughter. His wife, Fae, is head vol-leyball coach at John A. Logan College. “With Jared wrestling, Alli was always

drug around to different gyms for matches,” Dennis said. “But she was brought into it slowly and we didn’t pressure her into doing it. “We’ve spent

many family vacations going to athletic events. It always keeps us together. Her mom was always bringing her around whenever I was coaching…there are home videos of Jared wrestling with Alli on the sideline. I’d say it would have been kind of hard for Alli not to be inter-ested in wrestling.” Alli’s first contact with the sport came in the Carbondale High School’s junior wrestling program. She doesn’t remem-ber a specific time when she decided to

Wrestling is a hands-on sport and practice sessions are proof of that .Alli is the only girl member of the talented CCHS wrestling squad and workouts are no different for her than any of the boys.



Max Morris GymWest FrankfortPhoto by Michael A. Thomas



Before being torn down recently this building, built in 1924 in Nason, served as the home court for both Nason and Waltonville High Schools.

Photo by Ceasar Maragni

F or most Southern Illinois sports buffs the overall history of this areas’ greatest pastime seems to become more important all the time -- and certainly that includes the history of those aging yet wonderful gymnasiums that fans still pack on a regular basis.

We’ve all heard the phrase, what's in a name? Well, when you're talking about the names of gymnasiums around Southern Illinois, the answer to that question is ... 'a lot.'

We hear folks talk about a great game at Max Morris Gymnasium in West Frankfort or a barn burner at Changnon Gym in Mt. Vernon or yet another packed house at Duster Thomas Gymnasium. Comments like those are made every basketball season in Southern Illinois without a second thought ever being given about who Max Morris is and why he has a gymnasium named after him.

The same can be said for Changnon Gym. Or, how about Anders Gym in Du Quoin or Duff-Kingston Gym in Eldorado, where did they get their names? Or what about the small community of Bridgeport, population 2,500 that boasts a high school gym that seats 4,000 and has hosted more sectional champion-ships than any other gym in Illinois. And come to think of it why is Changnon Gym affectionately called the Snake Pit and who is this guy named 'Duster.' And to kick off this story we take you to Waltonville and a look at perhaps the oldest basketball gym in Southern Illinois, a facility with a unique history that is known as ‘The Basketball Barn.” We encourage you to soak in the history of these wonderful facilities that have been the setting for count-less thrills through the ages.


Waltonville’s Basketball Barn By Ceasar Maragni

One of the most unique basketball gymnasiums in Southern Illinois finally succumbed to old age on Nov. 18 when the 84-year old Basketball Barn in Wal-tonville was demolished. The imposing wooden structure seemed to go almost unnoticed by visitors and locals alike in recent years, and in reality was probably still alive only in the faint memories of the aging warriors who once battled for basketball bragging rights in the great old barn. The building had long outlived its useful-ness when the current owner, Wesley Dickey decided it was on the verge of becoming hazardous and hired a contrac-tor to tear it down. The history of the gym began when

coal operator A.J. Nason opened a new mine in Jefferson County in 1923 and ordered his engineers to lay out plans for a model city near the mine site. The mine opened a year later and people began pouring into the new ‘city’ at a rapid pace, quickly filling up the new company houses. The miners and their families were probably surprised to find a new two room high school on the east side of town and a new basketball gymnasium on the north side. Both opened in 1924 and the city’s population quickly grew to around 1,500 people. Unfortunately for the hardworking miners and their families, the extremely deep Nason mine was plagued with ground water problems and was closed for good in

1932. Soon afterward with people vacat-ing the city at a rapid pace, the high school was forced to close two years later. Most of the remaining students

This wonderful old photograph shows the 1933 Nason High School basketball wearing their unique uniforms which featured a crossed pick and shovel. Members of that Nason Miners team were from left to right front row, Stanley Bubany, Bruno Rabacchi, Lester Williams and Emil Fostner. In the second row are Coach Sanders, Bernie Rabacchi, “Tuffy” McKinney and captain Raymond Fico. The following year Nason High School closed and the students were transferred to Waltonville High School. This was the last Nason Miners team to play in their basketball gym, which was also moved to Waltonville the following year where it then became home of the Spartans for the 1934 season. (photo provided)

Made almost entirely of wood, the former Nason and Waltonville High and Grade School gym stood the test of time before being torn down in November, bring-ing to a close its 84 year old history as a center for hoops hysteria small town style. (photo by Ceasar Maragni)


transferred to grade and high schools in Waltonville. The Nason High School gymnasium though fared much bet-ter than the coal mine that spawned it, thanks largely to the fact that the gym had been home court for two different high schools. Besides the Nason High Min-ers basketball team, the gym-nasium also served as home court for the Spartans from Waltonville, Nason’s neighbor to the west. Surprisingly, Na-son High School’s gymnasium was moved to Waltonville too. Workers carefully dismantled as much of the gymnasium as they could, loaded it all on flatbed trucks and wagons, and hauled it across the Big Muddy River to Waltonville. They were able to get it all put back together in time for the opening of the 1934 basketball season, and for at least one Spartan player, Max Shurtz, it was a great move. “No more trips to Nason for our home games, at last we had a gym to call our own,” Shurtz said. Shurtz, a retired state legislator, educator and car dealer, now living in Mt. Vernon

said those winter trips from Waltonville to Nason, quite often were made in less than desirable conditions.

“Oh, I remember those trips well,” Shurtz said, “Coach would come by and pick us up in a flat bed truck with a tarp over it. On some of those rides we were nearly frozen by the time we got to Nason.” Fortunately for Shurtz and his returning teammates, the following year didn’t re-quire such bone-chilling pre-game rides.

From 1934 to 1951 the gymnasium was home of the Waltonville Spartans. With the opening of the new high school and adjoining gym in 1952, the gym was used by Waltonville Grade School basketball teams until 1958, when a new grade school and gym opened. It then sat unused for a year before a Mt. Vernon couple operated a skating rink in it. That lasted just two years. From then until recently it was used primarily as a stor-age facility. While Max Shurtz was one of the mem-bers of that first Spartans team to play in the historic old barn in its final location, his younger brother Rodney was himself on the very last high school team to play in it, during the 1951 season. Rodney says in some ways he hated to see the old place torn down, but he recognizes that it had long outlived its usefulness. He said that while some of today’s players might look at pictures of the old gym and scoff at how primitive it looked, he actually played in facilities there were far worse. He laughed as he recalled one in particu-

lar, saying, “I’ll never forget that when we went to play Dahlgren High School in 1948 we played up over a store, and they had an old pot bellied stove on the centerline, and they had to have somebody there to keep you off the hot stove. And the ceiling was so low that about the only thing you could shoot was a lay up or a line drive.” So taken in that context the Waltonville’s old basketball barn wasn’t actually too bad a place

to compete in after all. Rodney Shurtz added, “There are a lot of memories piled in that rubble, but I guess it was time. Actually I grew up myself on our family farm here in a former Nason Coal Mine company house that was moved here after the mine shut down. Kind of ironic now that I think about it.”

Rod Shurtz, Sr. (left) and brother Max have fond memories of Waltonville’s Basket-ball Barn. (photo by Ceasar Maragni)

This 1954 Waltonville High School basketball team was the last squad to play in the historic old basketball barn that was first built for Nason High School in 1924 before being dismantled ten years later and moved to Waltonville when Nason High School closed its doors.


Legendary basketball coach Rich Herrin stands outside of the 4,000 seat Bridgeport Gym which was built in 1927.

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Rich Herrin played high school basketball in the Bridgeport gym in the late 1940’s. “It was a showpiece back then and it still is,” Herrin says. (Photo by Ceasar Maragni)

By Jim Muir

Bridgeport Gym – Bridge-port-Red Hill High School According to the 2000 United States Census, Bridgeport, located in Lawrence County in southeastern Illinois, has a population of 2,168. Based on that num-ber, all those Bridgeport residents could attend a basketball game and there would still be nearly 2,000 seats left. A basketball facility with 4,000 seats in a community of roughly 2,000 is unique here in 2009 but it borders on mind-boggling when it’s factored in that the Bridgeport Gym was built in 1927 – more than 80 years ago. Rich Herrin, a coaching legend in Southern Illinois, played his high school basketball in the fabled gym in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Herrin still recalls how he was awestruck the first time he entered the gym shortly after his family moved to Bridgeport during his eighth grade year of school. “I still remember that we moved to Bridgeport on a Thursday night and I was up here (Bridgeport Gym) on a Fri-

day morning and I just couldn’t believe that there could be a gym this big,” said Herrin. “Back then there just wasn’t anything like it around here.” Herrin showed his uncanny memory for game details from decades past as he recalled one of the classic match ups that he was involved in during his high school career. “During my junior year we were ranked 18th in the state and we defeated Flora, who was ranked in the top five in the

state, 42-40,” said Herrin. “We had the sectional tournament here that year but we didn’t make it that far, we got upset by Lawrenceville in the regional. It was a showpiece back then and it still is. I just have a lot of great memories from this gym.” While the IHSA does not keep such records it’s believed by local basketball historians that the Bridgeport Gym holds the distinction of hosting the most sec-tional championship games of any other school in the state.



Trout Gym – Centralia

Perhaps the granddaddy of all Southern Illinois basketball gyms is the now-closed Trout Gym in Centralia, named for famed Coach Arthur L. Trout. Trout coached at Centralia from 1914 to 1951 and compiled an overall record of 810-330, winning three state cham-pionships (1917-18, 1921-22, 1941-42) along with a second place, third place and fourth place finish. In all Trout took 11 Centralia teams to the Elite Eight and had only two losing season during his 36-year career.

