Jacksonville Shootout @ Illinois College - News/Notes/Photos/Videos

Greg Behrens · 07-02-2006, 04:54 PM

Action photos and videos have been posted below. First, what a wonderful facility Illinois College has in the Bruner Fitness Center, which includes the King Fieldhouse and Sherman Gymnasium and hats off to IC coach Mike Worrell for running a tremendous event for Class A teams and fans. I didn't venture over to the Jacksonville High Bowl or the old Illinois College gym, as I preferred to stay in the AC on this hot/humid day.

Congrats to the Maroa-Forsyth Trojans - Jacksonville Summer Shootout Champions...

Top Four Teams (semi-finalists) on Saturday: Maroa-Forsyth, St. Joe-Ogden, Forreston, Highland MO

Top Eleven Teams (from the brackets) on Saturday:

Maroa-Forsyth - defeated Hinckley-Big Rock, Monmouth-Roseville, Nashville, Pittsfield, Forreston, and St. Joe-Ogden to win the championship.

St. Joe-Ogden - defeated Carlinville, Camp Point, Central A&M, Decatur St. Teresa, Highland MO, and lost to Maroa in the championship game.

Forreston- defeated Griggsville-Perry, St. Anne, Neoga, Keokuk IA, lost to Maroa-Forsyth in the semi's.

Highland MO - defeated Alwood, West Central, Watseka, Warrensburg-Latham, Bismarck-Henning, and lost to St. Joe-Ogden in the semi's.

Warrensburg-Latham - defeated Farmington, Robinson, Abingdon, and lost to Highland MO.

Tolono-Unity - defeated Calhoun, Tri-Valley, Lewistown, lost to St. Joe-Ogden.

Pittsfield - defeated Fulton, Galva, Orion (in sudden death OT), and lost to Maroa-Forsyth.

Decatur St. Teresa - defeated Roxana, Columbia, Jacksonville Routt, Fisher, and lost to St. Joe-Ogden.

Keokuk IA - defeated Kewanee, Lexington, Jacksonville JV, and lost to Forreston.

Fisher - defeated Pleasant Hill, Donovan, Pleasant Plains, and lost to St. Teresa.

Bismarck-Henning - defeated CPCI, Pawnee, Porta, and lost to Highland MO.

Maroa-Forsyth and St. Joe-Ogden were impressive to say the least. Maroa has four players on the floor at all times who can penetrate off the dribble, shoot the mid-range jumper, or bury the deep three ptr. Sr. PG Robert Kreps was easily the best player on Saturday. "Robo", as many in M-F like to call him, put on an absolute clinic against Nashville and Forreston, dropping bombs from beyond the arc, penetrating the baseline and finishing, getting to the middle for an easy floater, or drawing the help defense and converting an assist to a teammate. Kreps could create and get his shot off against anyone. Kreps is playing AAU ball for the St. Louis Falcons.

M-F has other talented guards in 6'2" Sr. CJ McClellan, 5'11" Jr. Matt Guymon, 5'9" Jr. Ben Cochran, and also have two post players who really contribute well in 6'5" Sr. Chris Damen and 6'3" football stud, Andrew Mills. M-F had a new forward, a 6'5" player named Dustin Moore who showed some promise in the Nashville game. (thanks FootballEd34). M-F plays excellent switching M2M defense and runs the weave on offense to near perfection.

M-F was coached by Robert Kreps' father, Dave Kreps, as Chad Cluver was not in attendance (attending a family wedding - thanks Gator40). Maroa is now 36-1 (losing only to Brown County with a couple starters missing)during summer play thus far and has 12 more game on Mon/Tues next week! That's a lot of summer games.

St. Joe-Ogden is soooooooo well-coached. 3rd-year head coach Brian Brooks has developed and improved his ball-club from a year ago. The Spartans have more players who can score inside/outside. 6'4" Sr. guard Nick Micheal (son of St. Joe-Ogden assistant coach and former Illini player, Tom Michael) is much stronger and more aggressive on both ends of the court. 6'3" Jr. forward Zach Becker is improved, while #22 6'6" Sr. Isaiah Olsen can score inside or from mid-range, and #3 Jr. Blaize Cumbow adds dribble/drive penetration and scoring as well. Nick Michael has improved his shot form (more arch), as Nick's shot isn't near as flat as last year. The added strength obviously helps. Michael played well against Kreps in the championship game. Division II schools or CCIW schools should really LOOK closely at Nick Michael. He's a 6'4" combo guard who is tall and athletic enough to be an impact player at the next level.

