|
Vandersnick was relieved of his
coaching duties after going 7-17 in 1974-75. When the search
committee went looking for a new coach, they found one in much the
same mold as Duncan Reid, a disciplinarian who focused on defense
and a patient offense. Loren Wallace, 31, a Jerseyville native, had
been an assistant to the very successful Harland Scheibel at
Hillsboro, where he learned and studied a defense known as the
one-two-two ball press. The mentor for Scheibel was the master of
the ball press, the legendary Vergil Fletcher who won state titles
at Collinsville in 1961 and 1965 using the defense.
Wallace took the defense to his first
head coaching job at Class A Nokomis, where his last team won its
first 27 games before falling to eventual state champ Venice.
Wallace was 87-24 in four years at Nokomis and was noted for his
straightforward, no-nonsense approach. He was a perfect fit for the
Lincoln program.
When Wallace arrived in the fall of
1975, he found that the talent cycle at Lincoln was on the rise
again. Wallace would ultimately carry a lot of players on the roster
for his first Lincoln team, but by the end of the year four juniors
and one very talented sophomore would log the bulk of the playing
time. That first squad went a respectable 17-10 and could have won
the regional had it not been for some questionable officiating.
The next season, a solid team went 21-6
and lost in overtime in the regional final to Lanphier, a team they
had defeated twice and the team that finished second in the state
tournament that year.
When the 1974-75 season began, a
skinny, yet talented 6-3 freshman was tearing up the freshman and
sophomore schedule. He had honed his skills in the backyard court of
his parent’s home on North Sangamon Street. He learned how to score,
play defense and be a member of a team. He also learned an
incredibly accurate bank shot that would become one of his
trademarks.
Charles "Chuck" Verderber came a long
way that freshman season, with Vandersnick promoting him to the
varsity roster before Christmas. Chuck scored in double figures a
few games that year and set a new school record for points by a
freshman. By the time Wallace took over, Chuck had grown an inch,
and his weight was up to 190 pounds.
As a sophomore, Chuck was the focus of
Lincoln’s patient attack. He had several games in excess of 30
points, averaged 23.5 points and 11 rebounds per game, and his
season point total of 634 was the second highest in school history.
He was the focus of a controversial traveling call at Taylorville in
the regional final that may have contributed to the Railers’ loss, a
game in which he had 34 points and 22 rebounds. Chuck made honorable
mention all-state as a sophomore and made the all-Big 12 team as
well.
Coming back an inch taller and 20
pounds heavier as a junior, Verderber was already the recruiting
focus of a number of colleges. Four seniors who saw extensive
playing time as juniors surrounded him. Jeff McClard was a superb
ballhandler, passer and defender who played the point. Rodney Brown
was a 6-footer who was very quick, a good leaper and good shooter.
Kirk Kvitle was a solid, steady forward who was a deadly shooter,
and 6-1 John Lauer was a strong inside player who could grab the
rebounds Chuck didn’t get. A young, yet solid bench backed up the
starters.
Verderber went down with a knee injury
in the second half of the year, yet the Railers were able to win
four of the next six games. Verderber was able to come back in the
last game of the year and ultimately became an all-stater and Big 12
MVP. Lauer also made the Big 12 team, with McClard and Kvitle
honorable mention, as the team shared the crown with Bloomington.
Unfortunately, their fine season came
to an end with the heartbreaking overtime loss to Lanphier in the
regional final at the Armory in Springfield. To make matters worse,
Lincoln had beaten Lanphier twice during the year, and the Lions
ended up going to the state title game. The loss, combined with the
Lanphier success, merely served as a motivational tool for the
returning players.
Verderber came back for the 1977-78
another inch taller and nearly 225 pounds. He was being recruited
heavily by every major college in the nation and was rated as one of
the top 60 seniors in the country. He had a new supporting cast as
well. Perry Voyles, a 6-1 junior, was being counted on to take the
place of Jeff McClard. Voyles was a good shooter and steady
ballhandler. Craig Howard, a 6-1 senior, was a deadly outside
shooter. Wallace hoped that he would be able to open the middle for
Verderber. Merle Siefken, a 6-7 senior, was a transfer from Florida.
He was skinny as a junior and saw very little playing time, but he
worked very hard over the summer and put on nearly 40 pounds. He had
long arms and a deft touch from 15 feet in. The other senior on the
club was the floor general, 6-4 Joe Weingarz. Weingarz was a good
ballhandler and excellent passer, and he could score from the inside
or the outside, but his basic role was to provide defense and floor
leadership.
Wallace’s bench was stocked with size
and depth. Junior guard Bret Farmer could shoot and handle the ball,
as could senior Tim Edwards. Junior guard Toby Pleasant was one of
the stronger guards on the team. Junior Tracy Jackson provided
defense and leadership. Promising freshman Dan Duff was coming off a
state eighth-grade title at Carroll Catholic.