In a previous story that appeared in SISC, former Benton all-stater Rich Yunkus spoke fondly of the Centralia Holiday Tournament and his two-year as-sociation with venerable Trout Gymna-sium. Yunkus said Trout Gym was one of his favorite all-time places to play, and why not, he led back-to-back Benton teams to two CHT championships and a pair of regular season victories over the Orphans in the tough South Seven Con-ference. Yunkus and Benton went 9-0 at Trout during his two-year varsity career. “I could walk in Trout Gym and you could just smell it, the popcorn, the hardwood it smelled like a basketball court,” said Yunkus. “It was a great floor to jump on; it was just an atmosphere that you can’t describe. Trout Gym was my favorite place to play in high school. I loved playing at Centralia.” Rich Herrin, Yunkus’ high school coach, agreed with that assessment. “I used to think that the goals were lower at Trout because all my players would tell me that they could jump better there,” said Herrin. “It was just such a great floor to jump on and they reallly took care of it, the administration took a lot of pride in Trout Gym. We had some great games there.” Herrin recalled that the 1966 IHSA Elite Eight contained six teams that had played in the Centralia Holiday Tourna-ment.



Arthur L. Trout

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1914-15 | | 16 12 | Arthur Trout1915-16 | | 18 5 | Arthur Trout1916-17 | | 24 4 | Arthur Trout1917-18 | | 23 4 | Arthur Trout1918-19 | | 17 3 | Arthur Trout1919-20 | 30 3 | Arthur Trout1920-21 | | 26 5 | Arthur Trout1921-22 | | 26 4 | Arthur Trout1922-23 | | 9 17 | Arthur Trout1923-24 | | 26 7 | Arthur Trout1924-25 | | 28 7 | Arthur Trout1925-26 | | 16 15 | Arthur Trout1926-27 | | 21 5 | Arthur Trout1927-28 | | 18 14 | Arthur Trout1928-29 | | 23 3 | Arthur Trout1929-30 | | 12 17 | Arthur Trout1930-31 | | 15 10 | Arthur Trout1931-32 | | 11 17 | Arthur Trout1932-33 | | 28 4 | Arthur Trout1933-34 | | 30 5 | Arthur Trout1934-35 | | 14 19 | Arthur Trout1935-36 | | 18 14 | Arthur Trout1936-37 | | 26 4 | Arthur Trout1937-38 | | 17 13 | Arthur Trout1938-39 | | 29 14 | Arthur Trout1939-40 | | 29 5 | Arthur Trout1940-41 | | 44 2 | Arthur Trout1941-42 | | 34 6 | Arthur Trout1942-43 | | 26 6 | Arthur Trout1943-44 | | 6 24 | Arthur Trout1944-45 | | 24 13 | Arthur Trout1945-46 | | 30 10 | Arthur Trout1946-47 | | 32 7 | Arthur Trout1947-48 | | 19 9 | Arthur Trout1948-49 | | 15 12 | Arthur Trout1949-50 | | 21 7 | Arthur Trout1950-51 | | 9 4 | Arthur Trout [partial]

Totals. . . 810 - 330 37 years .711 winning pecentage

SOURCE: IHSA


Duff-Kingston Gymnasium - Eldorado

Shortly after the Dec. 13, 1977 plane crash that claimed the lives of the entire University of Evansville basketball team the Eldorado High School board of education voted unanimously to name the school’s gym Duff-Kingston Gymna-sium, in honor of Mike Duff and Kevin Kingston, a pair of former high school basketball standouts who perished in the crash.

While the move might have seemed premature at the time, in retrospect it was the exact move that should have been made according to Eldorado athletic director and head basketball coach Greg Goodley.

Goodley said it is not only important to keep the names of Duff and Kingston alive for future generations of Eldorado players it’s equally important for all players in the region to understand why the gym bears the name it does.

“Every year we take our kids to the trophy case and tell them about Mike Duff and Kevin Kingston,” said Good-ley. “But, I think it’s more important to let them know what kind of people they were off the court. I remember as a kid going to camps and those guys (Duff and Kingston) were never too good to talk to you. I’d watch Duff score 40 points on Friday night and then on Saturday I’d be

out shooting at an outdoor court at my house and he’d drive by and roll down the window and tell me to keep working on my game. I’ll never forget that, and Kingston was the same way.”

Built during the 1940s the Eldorado gym is one of many in Southern Illinois designed the same way – sunken gym, bleacher seats all the way around and not a bad vantage point in the house.

Goodley said while Duff-Kingston might be part of a cookie-cutter style it con-tains a rich history and a ‘feel’ that many gyms never attain.

“There is a feel when you walk in at Duff-Kingston that’s just hard to de-scribe,” said Goodley. “I think the atmo-sphere is like that because of the tradition that has been established through many years. There’s not a bad seat in Duff-Kingston Gym and I think that makes folks come out. During games when the place is packed there’s an electric feel when you walk in.”A native of Eldorado Goodley grew up watching Barry and Dennis Smith, Mike Duff, Eddie Lane and Kevin Kingston play basketball in the legendary facility and then later was a standout for the Eagles before returning to become head coach.

“That gym has pretty much been a con-stant all my life,” said Goodley. “

Changnon Gym – Mount Vernon Former Benton Coach Rich Herrin coached 27 games at Changnon Gym and said the same thing held true every single outing. “It’s just a tough place to play,” said Herrin, who has more than 900 wins to his credit. “It’s probably one of the only high school gyms that still has a restrain-ing line.” But Herrin quickly added that the main factor that made it a tough road game for any team was the abundance of talent that Rams’ players put on the floor year in and year out. “They were very good all the time, they always had good talent and you really had to battle to get a win there,” said Herrin. “And every seat was always sold out. The only thing that you had was the balcony for the opposing fans. It’s called the ‘Snake Pit’ because the crowd is right down on the floor and they used that to their advan-tage. They use every available space for specta-tors that they have. It’s a facility with great, great tradition.” The gym is named after Stanley Chan-gnon, Sr., who began his coaching career at Mount Vernon in 1943-44 where he coached basketball and football. During a nine-year stint as head basketball coach Changnon compiled a won-loss record of 229-59. Changnon’s 1948-49 and 1949-50 Rams’ teams won back-to-back state titles, making him the first coach to ever accomplish that feat in Illinois. During that incredible two-year state champion-ship run under Changnon the Rams went 63-3.

Mike Duff Kevin Kingston

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Changnon began his coaching career in 1926 at Donavan High School where he coached for six years compiling a record of 108-52. He then coached at Johnston City for two years before taking a coaching job at West Frankfort where he coached football and basketball from 1935-43. In basketball his overall record at West Frankfort was 136-72. During 25 years of coaching high school basketball Changnon had a record of 507-199. A complete account of Changnon’s football record is not available but during his nine years at the Franklin County school his teams won seven South Seven cham-pionships. The list of players coached by Chan-gnon, Sr. reads like a who’s who of high school sports heroes and includes Max Morris, Lou Levanti, John Riley, Walt

Moore, Max Hooper, Eddie King and Benny Purcell. Morris, who the West Frankfort gym is named after, reached fame at Northwest-ern, Levanti starred at the University of Illinois in football, Riley and King played basketball at Bradley University while Moore and Hooper played basket-ball for the Fighting Illini. Purcell played for a college all-stars that competed in a national series against the Harlem Globetrotters. Prior to beginning his illustrious coach-ing careerr Changnon established himself as an outstanding athlete at Illinois State University. To this day he is one of only two athletes to ever win a letter in five sports during one season. While at Nor-mal, Changnon won letters in football,

basketball, baseball, track and tennis. He received all-conference honors in football and basketball. L. Goebel Patton, of West Frankfort, re-called the coaching tenure of Changnon, Sr. The 95-year-old Patton said one detail still stands out. “You didn’t see him showing a lot of emotions, jumping up and hollering,” said Patton. “I asked him one time about his coaching style and he said ‘if I teach them all week and they don’t know what they’re supposed to do when the game starts I can’t change things then. He also believed that as a coach he couldn’t think his best if he didn’t remain calm. But, nobody questioned him as a coach, not if you wanted to stay around.”



Chagnon GymMt. Vernon

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Max Morris Gymnasium – West Frankfort Dubbed “The Supreme Court” by long-time radio broadcaster Bruce A. Fasol, Max Morris Gymnasium has perhaps the most storied history of any gym in Southern Illinois, maybe the state. The venerable facility, that holds 4,500-plus, hosted countless super sectional match ups during the era of one-class basketball, including Cobden’s 68-66 (3 overtime) victory over Pinckneyville in 1964 that made the Appleknockers the darlings of the state tournament. Until SIU Arena was built in 1966 Max Morris Gym was by far the largest in Southern Illinois.

Fasol holds a unique distinction with the legendary gymnasium that started shortly after the death of his mother when he was still just a young boy. After his mother passed away Fasol lived with his sister Carole, who was married to Harold Hood, a longtime West Frankfort coach. “I would go up there every day after school and do my homework and just paddle around the gym,” recalled Fasol. “I remember being real little and going upstairs and seeing the small press box and thinking that I wanted to work there someday. So, I got the only job I ever re-ally wanted. I know virtually every nook and cranny there; I literally grew up in the gym.”

The high school board named the gym after multi-sport standout Max Morris in 1985

Morris, a 1943 graduate at West Frank-fort, attended Northwestern University and was named All-American as a bas-ketball forward in 1946, his junior year. He also earned All-America honors as an end in football in 1945, making him NU’s last two-sport male All-American athlete. “It’s just been an amazing facility through the years,” said Fasol. “In my mind it really is a ‘supreme’ court.”



Duster Thomas Gym – Pinckneyville When you speak about gymnasiums around Southern Illinois that hold a distinct home court advantage Duster Thomas Gym in Pinckneyville is on a short list. The gym is named for legendary Coach Merrill “Duster” Thomas, who in 19 years compiled a 460-128 record and guided Pinckneyville to five final four appearances that resulted in four third place finishes and a state title in 1948. Once inside the gym where life size photos recall Panther glory days oppos-ing players must then walk across “Dick

Corn Court” named for equally legend-ary Coach Dick Corn, who in 32 years amassed 708 wins and only 260 losses at the Perry County school. Corn guided the Panthers to four state tournament appearances that included state titles in 1994 and 2001, a second place finish in 1988 and a fourth place finish in 2006. Those two careers combined translate to 51 years, nine state tournament appear-ances, a combined won-loss record of 1,168 – 388 (.750 winning percentage), three state titles and enough additional trophies and hardware to build a full size bronze statue of both coaches. Ted Cunningham has done play-by-play for Panthers basketball for 30 years, Merril “Duster” Thomas

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manning the microphone for all but three years of the Corn era at Pinckneyville.