St. Joe's plays excellent M2M defense but avoids switching by fighting through screens. Zach Becker is one of the strongest players in the state, and uses his strength and fitness to flourish when opposing players get tired. If Brooksie develops a couple more players to shoot the rock consistently from outside, the Spartans will be a tough out for any team.

FootballEd34 · 07-02-2006, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Behrens

M-F had a new forward (football player maybe?), a 6'5" black player who showed some promise in the Nashville game. I didn't catch his name so maybe Gator40 can help us out.

I believe that is Dustin Moore; a returning starter at guard on the Trojan football team. I have heard that he is getting some looks from area colleges for football.

wlfan · 07-02-2006, 05:57 PM

Another great report by GB.

gator40 · 07-02-2006, 06:21 PM

Greg,

Thank you for the pictures, the other player that really contributed id David painter.
David hit some clutch free throws in the championship to ice the game. Coach Cluver was absent because of a family member's wedding. Dave Kreps coached the boys from 4th grade thru 8th grade and should be given allot of credit for guiding our boys on the second day of the tournament. Thank you once again for the great pic's.

Greg Behrens · 07-02-2006, 06:29 PM

Decatur St. Teresa will put the fear in many an Okaw team this year. Watch out Maroa, Meridian, Warrensburg-Latham, and Central A&M! Will the Bulldogs pull off another huge conference upset like they did against state-ranked Warrensburg last year? They just might. St. T's stud all-state running back Sean Dunning is an impressive hoops player as well and St. T finished in the Top 11 at Jacksonville, even though one of their best players, Marquis Singleton was at a church camp(the kid has his priorities straight).

Central A&M looked impressive the games I saw the Raiders play. #40 6'6" Sr. center Ben Stringer was a load in the paint, while their athletic guard, #12 Jr. Tobias Bond, can penetrate and rise above defenders to bury the mid-range jumper. Tobias was extremely impressive with the ball in his hands.

Nashville lost to St. Anne on Friday and Maroa on Saturday with O'Rear playing but I'm not sure if the Hornets had their full squad. It appeared they did. The Hornets are deep but raw at the guard position, but don't let that fool you, there is some athletic talent to work with. Maybe Nashville was tired but I was disappointed with their lack of defensive intensity. They seem to lack overall team speed and quickness. Nashville played M2M and some 2-1-2 zone but they didn't front the post at all (Can you say foul trouble for O'Rear and Keller?), didn't rotate fast enough in their zone (especially against Kreps), and looked to be physical instead of fundamental. Nashville came out in a box and one defense against Kreps/Maroa but changed that up after Kreps got some ball screens and scored at will. Nashville certainly has top 16 potential when O'Rear gets in basketball shape and desires to dominate a game for 32 minutes. Also, the Hornet guards will have to knock down open shots to open up the middle and help the big fella out against double-teams, but I believe they'll get there. Lucas was sporting a new dragon tattoo on his left shoulder, but said it only hurt a little when he had it done on Friday.

Camp Point Central has a couple tall post players in #40 and #25. Wade Muller's Cougars played their tails off against St. Joe's, but came up short.

Carthage finally had Sr. guard Doug Edwards at this event, but both Edwards and Neally struggled slightly against a rock-solid Central A&M Raiders team. I was surprised how mamy times Edwards attacked the basket and looked to score in the paint. Might be Doug has to do more of that with the loss to graduation of Brock Edris, but I was hoping to see Edwards put on a sharpshooter display from the perimeter again.

Greg Behrens · 07-02-2006, 06:58 PM

Hartsburg-Emden (Hartem) played with only FIVE players but nearly beat Nashville and had a chance to win late in the game. #24 Sr. guard Josh Conrady and #52 Jr. center Dakin Bolen played very solid basketball for head coach Josh Nauman. For such a small school, the Stags will once again be one of the better teams in the PJ-Star area.

