Reflections on the 2024 IHSA State Tournaments

by | Apr 1, 2024 | Blog

basketball

Apr 1, 2024 | Blog

Reflections on the 2024 IHSA State Tournaments

Girls State Tournament

Attendance was way up and when Lincoln played the upper deck filled up.

The Okawville Rockets won the 1A State Championship which gave them back-to-back state titles.

Both Wilmette Loyola Academy and Lincoln finished their seasons at 38-0 and tied with Peoria Richwoods who went 38-0 in 2005 for the most wins in a season.

How dominate was Lincoln High School? They held their opponents to 30.2 ppg. and won by an average of 37.2 ppg.

The following three schools have won two state Championships undefeated: Quincy Notre Dame (1983 & 2013), Maine West (1991 & 2019), Peoria Richwoods (1983 & 2005)

Since 2008 when the IHSA went to a 4-Class System the following 1A schools have won two state championships: Hinckley Big Rock (2009 & 2010), Annawan (2014 & 2017),

Freeport Aquin (2012 & 2013), Danville Schlarman (2018 & 19), Okawville (2023 & 2024). Note the only school not winning consecutive titles was Annawan.

The Lincoln Railsplitters were an unbelievable 74-1 the past two seasons.

Kloe Frobe of Lincoln finished her career scoring 3,262 points which is the 5th best in IHSA Girls Basketball History. She also set IHSA State Tournament scoring records.

Candidates for Ms. Basketball of Illinois

  • Brooke Carlson (Batavia) Sr.
  • Amayah Doyle (Carterville) Sr.
  • Kloe Frobe (Lincoln) Sr.
  • Aubrey Galvan (Loyola Academy) Jr.
  • Aaliyah Guyton (Peoria Central) Sr.
  • Amiah Hargrove (Christopher) Sr.
  • Alayna Kraus (Okawville) Sr.
  • Grace Nelson (Altamont) Sr.
  • Ella Todd (Fremd) Jr.
  • Xamiya Walton (Butler Prep.) Sr.

Boys State Tournament

Move over John McDougal and Gordie Kerkman as Tom Kleinschmidt Jr. is joining you as one of the finest defensive coaches in state tournament history.

Since the four-class system began in 2008, DePaul Academy is the first School to win the state championships back-to-back in two different classes (2A & 3A).

Perhaps two of the best plays in the state tournament took place in the 3A semi-final game between DePaul and Peoria Richwoods. On a missed shot in the second half Richwood’s Sommerville dunked right over DePaul’s front line.

Homewood Flossmoor did a nice job bouncing back from a painful first-half against New Trier in the 4A semi-final. They got off to a blazing start in the first half in the state title game against Normal. It shows you when you think you got the game or team figured out you don’t.

You better bring you’re A-Game if you are going to play New Trier man-to-man. Communication is a must.

The State Farm Center erupted, yet unfazed and with great poise DePaul patiently worked their offense and scored. This stopped Richwoods from building momentum off a monster dunk.

As you would expect with the best defensive teams in the state making the Final Four there was great pressure on the ball handlers bringing the ball up the court. It didn’t matter which teams were playing, if the ball handler spun (turned his back) there was a good chance the ball was stolen for a layup or dunk.

Often overlooked is the pull-back dribble which releases the defensive pressure on the ball, improves your vision and passing angles. A couple of teams did this very well.

With big postmen reaching the finals, it was surprising to see so few inside-out 3’s. I don’t believe I saw seven the whole tournament.

It was also noticeable how few the number of (hard) flashes there were into the free throw lane.

Congratulations to Coach Ron Winemiller and his Benton Rangers. It was the first time Benton in their storied basketball program reached the state championship game.

We encourage you to listen to his post-game press conference. No coach could have said it better on what it means to get that far. First Class all the way!

We also don’t want to overlook West-Central (Winchester) and Chicago Phillips. Winchester sets a great example on how to play together and play intense on every possession. It should be noted that their fans are terrific and displayed excellent sportsmanship. For decades, Chicago Phillips was a powerhouse and then fell on hard times. Well, they’re back! Don’t be surprised if we hear a lot more from Chicago Phillips as they are quick, talented and well coached.

As the IHSA moves forward their real focus should be on finding good quality young officials and a lot of them with great urgency rather than implementation of the shot clock. It doesn’t matter what part of the state I am in; officials and the official’s associations are telling me “There is a terrible shortage of officials”. The number of registered officials with the IHSA has been in steep decline compared to what it was years ago. I was told a few weeks ago by an Official’s Association that “the average age of our officials is 57”. Reflect on this; our officials are fewer and older. What’s the present solution; let’s have our teams play 6 more games a season.

Speaking of the IHSA we like to express our gratitude and appreciation for the effort Kurt Gibson gave in serving the state. His position was demanding and he had to endure many a firestorm. Kurt always took on his challenges with a bulldog mentality. He gave us his best. We wish you the best in your retirement Kurt.

Remember if you get bored the museum would be glad to have your help.

Put more pressure back in the game and go back to the one-and-one. The new rule of getting to shoot 2 free throws after 5 fouls reminds me of the old NBA days when the pros got 3 chances to make 2.

My guess the shot-clock is coming. Personally, I don’t like it for a variety of reasons:

1.Coaching at the collegiate level for a couple of years I would see on average 3-4 times a game, interruptions to game action to make a clock correction.

2. This concerns me as I see administrative issues with the clock all over the state, at all levels and especially in Chicago.

3. The scorer’s table is already crowded, where are we putting all these people.

4. The initial cost is going to be expensive and the long-term cost of operating it will always be there. The rural districts don’t have the revenue like the suburbs do. If my athletic director said to me: “In order to budget a shot clock we’re going to eliminate one coach from the boys’ and girls’ program” My response would be: “I rather have the coaches than the shot clock.”

5. State tournaments always display a variety of coaching styles. Why do we want to force every team to play the same way? Creative coaching strategies are needed to help their team win.

Candidates for Ms. Basketball of Illinois

  • PJ Chambers (Chicago DePaul College Prep)
  • Angelo Ciarvino (Chicago Mt. Carmel)
  • Gianni Cobb (Homewood Flossmoor)
  • Carlos Harris (Chicago Curie)
  • Lawrence Horton (Chicago Phillips)
  • Morez Johnson (Harvey Thornton)
  • Cooper Koch (Metamora)
  • Lathan Sommerville (Peoria Richwoods)
  • Jack Stanton (Downers Grove North)
  • Docker Tedeschi (Benton)

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