Cunningham also grew up watching Thomas coach and used the word “mystique” when talking about Pinckneyville basketball at Duster Thomas Gym. “Duster Thomas did create the mystique in that gym, before it was named after him,” said Cunningham. “Even today when the players come out of the tunnel and you listen to them talk they feel like they have the game in hand.” Cunningham said Thomas was way ahead of his time concerning the mental aspect of the game. He gave an illustra-tion using Thomas’ coaching methods late in ball games. “Duster was notorious for calling a timeout with a minute or so to go in the game with his team ahead by 15 or 20 points,” Cunningham recalled. “One time one of his players asked him why he called a timeout and he said, ‘I just want them (the opposing team) to remember a little longer where they’re playing and what the score is.’ Stuff like that added to the mystique that Duster created.” While Cunningham has called far more winning games than ones where the Panthers came out on the short end of the score, it’s the losses that stand out more to him. Cunningham pointed to a 1985 loss to Okawville and a 1988 loss to Carlyle along with a sectional loss to Breese Mater Dei early in Corn’s career that stand in his mind as some of the great games he’s witnessed. “When I think back to some of those games the one word that comes to mind is ‘electrifying,’” said Cunningham. Along with the known success of the two former coaches, the memorabilia that adorns the walls and the never-ending rows of trophies visitors to Duster Thomas Gym are also met by a virtual sea of all-things Columbia blue. “I think it’s an imposing place to visit for opposing teams,” said Cunningham. “To-day a lot of the gyms are made for multi-purpose use but this is a facility that was made only for playing basketball.

Anders Gymnasium – Du Quoin During a life that spanned only 18 years Darrell Anders left a big imprint on a lot of lives and a lot of hearts. Anders, an all-state basketball player from Du Quoin, passed away in January 1983 during his senior season of spinal meningitis. Two months after his death the Du Quoin High School board named the gymnasium in his honor. Roger Craft coached Anders during his abbreviated varsity career and called him “a complete player.” “Darrell could do it all,” said Craft. “He was a great scorer but he also was a tough defensive player, he could rebound and he played hard all the time.” Craft, who gave the eulogy at Anders’ funeral, said naming the gymnasium in honor of the basketball standout was the right thing to do.

“I think it helps keep his memory alive,” Craft said. “And it also keeps his many achievements alive.” Jeff Profitt, sports editor of the Du Quoin Evening Call, was a classmate of Anders and recalled another trait that had noth-ing to do with basketball. “Darrell was just a great player, just a phenomenal talent,” said Profitt. “But along with that I always remember Dar-rell’s smile. He was smiling and happy all the time, I never saw him in a bad mood. Darrell was extremely popular but not all of that was because he was a basketball star. He was just a friend to everybody. I think he was the kind of classmate that would have been popular even if he didn’t play sports at all.” Profitt said the gym that now carries his friend’s name has provided a great venue for basketball, the kind of basketball that Anders would have enjoyed. “When you get Anders Gym full it’s just a neat place,” said Profitt.

Photo provided

Darrell Anders 1965 -1983



Old SchoolErnie Reynolds worked for more than 25 years as a high school basketball official in Southern Illinois and helped chart a path for today’s referees

By Jim Muir It takes only a brief conversation with 82-year-old Ernie Reynolds to figure out that, even though he officiated his last sporting event more than 35 years ago, he still holds a deep love, and maybe more importantly, great respect for Southern Illinois high school basketball. “I can truly say that I got back a lot more than I gave,” said Reynolds. “Basketball has been very good to me and provided me with some great memories.” A Carterville native, Reynolds began his basketball officiating career in 1948 and worked a full slate of games through the 1972-73 season. During his career he worked five state tournaments (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1968) and also officiated two state championship games (1961 Collinsville vs. Thornton-Harvey and 1968 Evanston vs. Galesburg). A lifelong member of the Egyptian Officials’ Association, Reynolds holds

the distinction of calling the final high school state tournament game at Huff Gymnasium in 1962 and the first high school state tournament game at Assem-bly Hall in 1963. Reynolds recalled that he was asked by the executive director of the IHSA what he thought the first time he walked on the floor at the mammoth and brand-spanking new Assembly Hall at Champaign. “I told him I didn’t have any idea what it was going to be like for high school basketball,” Reynolds said. “But, I said it would sure hold a lot of shelled corn.” Reynolds was asked, both as a specta-tor and an official, what basketball has meant to him. “Well, let me put it like this, the best thing that ever happened to me is that I married a good woman and I’ve got a great family,” said Reynolds. “But, after that, officiating basketball is one of the greatest things that has happened to me in my lifetime and it’s meant more to

me than I can explain. I wouldn’t trade anything for the experience. I had the opportunity to work for some of the greatest coaches ever in Southern Illinois

ErnieReynoldss answers questions during a recent taping of the SISC TV show.


By Jim Muir At the age of 17 Cory Hastings is a young man with a definite plan. Hastings, a Pinckneyville High School senior, was recently licensed as a three-sport official with the IHSA. Hastings can call basketball, baseball and softball. Hastings played a variety of sports throughout junior high and during his first three years of high school but opted to forgo playing sports his senior year and instead began an officiating career. “Well, my dad has been an official, but I realized that I was not going to play sports in college or beyond but I still love sports and I wanted to be a part of the game and officiating is a way to do that,” said Hastings. “I figured I was better off to start trying to build a good base and get my name out so people know who I am. I think I made the right decision. It really comes down to the fact that I love sports and want to remain

involved.” Hastings was asked to detail the first time he donned striped shirt and whistle for an athletic competition.

“I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous,” said Hastings. “Football was a little intimidating, I’ve watched a lot of football but I never played football. The night before my first game I was up until midnight going over and over the

New SchoolPinckneyville High School senior Cory Hastings is one of the youngest licensed officials in the state

Veteran official Dana Peason (right) of Cobden gives Hastings some advice before a recent game.


and also referee the games of some of the greatest players. And on top of that I’ve met some great people and made some wonderful friends.” Reynolds worked during the era of two-man officiating crews and teamed almost exclusively with the late Wayne Bollinger, but also mentioned other of-ficials of that era that he worked with on a regular basis including Ernie Driggers, Ford Peebles, Robert Blondi, Sr. and Claude Rhodes. “Wayne and I worked so much together that we pretty much knew what the other one was going to do before he did it,” said Reynolds.

When asked to name some of the coach-es that stand out to him Reynolds reeled off a list of names that reads like a who’s who in the coaching ranks, a list that included Lee Cabutti, Stan Changnon, Rich Herrin, Ron Herrin, John Cherry, Bob Dallas, Virgil Fletcher, Doc Bencini, Arthur Trout and Noble Thomas. Players

that stand out in Reynolds mind includes Rich Yunkus and Danny Johnson (Ben-ton), Jim Gauldoni and John Tidwell (Herrin), Greg Starrick (Marion), Billy Perkins and Peaches Laster (Carbondale) and the entire 1957 Herrin Tigers team that captured a state championship. “I covered a bunch of their games that year,” said Reynolds. “They were just a sound team that did not make mistakes.” Reynolds also worked the first state tournament where officials were allowed to wear short sleeve shirts – quite an in-novative step at the time he said. “It was in 1961 and it was quite a big

deal when the IHSA finally let us start wearing short sleeve shirts,” said Reyn-olds. “I remember that it had to be con-sistent across the board, everybody had to wear short sleeves or nobody. I think it made it much better for officials.” Reynolds was asked how he dealt with irate coaches or players who felt he had missed a call. “I could count the technical fouls I gave on one hand,” said Reynolds. “I figure if you know the rules, work hard and know how to talk to coaches and players you won’t have to hand out technical fouls.” However, one ‘T’ does stand out in Reynolds mind and he assessed it against then-Carbondale coach John Cherry, a

person that he called “a close personal friend.” “He’s still my close friend,” Reynolds said. But during a game at the Carbondale Holiday Tournament in the late 1960s the fact that the two men were friends might not have been on display. “John had a good team that year and he kept telling me the entire game that the other team was playing rough and foul-ing his big man,” recalled Reynolds. “I told him I didn’t think his big man was being fouled and he told me again that he wanted me to call something and I told him that I’d call something if I saw it. John looked at me and said, ‘if you’re not going to call anything why don’t you just call a technical on me. I said, ‘John, you don’t want that,’ and he said, ‘call a ‘T’ on me.’ I think he just wanted to see if I had the guts to do it, so I popped him and didn’t leave any doubt about it.” Reynolds said the game concluded with-out incident but when he was changing clothes he heard a knock on the dressing room door. “It was John, who is a real gentleman, and he stuck out his hand and told me he was sorry,” said Reynolds. “We shook hands and I accepted his apology, but I told him to make sure the next time he asks for a technical that he really wants one.” Reynolds offered some spot-on advice for younger officials climbing the ranks and even for those that have been around a while. “First of all, a real interest in basketball is crucial, it has to mean something to you because if you go into it to make a few bucks extra you’re in it for the wrong reason,” said Reynolds. “Officiat-ing is the toughest thing in the world for a young man to go into, but I think the most important things are that you have to respect the game and also that young officials need to talk to the older offi-cials, ask questions and don’t be afraid to ask for advice. You’ve never been officiating too long or get too good to ask for advice.”