St. Anne did look good this tourney. After upsetting Nashville on Friday, they played well and advanced to play Forreston before being steam-rolled by the "other" Cardinals. St. Anne has a 5'10" Sr. guard named Cliff Fleming (#21) who is definitely a Class A player to watch. Fleming had 8-10 assists in St. Anne's win over Carrollton, plus lead the team in scoring that game as well. Fleming can create his own shot off the dribble, has exceptional hops for a little guy, and can attack going left or right and still finish in traffic. In my opinion, Cliff Fleming is a very good Class A player. Opponents should know that St. Anne is dangerous in transition,and also play good M2M defense, as the Cardinals get out and extend, pressuring the opposing guards at every opportunity. Against teams with average talent at the guard position, St. Anne overwhelms many a foe with their intense ball-pressure. St. Anne is very quick and rebounds well for their size, but they are undersized, with no one over 6'3". Forreston's size and athletic guards were too much for St. Anne to stop.

Forreston is a highly regarded team from the north and for good reason, they are a deep and athletic team. The Cardinals absolutely dismantled an impressive St. Anne team by over 20 pts. Forreston has an excellent point guard, 5'7" Jr. Tyler Mullarkey, who is quick and can get around defenders with relative ease. They also have a talented post player in 6'4" Sr. Andrew Schweitz and a 6'1" Sr. combo guard, Mitch Plambeck who can score off the dribble or hit the open 15 ft jumper. Forreston plays very good M2M defense and switches hard on screens. They did try to trap the ball-handler toward the sideline when behind. The Cardinals were down by as many as 10 pts against Keokuk but rallied in the final minutes to advance to the semi's against Maroa-Forsyth. Forreston was physically spent by the Maroa game and had no answer for the quickness of Robert Kreps or Ben Cochran. Forreston has lost only three games this summer; to Rock Falls, Armstrong-Potomac, and now Maroa-Forsyth.

Columbia had a couple good post players and gave St. Teresa a very good game. Columbia looked impressive as they beat Rochester in their first game of the day.

I had the pleasure of solid basketball conversations with Milford's new coach, Mark Portwood, St. Anne's coach Rick Schoon, St. Joe-Ogden's coach Brian Brooks and asst. coach Tom Micheal, and Dave Kreps(filled in for Maroa). All are passionate hoops coaches who support IHSS and our mission to promote small school athletes. Dave Kreps, along with Robert, did chide me a little for not including Maroa in my loosely predicted top eight for this event, but I explained I didn't remember Maroa was going to be back at IC. Brown County and Warsaw/Nauvoo-Colusa were disappointing no-shows as well.

Also had a lengthy conversation with Peoria legend, Flash Flanagan. What a character that guy is!

wlfan · 07-02-2006, 07:07 PM

I believe the Bolen brothers from Hartsburg are both juniors??? I may be wrong......(I guess that wouldn't be the first time)........

wlfan · 07-02-2006, 07:21 PM

Where are the photos and video of Sportsguy throwing the rack of balls onto the court after a bad call?!?! Come'on GB, you gotta share those with the rest of the IHSS world.

Greg Behrens · 07-02-2006, 07:31 PM

Some slight upsets on the day were Warrensburg-Latham over Farmington, Highland Mo over West Central and Warrensburg-Latham, Lewistown over Bloomington Central Catholic, Pittsfield over Orion, Springfield Lutheran over Illini Central, and Bismarck Henning over CPCI.

Everybody knows Bubba · 07-02-2006, 08:45 PM

Hey Greg, did you get to see Robinson by any chance? What were your thoughts on them? Any clue how they did this weekend?

dk57 · 07-02-2006, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Behrens

Central A&M looked impressive the games I saw the Raiders play. #40 6'6" Sr. center Ben Springer was a load in the paint, while their athletic guard, #12 Jr. Tobias Bond, can penetrate and rise above defenders to bury the mid-range jumper. Tobias was extremely impressive with the ball in his hands.

Greg, it's Ben Stringer

I agree, the Raiders have looked good this summer and should be a force to
be reckoned with come Vandalia Holiday Tournament time.

Greg Behrens · 07-02-2006, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Everybody knows Bubba

Hey Greg, did you get to see Robinson by any chance? What were your thoughts on them? Any clue how they did this weekend?