“I could count the technical fouls I gave on one hand. I figure if you know the rules, work hard and know how to talk to coaches and players you won’t have to hand out technical fouls.” – Ernie Reynolds –

Ernie Reynolds makes his home in Carterville.


rule book. I was up at 5 a.m. looking at it again, and then got in from school and was in it again. I had refereed basketball at camps in the summer and umpired baseball in the summer too, but football was different. I had never been on a football field except for PE and fire drills so it was a totally new experience.” Hastings also admitted to some nervous-ness the first time he called a junior high basketball game. “The crowd is right on top of you, the gyms are small and you can really hear just about everything that is said,” Hastings said. “I really think it might be easier to call a game when the gym is packed and you can’t hear anything than when it’s half empty and you can everything.” Hastings said his dad helped prepare him for the fact that not everybody will agree with him at all times. “I understand that at any given moment half the fans might like you and the other half are getting ready not to like you,” Hastings said. “I think you have to go into it with the idea that it’s just like life and that you’re never going to please everybody all the time. I think you just have to do your very best to call a fair

game.” Hastings said he has made an effort to reach out to older officials and seek their advice, a move that has been well-received. Hastings listed an impressive group of officials that he has talked with including Dana Pearson, Cory Miller, Mike Austin, Spanky Smith, Jason Rho-des, Bob Blondi, Trent Purcell and Rick Runge. “Any time I see an official I will try to talk with them and ask them about what I can work on, different techniques, what you do in certain situation, just try to get info from as many sources as I can,” said Hastings. “Everybody’s style is a little different, so I just hope to put it all together and develop my own style. I think it’s always going to be a learning experience, 20 years from now I will still be learning new things. There is always going to be a new rule, a new interpreta-tion.” Hastings is now a member of the Southern Illinois Basketball Officials’ Association, based in Centralia, the Egyptian Official’s Association, out of Carterville and is also a member of the Southern Illinois Umpire’s Association, in Carbondale.

“There are veteran officials in all those groups that I try to talk to on a regular basis,” said Hastings. “I talk on the phone to other officials and trade emails just to keep in contact and see what I can do to become a better official. I’ve even asked some of the officials to come and watch a game and then critique me and tell me what they think I can do to improve. The main thing I hear from a lot of officials is to always hustle and always try and be in position.” Following high school Hastings plans to attend Rend Lake College and then Southern Illinois University in Car-bondale and also plans to continue his officiating career. While Hastings has his educational future mapped out he has also laid out a time frame for his career as an official. “I’ve given it a lot of thought, and I’d like to wait at least three to five years and work underclass and JV and then slowly work into varsity basketball,” said Hastings. “And after I put some time in there and pay my dues I might even like to look at doing some college officiating. I think the biggest thing is to just take my time and not get in a big hurry.”

“Everybody’s style is a little different, so I just hope to put it all together and develop my own style. I think it’s al-ways going to be a learning experience, 20 years from now I will still be learn-ing new things. There is always going to be a new rule, a new interpretation.”

– Cory Hastings –


Ask The ADBy Mario Moccia, SIU Athletic Director

• Are there any plans to add an ATM prior to the renovations or to equip the concession stands with the ability to take debit cards?

• Will Patterson -- the General Man-ager of Saluki Sports Properties -- and I approached a local bank as part of an overall package, and they agreed to put an ATM in the arena as soon as possible. We had to work on some University issues, but all the hurdles have been cleared. I do know that in a location such as this, an ATM is a money-loser for the bank, but it is a big convenience that we have been missing for our fans, and it will offer some advertising aware-ness for the bank. I would hope that we would have this in the arena well before the start of the 2009-10 basketball season. The equipping of concession stands to take credit or debit cards are something that could be added once the facility is completely renovated, but this is something that we will tackle down the road.

• Why can't we get a single sign on I-57 noting the exit to Carbondale with the SIU Logo on the sign? It seems an age-old unanswerable question why we must share an exit sign with both Southeastern Illinois Community Col-lege and John A. Logan and get bot-tom billing on that sign. It was pointed out to me the other day that when exit-ing the bypass heading to SIUE, there is a single sign that indicates Southern Illinois University without the refer-ence to "E" or Edwardsville.

• The University and/or athletic depart-ment certainly could put a billboard on any roadway they choose, as long as we agree to pay the going rate. I can't speak for the University on this specific topic, but I know that they have increased the

overall marketing budget and are focused on increasing enrollment from through-out the state. Terry Clark is the leader of this effort and is a very sharp guy. I know there is a big focus on Chicago, since it has such a big population center, but I know he is looking at other areas of the state as well as locally. I know the institution is committed to improv-ing our marketing efforts and outreach. I discussed your question with our As-sistant AD for Marketing, Mark Gazdik, who serves on some University-wide

marketing committees. He tells me the University has purchased a number of billboards throughout Southern Illinois, and they are waiting for some remain-ing strategic boards to become available, then a full billboard campaign will begin in conjunction with a greater marketing campaign. Short answer, the motions have started, and you will hopefully see them soon. From an athletic standpoint, we are going to review some costs and perhaps have a billboard or two going into the 2009-10 season.

• I read that SIUE's Vadalabene Cen-ter has undergone a $6 million renova-tion. How was that funded, especially in light of the Saluki plans for the arena renovations?

• I spoke to Dr. Brad Hewitt the Director of Athletics at SIU-Edwardsville, and he told me that a renovation plan had been in place for several years. Their bleacher system (24 years old) was shot, and

the replacement cost would have been exorbitant, so discussion returned to the renovation and redesign process from previous years, along with a search for funding. Last year, their students passed a facilities renovation and maintenance fee that can be used for classrooms, student activities and student services areas. Since Kinesiology is taught in the facility, intramurals are played in the gym in the off season, and intercol-legiate athletics is part of student life, the justification was there to use this funding

source. The students supported the administration's decision.

• We have a White Out. We have a Maroon Out. Why can't Saluki basketball have a Black Out? The Salukis had an alternative black jersey a few years back.

• We actually discussed having a Black Out promotion last year, in addition to the White and Maroon

Outs. I wasn't here when the team had black uniforms, but my understanding was that there was a lot of backlash from the alumni and administration when they were introduced. We decided to just try the white and do a good job with it be-fore we got too creative. I think basket-ball and football could sport a specialty jersey from time to time, but would like the primary look to be maroon and white for obvious reasons. We will eventually try a "Black Out" promotion, but might just ask the fans to do this for a TV game, and then in the future if we do get a specialty uniform, could try it at that time.

• Are there any thoughts about sell-ing pieces of 'The Mac' to students, alumni or just fans, so we can have a lasting memory of Saluki history?

• We are in the process of calling all schools that have made a move from


old to new football stadiums and getting ideas of what they did with the old facil-ity, as well as how they marketed the last year of the existing facility for the final season. We should have some plans in place within a 60 to 90-day period and will roll out the plans for all to see. We will have to check with University guide-lines on “giving away” items from the stadium, since we are a state institution but will try to address all the red tape we might encounter before we begin.

• Regarding the proposed price tag of $83 million for Saluki Way, will that remain the same, even though the bids are lower than originally anticipated? Will it allow you add more amenities for the athletes, coaches and fans, or will you keep the plans as-is and look come in under budget?

• The $83M price tag is going to stay firm throughout the entire process. We have only received three bids back so far from a total of more than 40, so we will have to wait and see what the market-place is. January 14 and 21 are the two dates we will be getting a large portion

of bids back, and that should tell us what direction we are going in. As I indicated in the past, if the bids come back higher than our budgeted figures, we will have to cut elements of the project back to meet the budget. If we are under budget, we can take some or all of the “alter-nates” that all projects carry. This could be a nicer scoreboard, upgrades to exist-ing facilities, for example, or purchasing a better quality of seat for the arena, etc.

• With the cost of construction falling off significantly, would there be any consideration to adding a second tier in modular form to the midfield portions of the football stadium now?

• Once again all the bids need to come in before any plans are made. An addi-tion of another deck to the new football stadium can be easily done since it is built in a modular fashion, but would cost significantly more than any savings on the project would produce. If we find a need after sustained sellouts, or if the University ever made the decision to go to the FBS level of NCAA football, we could certainly add a second level. Once

the project is completed, we will have a better idea where we stand on this.

• A recent addition to the athletics web-site has been the vendor Replay Photos, which has allowed fans and alumni to order some of their favorite Saluki sports images. I’ve ordered a picture from the Southern Illinois selections, but they are all sports-related. Other schools offer se-lections of campus aerial shots. Can we get pictures of SIU’s campus buildings and aerial images?

• After the new year, the Department of Athletics and the Department of Photo-communications, headed by Phil Bank-ester, are going to get together to discuss a host of issues, this being one of them. Now that this method of photo distribu-tion and vending is becoming more and more prominent, we are going to have an all encompassing meeting to make sure we are all on the same page, how we can best serve the public and also maximize our revenue opportunities. I’ll make sure I share this topic with them when the time comes


In FocusBy Ceasar Maragni

Photographing sports for a living has given me a unique perspective on the individuals who participate. Some you get to know a little better than others and some you never get to know at all. Just like all other walks

of life, there are good guys and bad guys. Let me tell you about one of the good guys. I first met Tito Landrum back in the late 1970's when he was a member of the St. Louis Cardinals and I was at Busch Stadium photographing a baseball game. It was late in the summer, and the temperature in the river city was nudging the 100-degree mark. In addition, that was when the ballpark still featured an early version of Astro-Turf that radiated heat like a blast furnace. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Add a big dose of humidity to the scene and you get an idea of how miserably hot it was that day.

My assigned photo spot was right next to the south end of the Cardinals' dugout, looking directly out to first base. Landrum, an outfielder, didn't start every game for the Redbirds that season, and he happened to be on the bench that day. About midway through the game, all of us in the stadium were as well baked as my wife's chocolate chip cookies, and I had run out of anything to drink. Landrum became aware of that and tossed me a bottle of ice cold water and asked me if I could use a cold towel. I stopped guzzling the water long enough to nod affirmatively and he handed me a cool, wet white towel. It made my day. I thanked him, and we talked for the next few innings, between action on the field, and discovered, that at the time we were both paying particular attention to trying to eat healthy. He told me about a new machine he had recently bought for he and his family, called a Veg-a-matic, and that he had been pulverizing and drinking just about every kind of fruit and vegetable he could get his hands on. I in turn told him about a book I had just finished reading titled “Sugar Blues’ which explained how sugar affected our health and behavior. I told him that the next game I covered, I would bring the book with me for him to borrow. I made it back to Busch Stadium again that season and as promised, gave Landrum the book. The following year just before spring training I received a package in the mail with St. Louis Cardinals' letterhead on it. Inside was the book and a nice letter from Landrum thanking me, and asking if I had bought a Veg-a-matic yet? I had not. Although I did check them out, I decided that a couple of hun-dred dollars could be better spent on a new lens. For several years afterward, I would see Landrum occasionally at the ballpark, and he was always nice and we would catch up on things if time permitted. In 1983 he was sent to the Balti-more Orioles to complete a trade the Cards made for Floyd Rayford. It was in Baltimore that Landrum would become a big part of Orioles lore by blasting a Britt Burns pitch over the left-field wall in the 10th-inning of a playoff game to break a score-less tie, helping to propel the birds over the Chicago White Sox, and into the World Series where they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in five games. Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog had long appreciated Lan-drum's talent and persuaded St. Louis brass to bring him back for the 1984 season. Herzog's confidence paid off as Landrum played in 105 games that season and batted a respectable .272

Tito Landrum


3

as a reserve outfielder behind All-Star outfield Willie McGee, Vince Coleman and Andy Van Slyke. The next year found him starring in the playoffs and in the World Series as he helped the Cardinals both with his outstanding defensive play and his hit-ting, filling in for outfielder Vince Coleman whose leg had been crunched by a Busch Stadium rolling tarp early in the playoffs against the Dodgers. Because of serious health issues in my family in 1985 I did not get to Busch Stadium until late in the season and only then to honor a previous contract commitment I had made to photo-graph a player for a baseball card company. It was a scheduled 1 p.m. start for the Cardinals Braves match-up and I had ar-rived at the ballpark early in the morning to get my equipment set up, and to meet and photograph the player, prior to batting practice and team meetings. I was also assigned to photograph him during the game itself. As I was sitting atop a Cardinals equipment box in a tunnel beneath the Stadium, awaiting the start of the game, Landrum was walking past and he stopped, looked back at me and said, “Hey, Ceasar, would you like to join us for chapel service?” I said, “Sure.” I jumped off the large red equipment box, and as we walked forward, I placed my right arm over his shoulder and said while fighting back tears, “Tito, you couldn't have asked me at a better time. My wife is in the hospital back home with her white blood count dangerously low because of the chemo-therapy she's been undergoing to fight cancer. I didn't even want to be here today.” He smiled and said, “Just follow

Andy (Van Slyke). I'll be right there in a minute.” I followed Van Slyke into a small room located deep inside Busch Stadium and took a seat alongside him. On my other side was Darrell Porter. In the chair in front of me was Dale Murphy. Next to him was Glen Hubbard and there were other ballplayers seated from both clubs. I later learned that baseball chapel is held each Sunday at all major league ballparks to offer players on the road the chance to attend worship services, as well as players on the home team whose families may live in other cities, or who get to the ballpark too early to attend the church of their choice. Each Sunday a different minister conducts the interdenominational services. I don't really remember much about the service itself that day except that it gave me the opportunity to pray for my wife and focus on what was really important to me. I also remember thinking how blessed I was to be able to have this special, sacred time to do that, among others who had their own reasons for being there. And just like that day we first met Landrum had once again reached out to offer me aid and comfort. This time however it wasn't a cold towel and a drink, but instead something much, much more.


By Chris “Goroshnik” DenaultGoro’s Rant

A nother calendar year’s rolled around, and I’m all too eager to toss away the last few months of 2008. As a

Saluki hoops fan, I've seen our team go from the heights of a Sweet 16 run just two years ago to what can now only be described as a full-out recession.

We've hit the "Dawg Days" my friends, and in an eerie comparison to our country's economic slide, I think we're gonna be in for a run of gloomy out-comes until this team bottoms out and figures out how to play 40 minutes of solid basketball again.

Granted, SIU's not been known recent-ly for putting together a complete game on both sides of the ball, but it could always count on the amazing pressure defense to withstand any long scoring droughts during the game. This year, however, while those stubborn scoring droughts keep happening, the ‘D’ hasn't been able to stem numerous runs by the opponents.

And that's been the biggest problem

that I've seen this year. Far, far, far too often, the Dawgs have held their own against a variety of opponents, from top-notch teams like Duke, UCLA and St. Mary's, to second-level teams like Nevada and Bradley ... only to see those games completely blown out in a matter of minutes. The Dow Jones hasn't been as unpredictable as this team's been this year.

At a glance, the only loss I didn't expect so far was the home game against Char-lotte, so it's not like I was demanding to see a 7-4 or 8-3 start this year. Losing all the other non-con games wasn't the surprise ... it's been the unfortunate pattern in which those losses have oc-curred. The Duke and UCLA games I could un erstand, as the number of SIU fouls in those games, combined with the fire-power of those teams, would at some point catch up to the young Dawgs. But to see SIU go stone-cold out of halftime over and over again while teams like Nevada and Bradley start lighting it up ... it's quickly becoming a pattern of mediocrity that this Saluki fan wasn't prepared for this year.

Go ahead and pick your No. 1 reason why it's been such a struggle this year:

1. The team's too young. 2. Getting to play against Duke and UCLA did more harm than good for


this team. 3. The coach is too stubborn to change his system. 4. The hype of the incoming freshmen was too much, too soon. 5. The weight of past SIU successes is too much to bear.

For the fanatics out there who like to play the armchair quarterback and dis-sect every single thing wrong with this year, we've had a bumper crop of topics for them to feast on. But for the realists like me who felt that we were probably looking at a .500 season and possibly were going to miss postseason play entirely, it's becoming a sore reality.

Just like the stock market's predictabil-ity in its unpredictability, at some point our Salukis were going to take a tumble or two... you just don't know when. It happens to every team, no matter the level. For example:

* North Carolina went from a 25-6 regular season in 2001 to 8-20 in 2002

* Illinois went from National Cham-pionship runner-up in 2005 to a 16-19 mark in two years * UCLA was a combined 21-36 from 2002-2004 after three straight Sweet 16 appearances

Of course, the above teams have had much quicker turnarounds due to the level of talent being brought in year-in and year-out, but the point's still valid. Every team, no matter what's on the front of the jersey, is not immune from having a bad season or two. Let's just hope the turnaround for SIU will hap-pen sooner rather than three, four, or five years down the road.

The only real wish I have for this team at this point is to find some sort of con-sistency and hang together through this extremely turbulent roller-coaster-of-a-season. When SIU wins their first four D-1 games by an average of 14 points per game ... and also loses their first seven games by that same 14 points per game average, that's just maddeningly

inconsistent.

Normally, I'd be in as much rage as many of you are about this season, but a little thing like unemployment can put things in perspective for you all too quickly. My wife was laid off a week before Thanksgiving, and as some of you know, I'm a stay-at-home dad in addition to my wedding videography work, so this is the slowest time of the year for me, income-wise. Since neither one of us is currently working full-time at the moment, worrying about Lowery's play-calling abilities doesn't have the same importance as paying the mortgage and trying to save the house.

I'll still be a diehard Saluki fan after a 14-14 or 12-16 season and I'm sure most of you will as well, so hang in there. I can only hope that this “Saluki Recession” will be a brief one, so don't do anything rash and "bail out" on this team. If the wife and I can manage to make it through this real recession, you should be able to ride out one season of mediocrity.


YOUTH IS SERVEDFrom Where I SitBy Tom Wheeler

I asked my wife Lynda Sue if she wanted to see a good show in Marion one Saturday night last month, and “maybe get something

to eat.” She jumped at the chance and was all excited until I pulled up at Cuss Wilson gymnasium at Marion High School. I explained that the “show” we were going to see was the first “Best of the Midwest Shootout.” I wasn’t disappointed. While she may have been (she declined on hit-ting the hospitality room with me but did test the Wildcats’ pop corn and got her customary Snickers candy bar.) I asked Marion Athletic Director Mike Chornak how the idea of the Shootout originated. “This started evolving last winter about half way thru basketball season,” he said. “I started looking at the possibility of having a shootout and basketball Coach Aaron Mattox got on the phone. By the end of the school year we had eight good teams locked in. We wanted to bring some schools in here that had Division I recruits, and also teams that were ranked nationally, that was our goal.” Chornak said the much work went on behind the scenes. “Getting team hosts, I learned this from Coach Rich Herrin, is very, very im-portant,” said Chornak. “As soon as a team walks in the door we have a person getting them to their locker rooms, get-ting them halftime stats, getting them to the cafeteria to eat after the game and answering any necessary questions. We want the teams to feel welcome. Some-thing that was new to me also was we had to advertise the games.” Chornak said plans call for the shootout

to become an annual event. “We want to invite more teams next year, the Chicago Simeon Coach said there are teams in his area with some top players that we would have no problem getting,” Chornak said. “The Lexington coaches said the same thing. We are looking at having more local teams play which will put more fans in the stands. Depending on the reception we might make it a two day event. A lot of these kids you saw this year will probably be seen on TV the next couple years.” Mike also admitted that it was a lot of work and he had a lot of help from so many people but wanted to single out Coach Mattox who he said “went beyond the call of duty to bring the event to Marion.” The games were great. In game one the Carbondale Terriers defeated Lexington Catholic 65-64 to hand the Kentucky team its first loss of the year. The Lex-ington School played in Rupp Arena last year in the Kentucky final four after being state champions in 2002. Game two went down to the wire as Briarcrest Christian (Tennessee) beat Chicago Simeon 45-44 when Simeon’s Brandon Spearman (Illinois, Kentucky and Mar-quette looking at him) missed a 15-footer at the buzzer. Simeon is the high school where the Chicago Bulls rookie Derrick Rose prepped while Briarcrest was led in scoring by Leslie Mc Donald a North Carolina recruit who was Mr. Basketball last year in Tennessee. The host Wildcats gave the local fans plenty to roar about as they handled St. Louis Vashon 65-47. Vashon was the Missouri class 5A state champs in 2006 and was coached by ex-NBA star Anthony Bonner. The last game was all Memphis White Station who de-feated Lafayette (Missouri) 64-45. This