Not sure how the Maroons did on Friday because I worked, but I saw them play Saturday against Warrensburg-Latham, who beat them. The Maroons have a big man in the middle who looked pretty good. I know Robinson beat Aledo and lost to W-L on Saturday. Not sure if they had other games.

Greg Behrens · 07-03-2006, 12:15 AM

Orion played well on Saturday, even without their leading scorer, Sr. Bryce Thomsen. Bryce was in good spirits even though he was on crutches. I visited briefly with him about his knee injury and Bryce told me he has a partially torn ACL and meniscus, but is doing well in pre-surgery rehab now. He'll have surgery soon to repair the damage, then go through extensive post-surgery rehab as well. Coach Hutton and Bryce both believe he can be back on the hardwood by mid-December. That will be good news for the Chargers. IHSS wishes Bryce a complete and speedy recovery.

Greg Behrens · 07-03-2006, 12:46 AM

I saw quite a few teams playing 1/2 court zone defense at this shootout and quite frankly, I wasn't impressed with their ability to rotate, extend, and match-up. LOTS of soft spots in the middle and in the short corner that teams took advantage of. I agree with St. Joe-Ogden coach Brian Brooks when he opined that there are two teams who play zone defense with extreme energy, and they should be the blueprint that others follow. Nokomis (A) with their outstanding 2-3 and Lincoln (AA) with their smothering 1-2-2. Lincoln and Nokomis match-up, extend, and rotate very quickly, cutting off passing lanes, driving lanes, and wreaking havoc by causing numerous turnovers with ball pressure. Both Lincoln and Nokomis also teach their system early on to very young players and make it work for them year in and year out by defending opponents soooooo hard from the first time players lace them up.

Lincoln also has outstanding elementary and Jr. High coaches who have teaching the ballpress down to an exact science. That never hurts...

Greg Behrens · 07-03-2006, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlfan

Where are the photos and video of Sportsguy throwing the rack of balls onto the court after a bad call?!?! Come'on GB, you gotta share those with the rest of the IHSS world.

Can't believe I missed that!!! Did Vic grab him by the nose hair and twist hard???

07-02-2006, 06:58 PM	#6
Greg Behrens Bronze Club July 4, 2010 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Springfield area Posts: 9,443	Hartsburg-Emden (Hartem) played with only FIVE players but nearly beat Nashville and had a chance to win late in the game. #24 Sr. guard Josh Conrady and #52 Jr. center Dakin Bolen played very solid basketball for head coach Josh Nauman. For such a small school, the Stags will once again be one of the better teams in the PJ-Star area. St. Anne did look good this tourney. After upsetting Nashville on Friday, they played well and advanced to play Forreston before being steam-rolled by the "other" Cardinals. St. Anne has a 5'10" Sr. guard named Cliff Fleming (#21) who is definitely a Class A player to watch. Fleming had 8-10 assists in St. Anne's win over Carrollton, plus lead the team in scoring that game as well. Fleming can create his own shot off the dribble, has exceptional hops for a little guy, and can attack going left or right and still finish in traffic. In my opinion, Cliff Fleming is a very good Class A player. Opponents should know that St. Anne is dangerous in transition,and also play good M2M defense, as the Cardinals get out and extend, pressuring the opposing guards at every opportunity. Against teams with average talent at the guard position, St. Anne overwhelms many a foe with their intense ball-pressure. St. Anne is very quick and rebounds well for their size, but they are undersized, with no one over 6'3". Forreston's size and athletic guards were too much for St. Anne to stop. Forreston is a highly regarded team from the north and for good reason, they are a deep and athletic team. The Cardinals absolutely dismantled an impressive St. Anne team by over 20 pts. Forreston has an excellent point guard, 5'7" Jr. Tyler Mullarkey, who is quick and can get around defenders with relative ease. They also have a talented post player in 6'4" Sr. Andrew Schweitz and a 6'1" Sr. combo guard, Mitch Plambeck who can score off the dribble or hit the open 15 ft jumper. Forreston plays very good M2M defense and switches hard on screens. They did try to trap the ball-handler toward the sideline when behind. The Cardinals were down by as many as 10 pts against Keokuk but rallied in the final minutes to advance to the semi's against Maroa-Forsyth. Forreston was physically spent by the Maroa game and had no answer for the quickness of Robert Kreps or Ben Cochran. Forreston has lost only three games this summer; to Rock Falls, Armstrong-Potomac, and now Maroa-Forsyth. Columbia had a couple good post players and gave St. Teresa a very good game. Columbia looked impressive as they beat Rochester in their first game of the day. I had the pleasure of solid basketball conversations with Milford's new coach, Mark Portwood, St. Anne's coach Rick Schoon, St. Joe-Ogden's coach Brian Brooks and asst. coach Tom Micheal, and Dave Kreps(filled in for Maroa). All are passionate hoops coaches who support IHSS and our mission to promote small school athletes. Dave Kreps, along with Robert, did chide me a little for not including Maroa in my loosely predicted top eight for this event, but I explained I didn't remember Maroa was going to be back at IC. Brown County and Warsaw/Nauvoo-Colusa were disappointing no-shows as well. Also had a lengthy conversation with Peoria legend, Flash Flanagan. What a character that guy is! __________________ View all of my MaxPreps.com Action Photos (Over 6000 high school sports images online and growing!) E-MAIL - greg@illinoishighschoolsports.com

07-02-2006, 07:31 PM	#9
Greg Behrens Bronze Club July 4, 2010 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Springfield area Posts: 9,443	Some slight upsets on the day were Warrensburg-Latham over Farmington, Highland Mo over West Central and Warrensburg-Latham, Lewistown over Bloomington Central Catholic, Pittsfield over Orion, Springfield Lutheran over Illini Central, and Bismarck Henning over CPCI. __________________ View all of my MaxPreps.com Action Photos (Over 6000 high school sports images online and growing!) E-MAIL - greg@illinoishighschoolsports.com

07-03-2006, 12:15 AM	#13
Greg Behrens Bronze Club July 4, 2010 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Springfield area Posts: 9,443	Orion played well on Saturday, even without their leading scorer, Sr. Bryce Thomsen. Bryce was in good spirits even though he was on crutches. I visited briefly with him about his knee injury and Bryce told me he has a partially torn ACL and meniscus, but is doing well in pre-surgery rehab now. He'll have surgery soon to repair the damage, then go through extensive post-surgery rehab as well. Coach Hutton and Bryce both believe he can be back on the hardwood by mid-December. That will be good news for the Chargers. IHSS wishes Bryce a complete and speedy recovery. __________________ View all of my MaxPreps.com Action Photos (Over 6000 high school sports images online and growing!) E-MAIL - greg@illinoishighschoolsports.com

07-03-2006, 12:46 AM	#14
Greg Behrens Bronze Club July 4, 2010 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Springfield area Posts: 9,443	I saw quite a few teams playing 1/2 court zone defense at this shootout and quite frankly, I wasn't impressed with their ability to rotate, extend, and match-up. LOTS of soft spots in the middle and in the short corner that teams took advantage of. I agree with St. Joe-Ogden coach Brian Brooks when he opined that there are two teams who play zone defense with extreme energy, and they should be the blueprint that others follow. Nokomis (A) with their outstanding 2-3 and Lincoln (AA) with their smothering 1-2-2. Lincoln and Nokomis match-up, extend, and rotate very quickly, cutting off passing lanes, driving lanes, and wreaking havoc by causing numerous turnovers with ball pressure. Both Lincoln and Nokomis also teach their system early on to very young players and make it work for them year in and year out by defending opponents soooooo hard from the first time players lace them up. Lincoln also has outstanding elementary and Jr. High coaches who have teaching the ballpress down to an exact science. That never hurts... __________________ View all of my MaxPreps.com Action Photos (Over 6000 high school sports images online and growing!) E-MAIL - greg@illinoishighschoolsports.com