Memphis team was ranked 14th in the nation and played like it. Junior guard Joe Jackson scored 21 for the winners and showed why he is being recruited by Memphis, Arizona North Carolina and Tennessee. University of Illinois recruit Tyler Griffey, a 6-feet-9-inch wing player who plays the point on their 1-3-1 defense had 17 for the losers. Thoughts on the night: loved watching Marion and Carbondale playing teams from out of the region, quality teams at that … St. Louis Vashon ‘s warm ups were like none I had never seen before, they came out with their hoods pulled up to cover their heads … Memphis White put on a pre game dunking exhibition that was nothing short of awesome … SIU Coach Rodney Watson along with John A Logan Coach Kyle Smithpeters both said they loved seeing this much talent and only traveling ten minutes instead of ten hour … noticed four jer-seys retired at Cuss Wilson gymnasium, John Kent, Greg Starrick, Ray Fosse and Cameron Wright … big time gesture for the players when they were introduced, lights off and spot light on the players … Briarcrest senior Johnnie Williams, who signed to play at George Mason, was on SIU’s radar at one time …. look for a school from Georgia to be in the shoot-out next year … besides the four teams that won games, other winners included the city of Marion’s motels and restau-rants, and John A. Logan College where Chicago Simeon worked out on Friday in front of current Logan freshman Lazeric Jones, a Simeon graduate … the other winner, my wife Lynda Sue , who I did take out the next week for a good meal and movie That’s the way it looks this month, From Where I Sit.



By Nathan Wheeler

Rend Lake College Report

Lady Warriors off to Good Start

R end Lake College Lady War-riors basketball has had an impressive first half of the season. Despite

the team hitting speed bumps in December, losing four straight and falling to 8-4, they continue to claim a spot among the National Junior College Athletic Association’s top 25 Division I teams across the country.

On Dec. 20 – their final game of 2008 – RLC attempted to end its skid against the Illinois Central College Cougars, but came up short in a 76-67 loss. ICC is ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II women’s basketball.

The Lady Warriors broke into the D1 polls at No. 18 during the week of Nov. 26. It was just after RLC improved to 7-0 with a Nov. 22 win at the Mineral Area Classic. At that point, the Ladies from the Lake were outscoring their opponents by an average of nearly 27 points per game. RLC’s eight wins have been by an average 23 points per game.

The next week they fell out of the top 20 to No. 25 following a 72-51 loss to Moberly. Two of RLC’s three losses were to Moberly and Mineral Area Col-lege. Sandwiched between them is a 80-58 loss to Jefferson College at the SWIC Shoot-Out. With that, Rend Lake sits at No. 23 in the final poll of 2008.

“They know they are ranked, but I don’t think they need to be focused on that,” RLC Coach Ashley Allen said. “We have bigger fish to fry. If we keep losing then the whole ranking thing is in the water. I hope they are not focused on the rank-

ings.”Another thing she doesn’t want her team to focus on is individual stats. After a game in the locker room, she doesn’t even tell them how many points they scored.

“I also don’t think that is something we need to be focused on,” she said. “We need to focus on the team we are getting ready to play. It could be a 10-2 team that isn’t ranked and should be.”

Allen and her players would love to get another shot at Jefferson. The undefeated Vikings are the number one team in the nation.

Jefferson was ranked number one in the NJCAA Division I preseason polls and hasn’t wavered since. Their returning first team All-American Danielle Adams was a dominant weapon for the Vikings against RLC. Adams and returning All-America honorable mention LaToya Johnson are leading JeffCo, which finished at 32-3 last season. Adams, a 2008-2009 first-team pre-season All-American, finished her freshman season

as the nation’s leading scorer with 28 points and second in the nation with 14.2 rebounds per game. Johnson, a second-team pre-season All-American, also put up impressive numbers with 14 points, 5.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The

Vikings also have freshmen Porsha Porter and Ashley Brown, a McDonald’s All-American.

There was a close race for Lady Warriors lead-ing scorer going into the game against ICC. Candyce Flynn (Cleveland, Ohio) was averaging 13.8 points per game and scored seven against the Cougars in the first half. Sophomore Kem-my Dominique (Miami) was at 13.7 points and Eb-ony Wilson (Newark,N.J.) was averaging 13.5 points per game. Dominique led all scorers in the ICC game

with 28 and was leading the team in rebounding with four per game.

Some key players were sidelined prior to the ICC game. Freshman center Mi-chel ‘Le Houston (Cairo) was leading the team in field goal percentage with 92 percent, Kujania Walker (Newark, N.J.) injured her right knee and Kristina Zivkov (Novi Sad, Serbia) is out with an injured left ankle.

The Lady Warriors returned from break and play North Arkansas and Three Riv-ers in the Three Rivers Classic, Jan. 2, 3. The conference season begins Jan. 7 at Olney Central.

For a complete schedule and roster, and for all things athletic at RLC, visit online at www.rlc.edu/warriors.

Rend Lake College women’s basketball coach Ashley Allen diagrams a play during a recent game. Allen has the Lady Warriors off to a an 8-4 start and a NJCAA Top 25 ranking among Division I teams in the nation.



Murf’s TurfBy Mike Murphy

Mid-Winter Sports Ramblings It’s January and there’s sports all around to keep up with. In baseball the Hot Stove League continues to fuel baseball thoughts. I recently had the chance to interview Cardinal reliever Kyle McClel-lan at the John A. Logan Baseball Card Show. Logan athletic director and baseball coach Jerry Halstead always seems to hit a home run by bringing in a young guy that has just had a break-out year or is pre-dicted to figure prominently in future Red Bird plans. McClellan surprised me a bit when he said the team felt as if they exceeded expecta-tions last season. “Most (media) picked us to finish last with the Pirates last season,” McClellan said. “We finished ten games over .500 and got our younger guys a ton of big league experience. If we get (Chris) Carpenter back we know we can compete with the Cubs.” McClellan also said it was shame to lose a guy like Aaron Miles to the rival Cubs, especially since he now will have to face him several times a year. It was refreshing though to hear from the player’s side and how optimism always sprouts up around this time of year. Another college football season has come and gone and still no definitive resolution to one of sports greatest puzzles. How can a group like the BCS

influence the sports world and continue to perpetrate its hoax of who is the Na-tional Champion. The Utah Utes finished the season unde-feated and toppled former number one Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. However, they won’t have a chance to prove they could be the top team in the country because of the BCS.

Ask USC if they are the best team in the land and Coach Pete Carroll will answer in the affirmative. All the Trojans did on New Year’s Day was dismantle a very good Penn State team. Texas beat Ohio State and came within one play of being in the national title game. Who am I supposed to believe is number one? How much excite-

ment would there be to have these top teams play out a national championship scenario? If you are only in it for the money, think what TV would pay? Sure some of the minor bowl games might get pushed aside but really now, how many of those bowl games can you name, let alone who won them. Even the President wants a playoff system for college football. Can you

imagine the loss of parity in college basketball if a na-tional champion was decided the way they do it in college football? Think of all the great games, great plays and players we would never have seen or heard. All I know is if a college basketball team is good enough, I mean really good enough, they have a chance, a chance, to make it to the Final Four and a national title game. SIU, David-son, Bradley, Western Ken-tucky, George Mason, UNLV, Marquette all have chances to make the Final Four. Some of those schools I just listed have. Scratch all off the list if some outfit like the BCS got their hands on the NCAA Playoff System. Come on, give me a real champion.

Let’s Meet Here Next Month

“Most (media) picked us to finish last with the Pirates last season. We finished ten games over .500 and got our younger guys a ton of big league experi-ence. If we get (Chris) Carpen-ter back we know we can com-pete with the Cubs.” – Cardinals’ pitcher Kyle McClellan –



The JALC JournalBy Teri Campbell

Logan Basketball Teams Start GRAC Play

For the John A. Logan College basket-ball teams January means one thing: Great Rivers Athletic Conference play. The nonconference games are in the books, and it’s time to focus on the league. The Volunteers had a successful pre-conference season, posting a record of 8-3 and averag-ing over 89 points a game.

Logan is getting solid contributions from its newcom-ers and veterans. Freshman shoot-ing guard Russell Moore, Jr., from New Orleans, Louisiana, leads the Vols in scoring with 12.3 points per game. Ken-neth Harris, Jr., a freshman shoot-ing guard from St. Louis, is averaging 12 points, seven re-bounds, 2.7 assists, and a team-leading 2.6 steals per game. Sophomore point guard Matt Lander of Evansville, Indiana, is contributing 11.1 points and 2.7 assists per contest, while forward Chris Parks, a sophomore from Jonesboro, Arkansas, averages 9.8 points and a team-high 7.13 rebounds.

“We’ve made progress throughout the early part of the season, but we still have a lot of room for improvement,” said Mark Imhoff, head men’s basketball coach at Logan. “I have a great deal of respect for the teams in our league, and

we’re going to have to be at the top of our game to compete at the level we want to in the conference. We have nine freshmen on the squad who haven’t experienced the challenges of our league schedule before, and it can be a grueling two months. We’re going to have to im-prove weekly and try to keep our players thinking about one game at a time.”