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07-02-2006, 04:54 PM	#1
Greg Behrens Bronze Club July 4, 2010 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Springfield area Posts: 9,443	Jacksonville Shootout @ Illinois College - News/Notes/Photos/Videos Action photos and videos have been posted below. First, what a wonderful facility Illinois College has in the Bruner Fitness Center, which includes the King Fieldhouse and Sherman Gymnasium and hats off to IC coach Mike Worrell for running a tremendous event for Class A teams and fans. I didn't venture over to the Jacksonville High Bowl or the old Illinois College gym, as I preferred to stay in the AC on this hot/humid day. Congrats to the Maroa-Forsyth Trojans - Jacksonville Summer Shootout Champions... Top Four Teams (semi-finalists) on Saturday: Maroa-Forsyth, St. Joe-Ogden, Forreston, Highland MO Top Eleven Teams (from the brackets) on Saturday: Maroa-Forsyth - defeated Hinckley-Big Rock, Monmouth-Roseville, Nashville, Pittsfield, Forreston, and St. Joe-Ogden to win the championship. St. Joe-Ogden - defeated Carlinville, Camp Point, Central A&M, Decatur St. Teresa, Highland MO, and lost to Maroa in the championship game. Forreston- defeated Griggsville-Perry, St. Anne, Neoga, Keokuk IA, lost to Maroa-Forsyth in the semi's. Highland MO - defeated Alwood, West Central, Watseka, Warrensburg-Latham, Bismarck-Henning, and lost to St. Joe-Ogden in the semi's. Warrensburg-Latham - defeated Farmington, Robinson, Abingdon, and lost to Highland MO. Tolono-Unity - defeated Calhoun, Tri-Valley, Lewistown, lost to St. Joe-Ogden. Pittsfield - defeated Fulton, Galva, Orion (in sudden death OT), and lost to Maroa-Forsyth. Decatur St. Teresa - defeated Roxana, Columbia, Jacksonville Routt, Fisher, and lost to St. Joe-Ogden. Keokuk IA - defeated Kewanee, Lexington, Jacksonville JV, and lost to Forreston. Fisher - defeated Pleasant Hill, Donovan, Pleasant Plains, and lost to St. Teresa. Bismarck-Henning - defeated CPCI, Pawnee, Porta, and lost to Highland MO. Maroa-Forsyth and St. Joe-Ogden were impressive to say the least. Maroa has four players on the floor at all times who can penetrate off the dribble, shoot the mid-range jumper, or bury the deep three ptr. Sr. PG Robert Kreps was easily the best player on Saturday. "Robo", as many in M-F like to call him, put on an absolute clinic against Nashville and Forreston, dropping bombs from beyond the arc, penetrating the baseline and finishing, getting to the middle for an easy floater, or drawing the help defense and converting an assist to a teammate. Kreps could create and get his shot off against anyone. Kreps is playing AAU ball for the St. Louis Falcons. M-F has other talented guards in 6'2" Sr. CJ McClellan, 5'11" Jr. Matt Guymon, 5'9" Jr. Ben Cochran, and also have two post players who really contribute well in 6'5" Sr. Chris Damen and 6'3" football stud, Andrew Mills. M-F had a new forward, a 6'5" player named Dustin Moore who showed some promise in the Nashville game. (thanks FootballEd34). M-F plays excellent switching M2M defense and runs the weave on offense to near perfection. M-F was coached by Robert Kreps' father, Dave Kreps, as Chad Cluver was not in attendance (attending a family wedding - thanks Gator40). Maroa is now 36-1 (losing only to Brown County with a couple starters missing)during summer play thus far and has 12 more game on Mon/Tues next week! That's a lot of summer games. St. Joe-Ogden is soooooooo well-coached. 3rd-year head coach Brian Brooks has developed and improved his ball-club from a year ago. The Spartans have more players who can score inside/outside. 6'4" Sr. guard Nick Micheal (son of St. Joe-Ogden assistant coach and former Illini player, Tom Michael) is much stronger and more aggressive on both ends of the court. 6'3" Jr. forward Zach Becker is improved, while #22 6'6" Sr. Isaiah Olsen can score inside or from mid-range, and #3 Jr. Blaize Cumbow adds dribble/drive penetration and scoring as well. Nick Michael has improved his shot form (more arch), as Nick's shot isn't near as flat as last year. The added strength obviously helps. Michael played well against Kreps in the championship game. Division II schools or CCIW schools should really LOOK closely at Nick Michael. He's a 6'4" combo guard who is tall and athletic enough to be an impact player at the next level. St. Joe's plays excellent M2M defense but avoids switching by fighting through screens. Zach Becker is one of the strongest players in the state, and uses his strength and fitness to flourish when opposing players get tired. If Brooksie develops a couple more players to shoot the rock consistently from outside, the Spartans will be a tough out for any team. __________________ View all of my MaxPreps.com Action Photos (Over 6000 high school sports images online and growing!) E-MAIL - greg@illinoishighschoolsports.com

07-02-2006, 05:57 PM	#3
wlfan Expired Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 600	Another great report by GB.

07-02-2006, 06:21 PM	#4
gator40 Expired Join Date: May 2006 Location: Forsyth, Illinois Posts: 25	Greg, Thank you for the pictures, the other player that really contributed id David painter. David hit some clutch free throws in the championship to ice the game. Coach Cluver was absent because of a family member's wedding. Dave Kreps coached the boys from 4th grade thru 8th grade and should be given allot of credit for guiding our boys on the second day of the tournament. Thank you once again for the great pic's.

07-02-2006, 06:29 PM	#5
Greg Behrens Bronze Club July 4, 2010 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Springfield area Posts: 9,443	Decatur St. Teresa will put the fear in many an Okaw team this year. Watch out Maroa, Meridian, Warrensburg-Latham, and Central A&M! Will the Bulldogs pull off another huge conference upset like they did against state-ranked Warrensburg last year? They just might. St. T's stud all-state running back Sean Dunning is an impressive hoops player as well and St. T finished in the Top 11 at Jacksonville, even though one of their best players, Marquis Singleton was at a church camp(the kid has his priorities straight). Central A&M looked impressive the games I saw the Raiders play. #40 6'6" Sr. center Ben Stringer was a load in the paint, while their athletic guard, #12 Jr. Tobias Bond, can penetrate and rise above defenders to bury the mid-range jumper. Tobias was extremely impressive with the ball in his hands. Nashville lost to St. Anne on Friday and Maroa on Saturday with O'Rear playing but I'm not sure if the Hornets had their full squad. It appeared they did. The Hornets are deep but raw at the guard position, but don't let that fool you, there is some athletic talent to work with. Maybe Nashville was tired but I was disappointed with their lack of defensive intensity. They seem to lack overall team speed and quickness. Nashville played M2M and some 2-1-2 zone but they didn't front the post at all (Can you say foul trouble for O'Rear and Keller?), didn't rotate fast enough in their zone (especially against Kreps), and looked to be physical instead of fundamental. Nashville came out in a box and one defense against Kreps/Maroa but changed that up after Kreps got some ball screens and scored at will. Nashville certainly has top 16 potential when O'Rear gets in basketball shape and desires to dominate a game for 32 minutes. Also, the Hornet guards will have to knock down open shots to open up the middle and help the big fella out against double-teams, but I believe they'll get there. Lucas was sporting a new dragon tattoo on his left shoulder, but said it only hurt a little when he had it done on Friday. Camp Point Central has a couple tall post players in #40 and #25. Wade Muller's Cougars played their tails off against St. Joe's, but came up short. Carthage finally had Sr. guard Doug Edwards at this event, but both Edwards and Neally struggled slightly against a rock-solid Central A&M Raiders team. I was surprised how mamy times Edwards attacked the basket and looked to score in the paint. Might be Doug has to do more of that with the loss to graduation of Brock Edris, but I was hoping to see Edwards put on a sharpshooter display from the perimeter again. __________________ View all of my MaxPreps.com Action Photos (Over 6000 high school sports images online and growing!) E-MAIL - greg@illinoishighschoolsports.com

07-02-2006, 07:07 PM	#7
wlfan Expired Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 600	I believe the Bolen brothers from Hartsburg are both juniors??? I may be wrong......(I guess that wouldn't be the first time)........

07-02-2006, 07:21 PM	#8
wlfan Expired Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 600	Where are the photos and video of Sportsguy throwing the rack of balls onto the court after a bad call?!?! Come'on GB, you gotta share those with the rest of the IHSS world.

07-02-2006, 08:45 PM	#10
Everybody knows Bubba Bronze Club - Aug 3, 2011 Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 1,917	Hey Greg, did you get to see Robinson by any chance? What were your thoughts on them? Any clue how they did this weekend?