On the women’s side, injuries hit the Lady Vols hard and delayed the team’s

development. “We lost Devin London (Park Forest, Illinois), our leading scorer, and Sherita Stanley (Minden, Louisiana), our lead-ing rebounder, to ACL injuries during nonconference play, and they’re both out for the year,” said Marty Hawkins, head coach of the Lady Vols. “Since then, we’ve had to redefine the roles of some of our players and we’re trying to re-establish our team identity.”Despite the setbacks, the Lady Vols went

7-4 in their nonconference slate, scoring almost 77 points per game. Sophomore guard Taylor Manley from Belleville, Michigan, has emerged as the team’s leading scorer with 13 points per game. Forward Dalita Scott, a freshman from Hammond, Indiana, adds 10.3 points and a team-best 4.6 rebounds an outing. Marion product Stephanie McSparin is second in rebounding with 4.1 per game. Sophomore guards Shelice Crater and Shenay Crater of Chicago lead Logan in

assists, providing 3.8 and 3.4 per game, respectively.

“On a positive note, we have Katelyn McMahan (Cobden) back from an injury she suffered in the preseason, and Rakena Williams (Pontiac, Michigan) is eligible now,” Hawkins said. “They are both good players and should help us in conference play. Our league is always tough and I think the conference race is wide open this year.”


Logan Bowling Classic Rolls on January 25

The annual John A. Logan College Athletics Bowling Classic is being held on Sunday, January 25, at the SI Bowl on New Route 13 in Carterville. The tourna-ment can accommodate 32, five-person teams. Registration begins at noon and

bowling starts at 1 p.m.

This event is an important fundraiser for Logan’s athletic programs and is al-ways a lot of fun. Each team receives a complimentary sponsor gift, and all par-ticipants get a free t-shirt and bowling towel. They can also enjoy free refresh-ments while bowling. Trophies will be

awarded to the winning team and to the bowl-ers with the high game and high series (men and women). Delicious food will be provided by 17th Street Bar & Grill.

“I want to thank SI Bowl for hosting the tourna-ment,” said Jerry Hal-stead, athletic director at Logan. “I also want to extend my gratitude to 17th Street Bar & Grill and Rend Lake Beverages for generously donating the food and refresh-ments. Bowlers and non-bowlers alike will enjoy this event.”

For more information or to participate in the Bowling Classic, please contact Logan’s Athletic Department at 618-985-2828 or 618-457-7676, Ext. 8439 or 8369, TTY 618-985-2752.For more details and further information, please contact Logan’s Athletic Department at 618-985-2828 or 618-457-7676, Ext. 8369 or TTY 618-985-2752.



By Dr. John McConnaughy and Dr. Dennis McGuire

Ask The McDocs

Low Back Pain in Athletes The great majority of you already know what at least one form of low back pain feels like. If you haven't had the pleasure yet, just wait – its coming. Depending on the reference source, 75-85 percent of us will experience low back pain during our lifetime. These statistics increase for those involved in sports. The twisting, jerking, and compression of different movements for your particular sport could be putting you at more risk for repeated episodes of pain. It's important to remember that pain is just the symptom of a cause. By the time we feel the acute pain, the underlying problem has worked its way up the dys-function scale until the body signals that it needs help. Many of us operate with sub-acute problems that cause gradual deterioration of our muscles and joints. Learning their cause and the alternatives, can give us the tools needed to slow our aging process. While most occurrences of low-back pain in athletes are self-limited sprains or strains, persistent, chronic, or recur-rent symptoms are frequently associated with degenerative lumbar disc disease or spondylolytic stress lesions. The prevalence of radiographic evidence of disc degeneration is higher in athletes than it is in non-athletes; however, it remains unclear whether this correlates with a higher rate of back pain. Approxi-mately one-in-three golfers will develop problems that will affect their ability to continue playing. Modified swing patterns and exercises do not always fit the needs of that golfer's body. There are some aspects that appear to be more consistent. In a University of Pittsburgh study, golfers with repeated episodes of low back pain had less trunk and hip strength. There was also less hamstring

and right torso rotation, which decreased displacement between the shoulders and hips during the backswing.

One of the prime culprits in low back pain is the sacroiliac joint. This is a large joint that attaches the hip to the sacrum (base of the spine). If there is instability in the sacroiliac joint, it can allow the hip to rotate forward/backward, or internal/external. This change in hip position can cause the leg length to change on that side, and affect your gait and posture. As you keep wearing on the joint, the liga-ment structure becomes more inflamed, affecting the surrounding muscles. Heat and ice sessions can be of benefit for the swelling, however it is vital to balance the hips and stabilize the spine's founda-tion. A study at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark showed that coordination of movement in the lower back and hips was as effective for pain as strength training alone. Specific exercises in-creased flexibility and proprioception (perceived motion and balance). Strength building along with the exercises pro-vided the best overall improvement.

One of the biggest concerns should be with our children developing back pain early in life. Some of the most common causes of pain are stress fractures, sprain/strain and growth spurts. Stress fractures (spondylolysis) are relatively common in young athletes. In general, the prevalence of spondylolysis is not higher in athletes than it is in non-athletes, although par-ticipation in sports involving repetitive hyperextension maneuvers, such as gym-nastics, wrestling, and diving, appears to be associated with disproportionately higher rates of spondylolysis. The stress fracture occurs at the joint between the vertebrae (pars interarticularis). Some re-port pain on one or both sides of the back that gets worse with movement, running, or bending backwards. Early treatment requires rest from the sport and support-ive bracing. As symptoms improve you can start a back stabilization program. A return to sports requires pain free, full range of motion, and may take three to six months. A recent study determined that low back pain was responsible for 23 percent of school absenteeism, and up to 29 percent when sports injuries were added. A seri-ous side note to this is that researchers discovered that in 75 percent of reported low back pain, it triggered depression and other psychological problems. Though some low back injuries cannot be avoided proper strengthening exer-cises and core muscle strength programs will minimize the chances of developing

If you have any questions concerning this topic, you can contact either Dr. Dennis McGuire, D.C. at 805 North Main St, Benton, IL or at 250 Small St., Harrisburg IL. or Dr. John McConnaughy at McConnaughy Chiropractic Clinic, P.C., located at 1311 South Division Street in Carterville. For more information contact “Dr. John” at 618-985-4344 or on-line at www.drjohndc.com)


Falcons wrap up first half ranked No. 2 in the nation

By Jeffrey Drake

With Great Rivers Athletic Conference play already heating up, the South-eastern Illinois College Falcons have a lot to be excited about. The defend-ing Region 24 champions wrapped up the first half of the regular season with a perfect 11-0 record and found themselves ranked second nationally in the final poll of 2008 released by the NJCAA.

The ranking is not anything new to a program that has averaged more than 25 wins per year over the past 11 seasons.

Southeastern has been ranked second in the country three times before this win-ter, including during the 2002-03 season and again in 2003-04.

The Falcons also began the 2004-05 campaign with the No. 2 preseason mark before opening the year against then top-ranked Moberly Area College (Mis-souri).

So far, Southeastern has averaged over 80 points per game during the first half of the season, while surrendering only 57.5 points defensively. Remaining at that high level of play can be difficult, but head coach Todd Franklin says his team can’t be worried about losing. Instead, they have to keep their mind of winning and getting better.

“The rest of the season is set up with Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday games, and that can be kind of grind for a team if you’re trying to win the conference,” said Franklin. “You have to play every game like it’s a championship game

because the league almost always comes down to the last game because you don’t know if someone else is going to lose. That happened in 2002 when we went undefeated in the league. It still came down to the next to last game against Wabash Valley.”

But playing with the pressure of that high ranking is something Franklin says can be constructive.

“The more big games we can be in dur-ing the season, the better it can help us at the end of the year,” Franklin said. “The more times you play in that type of environment, the easier it is to play at that high level at the end.”

The idea of continuing to improve is a point that Franklin tries to hammer home.

“The bottom line is you have to keep getting better because if you don’t, then you’re not going to win it at the end. Winning a conference championship is our number one goal in the regular season and inside of that you’re trying to get better every week, and last year was a perfect example,” Franklin said of the way his team was able to knock off a Southwestern Illinois College team in the Region 24 championship after los-

ing twice to the Blue Storm during the regular season.

“I felt day by day and week by week we closed the gap (on SWIC). We actually thought we had played as good as or better than them the last couple of weeks,

so it’s not how you start, but it is how you finish.”

Still, with the notoriety that comes with being the second ranked team in Division I men’s junior college bas-ketball is something that Franklin and company enjoy and get excited about.

“We look at it as a positive, and we’d like to be ranked number one. It’s not going to be a bad thing if we get there. But it doesn’t mean we’re going to have guys that are going to handle it great every night either, but it brings

good positive attention for our kids and school. At the same time you can’t ever believe it’s going to win you any game, but being ranked is all pretty much posi-tive,” Franklin said. “It’s fun.”

Remaining SIC conference home datesWomen’s games begin at 5:30 p.m.Men’s games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 vs SWIC

Jan. 21 vs Wabash Valley

Jan. 28 vs Olney Central

Feb. 7 vs Rend Lake

Feb. 11 vs Kaskaskia

Feb. 21 vs Lincoln Trail

Feb. 28 vs John A. Logan

“The more big games we can be in during the season, the better it can help us at the end of the year. The more times you play in that type of environment, the easier it is to play at that high level at the end.”

– SIC Coach Todd Franklin –


By Roger Lipe - Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Faith on the Field

An Incomplete Player For most of my life as a competitor I was terribly incomplete. I desperately loved the sports in which I participat-ed, but I was always conflicted in my heart about how to compete. I had trained my body to run, hit, throw, catch and slide. I worked hard to be the 5-tool baseball player I had long dreamed of becoming.

I trained my mind to understand the strategies of sport, the nuances of its ebb and flow of momentum and how to manage its rise and fall. I memorized the backs of the baseball cards for the players whose approach to the sport I most admired and sought to emulate.

Sadly, my heart was torn between the two loves of my life and I was consequently incomplete in two most important arenas of my life. I began competing as soon as I was able to stand up. My great-aunt was fond of telling the story about me standing in the front yard as a two-year-old screaming, “Play ball!” The love for sport and competition was deeply rooted in my heart. At age ten I committed my life to Jesus Christ and suddenly people in my church said that I should, “Play nice.” Thus the conflict began. My heart was torn on the field between “playing nice” and “playing hard.” I felt I owed it to my teammates to play my heart out and to give my absolute best effort. I would simultane-ously feel guilty after stealing a base, breaking up a double play or taking a base hit away from another player through an athletic play because I won-dered if I wasn’t “playing nice.”

That conflict lingered until I was in my twenties and saw the Academy Award winning motion picture, “Chariots of Fire.” When I heard Eric Liddle say, “I know God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure,” it was the most liberating moment of my life in sport. Suddenly I knew that God had made me with this competitive heart and that the real issue was to compete in a Christ-honoring way. This is my challenge to you today, play your heart out and honor your Maker by how you compete. In this way, you are most complete – your body, mind and heart 100% engaged in every mo-ment. The sport and your team get your best when you are fully engaged. Your God does too and that brings a deep sense of satisfaction called joy. Go rent a copy of “Chariots of Fire” and see if you can keep from crying when Liddle competes in the Olympics 400 meter final.

Where Are the Leaders? I have noticed an alarming trend in sport over the last several years. The leaders have disappeared. I see it when watching both high school and college athletics teams. Many of the teams with which I’m familiar seem leader-less and their coaches are pulling their hair out. For decades the world of sport has been an incubator for leadership skills and both players and coaches have used it for training and development. That seemed rather natural for a long time, but no more. No longer do the

strongest competitors and most power-ful personalities become a team’s lead-ers. Too often they simply blend into the background and defer leadership to the coaching staff. I have given this a good deal of thought and prayer over the last few years and have reached one simple conclusion. Most competitors of this generation would rather be popular than be leaders. They sacrifice their influence and authority to lead on the altar of popularity and politeness. They rightly assume that leadership may require them to confront foolish behavior, to challenge their teammates to higher performance and to raise everyone’s expectations. They believe these actions will lead to their being less popular with their teammates and would hinder their social standing. What they misunderstand is the true nature of leadership. To quote Chris Lowney’s book, Heroic Leadership, “We’re all leading and we’re leading all the time. The question is whether we’re doing it well or poorly.” These players are leading, even without try-ing to, but they’re doing it passively, by default and very poorly. If you are a whole-hearted competitor, you are a leader already. Lead purpose-fully. Develop your leadership skills and determine to take the risks to lead strongly rather than to foolishly prefer popularity over wise service of your teammates. Roger Lipe has served with Southern Illinois FCA since 1994 when he became the region’s first direc-tor. Roger operates out of the Carbondale FCA Office.You can reach him at: [email protected]


Around the HornBy Sean Patrick

W ell, its official, 2008 is in the books. What a fantastic year it has been for me, as I hope it was as

equally exciting for you, too. I appreciate you allowing me to share my thoughts with you every month here in the SISC. Thanks for your support! I was fortunate enough to have the op-portunity to attend the entire Carbondale Holiday Basketball Tournament this year. Honestly, I haven’t been back to the three day-long tournament hosted by Carbondale Community High School at the SIU Arena since I played in the event all four years of my high school career a decade ago. A couple things really stood out to me about the 2008 edition of the annual CHT. First, it’s important to commend CCHS athletic director Rick Moss for as-sembling one of the most diverse fields of championship caliber teams in the entire Midwest. I can’t imagine another gathering of squads that annu-ally compete for spots in their respective state’s championship tournaments. Although several highly touted teams from all over the Midwest came in for the CHT, I have to believe that the ab-sence of several local teams that used to compete year in and year out at the CHT may have been one reason for relatively lower attendance numbers. Many of those teams, such as Pinckneyville and Marion, now hold their own holiday tournaments. Others, such as Carterville, Christopher and DuQuoin have moved

on to other local tournaments, so kudos to the fans that did choose to attend the CHT. They certainly got their money’s worth, and were able to see several play-ers who will definitely be playing at the next level in the coming years. I know that playing in a tournament with more of a local flavor may give a team a better chance to play more than two games but there’s no substitute for the experience a young player gets when he has the chance to play at a Division I venue with big league accommodations like the SIU arena. In my four-year var-sity career, I only won one game at the CHT, but I have a lot of great memories

that will last with me forever. I know we may have had a better record than 1-8 in another tournament, but looking back 10 years later, running out onto that SIU Arena floor was better than wins and losses. In addition, let’s not forget that a big factor regarding the current set-up of the CHT, which was in its 45th year this Christmas, is the watered down four-class system the IHSA has begun using. The “Championship Plus” game of the CHT made things that much more excit-ing because it gave the old-school feel of

the small school playing the large school for a championship, taking a fan back to the days when the state champion really was THE state champion. Those days, as least for the time being, are long gone. But, at the end of the day, I had a won-derful time working the scorers table and broadcasting four exciting Terrier games, three of them victories. The improb-able third place finish was a great way to end the year for the Black and White. Congrats to Charles Woodson and Lafiet McDade for garnering all-tournament honors, as well. In other news, I did get my wish and

I hope to see the Oklahoma Sooners take home a national championship on January 8th in Miami. Boomer Sooners! As I write, I’m reluc-tantly watching USC dismantle Penn State in another home game Rose Bowl for the Trojans. At least I know it wasn’t just the Illini last year when Southern Cal did to them what they’re doing to the

Nittany Lions right now. Hopefully Ohio State puts up a better fight and save some face for the Big Ten in the BCS this year. From my family to yours here’s hop-ing you have a safe, happy and healthy 2009. Get out and watch a high school basketball game, boys or girls. Support the hard work and sacrifice that all those young men and women put in to repre-senting their schools every night on the hardwood. They deserve your support. Thanks again for your time, this time, until next… when we go “Around the Horn.”

The “Championship Plus” game of the CHT made things that much more exciting because it gave the old-school feel of the small school playing the large school for a championship, taking a fan back to the days when the state champion really was THE state champion.



By Danny CzerwinskiSISC Viewpoint

(Danny Czerwinski does color commenatary for Benton Rangers athletics on WQRL (106.3 FM) in Benton and is co-host of “Saturday Morning Talking Sports” also on WQRL.

Father Time Catches upwith Greg Maddux

T he end of an era in the sports world closed for me on Mon-day, December 8, 2008. It was a day that I soon won’t forget

as one of my co-favorite baseball players of all time announced he would be retir-ing. After sitting back and taking this all in, it became quite apparent that Greg Maddux wasn’t any ordinary baseball player but a treasure of the game. The like that we may never see again in our generation. It started for me back in 1986. This skin-ny rookie pitcher for the Cubs came up and made his debut on a bad team in the latter part of the season. I was already watching the Cubs as my other co-favorite player of all-time, Ryne Sandberg, was a member of the team. Maddux came out and threw a complete game shutout, some-thing Cubs pitchers hadn’t even come close to doing that season. As the career in a Cubs uniform went on, there was something about him that stood out to me. He wasn’t intimidat-ing, didn’t throw hard, but seemed to do those little things that got the job done in a quiet way. He never blamed team-mates for bad outings, but continued to put up numbers on bad teams by not only throwing in the high 80s and low 90s but being a surgeon by moving the ball all around the plate to get batters out swing-ing and looking. Being young and not understanding the business side of sports yet, I thought he would be a Cub forever. As I’ve learned over the years, this wouldn’t be the case. After he won his first Cy Young Award in 1992 he left the Windy City for the

Atlanta Braves. After being disappointed and then understanding the facts, I knew that playing for a winning organization with a chance to win a World Series made more sense. I knew then that I would have to follow the Braves if I wanted to follow one of my favorite baseball players of all time. Looking back, the 11 years with the Braves seem like a blur. He racked up wins for a good team that won many division titles in a row as well as a World Series in 1995. It became habit to watch the Braves and know when he was pitch-ing. He had such an ability to get batters without throwing hard. The out pitch of his career was the cut fastball he used to throw at a left hand batter’s right knee

only to have it cut back over the plate for a strike as the batter was froze.

As with all of us, Father Time takes a toll and his time with the Braves was done. A magic moment happened with him returning to the Cubs. I believed at the beginning it would be where his career ended but that didn’t happen as he was traded to the Dodgers in the midst of a pennant race in 2006. After a year and a half with the Padres following another free agent move he was traded back to the Dodgers for the 2008 season and then made the postseason again helping the Dodgers beat the Cubs in the NLDS. The season and his career ended in the NLCS this season on top and pitching very well out of the bullpen. Why is this guy a once-in-a-lifetime and a definite first ballot Hall of Famer? The

stats this pitcher put up don’t happen all the time – 355 wins, over 3000 strike outs, 18 Gold Gloves, four Cy Young Awards won in a row, won 15 or more games in a year 17 times, and never walked more than 89 batters in a year as a starting pitcher. I could go into numbers more, but other things that standout was his innate ability to field his position. Highlights upon highlights show him snagging a rocket back thru the middle that most people wouldn’t have even reacted too. Whether he was on the field or sitting on the bench, he knew and studied hitters to the point of being known as the Profes-sor. He knew pitches he won and lost on to hitters from years ago as well as the

previous at-bat. Whether you liked him or not, Maddux was a guy who had to strike a note with you. He never would boast about individual ef-forts, but would turn the spotlight back to his team when he did well. He made the defensive play and

also seemed to get the sacrifice bunt down to help the team and he got along with his teammates. Off the field, you never heard his name mentioned with any illegal incidents during his long career. I will remain a baseball fan and will keep watching the game and my team. However, baseball seasons will not be the same again without Maddux taking the hill. To Mr. Maddux, I enjoyed each game you pitched. It was a treat to watch you pitch in person the many times I did, and I am looking forward in five years to see-

355 wins, over 3000 strike outs, 18 Gold Gloves, four Cy Young Awards won in a row, won 15 or more games in a year 17 times...

(just some of Greg Maddux’s lifetime stats)



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