Size and strength came in the form of
6-3 Charlie Johnson, 6-2 Rob McDonald, 6-3 Bruce Kelley and 6-4 Bob
Alberts. Johnson was perhaps the best backup of the forwards; he had
strength and an excellent left-handed shot. Kelley was a good
shooter, and Alberts could jump and run. McDonald, son of the
football coach, provided a physical presence inside.
The defending Big 12 champ Railers were
the overwhelming favorite to repeat, ahead of Bloomington and
Danville. Both squads had lots of talent, though Danville had a new
coach in the person of Gene Gourley.
Lincoln opened the season at the home
of the Kahoks for the round robin tournament, an affair that
alternated between Lincoln and Collinsville each year. The Railers
led Friday night opponent Lewistown 30-4 at the end of the first
period on the way to an 82-31 thrashing. Verderber dominated the
game with 37 points.
Saturday afternoon brought Quincy Notre
Dame, and once again Lincoln broke from the gate early, leading
37-19 at half. Verderber netted 27, with Charlie Johnson coming off
the bench to score 15. The win set up a title game meeting against
host Collinsville.
There was no love lost between the
schools, nor between the coaches, but both had a mutual respect for
the other. Both played the ball press, so the defenses would be
familiar to each team. Vergil Fletcher was in his last season as
coach and had one of his finest teams assembled, led by spectacular
6-5 guard Kevin Stallings (later a Purdue player) and 6-7 center
John Belobraydic. Collinsville’s defense helped run their fast break
offense. They had scored 100 points in each of the two previous
round robin contests.
This game was really never in doubt.
Collinsville took control early, and Verderber was slightly banged
up, wearing a heavy thigh pad due to a bruise. Collinsville led by
10 at the end of the first quarter, 54-40 at half and 73-55 at the
end of the third. Their pressure defense caused numerous turnovers
leading to layups, and the home crowd kept egging them on. By the
final horn, Collinsville was up by 30. Stallings led them with 24,
and Belobraydic added 16, as they shot 63 percent from the floor.
Verderber led the Railers with 25, and Weingarz was the only other
Lincoln player in double figures, with 10. It was a long bus ride
home.
The conference opener with Danville was
up next. Danville had size along the front line and two deadly
shooters in John and Matt Houpt. Verderber must have felt the need
to take out frustrations from the Collinsville game on someone, and
he took it on the Vikings. Chuck was unstoppable on this night,
making 17 field goals and 10 free throws for a school record 44
points. Ironically, he broke his own single-game scoring record by
one. He had netted 43 the year before against Stephen Decatur.
Charlie Johnson added 10, while Joe Weingarz scored eight. Matt
Houpt had 17 for the losers, and his brother John added nine, as the
Railers won 74-65.
Home games against Champaign and
Stanford Olympia loomed the next weekend, but an early snowstorm
postponed both games. The added week of practice helped for a home
contest against Mattoon and a road game against Lanphier.
Coach Bob Avery had a much-improved
Mattoon club, with 6-8 Tom Wanserski and 6-7 Mark Fitt on the front
line. They weren’t very effective against the Railers, as Lincoln
won by 12.
Saturday, Dec. 17, meant a trip to
Springfield and a rematch against Bob Nika’s Lanphier Lions.
Lanphier had been decimated by graduation, losing stars Shelly
Tunson and Mike Watson. They still had future major league baseball
player Tim Hulett and a large presence in Tim Barbian. Nika set up
the Lanphier defense to contain Verderber, with Barbian fronting the
Lincoln star. It worked to an extent; Chuck shot six of 15 from the
floor and had only 14 points. The star of the night was guard Craig
Howard, who made Lanphier pay for their sagging defense with 20
points on eight-of-11 shooting. Siefken and Weingarz added nine each
as the Railsplitters won 58-50.
The postponed game for Olympia was
reset for Dec. 23, and from the start the game was a laugher.
Olympia had no answer for Verderber (who netted 30) or the rest of
the Railsplitters, and Lincoln won easily, 72-23.
Lincoln was entered for the first time
in the Illinois State Classic, a recently formed 16-team Christmas
tournament on the campus of Illinois State University. The draw for
many teams was the competition and the chance to play on the major
college floor, at Horton Fieldhouse. The No. 1-seeded and unbeaten
Railers drew South Holland Thornwood in a first-round game, and
Verderber was superb, pouring in 31 points, while Siefken had 12. On
the downside, the team shot just 20 of 44 and missed 11 free throws
in the 12-point win. They improved greatly against Normal University
High the next day, trashing the Pioneers by 26 and causing 29
turnovers. Verderber had 34 on 16-of-19 shooting as the team shot 62
percent. Seifken added 11, and the improving Dan Duff had seven.
An afternoon semifinal contest against
the Greyhounds of Gibson City was slated for the next day, and the
quick Greyhounds were up to the task, leading 21-20 at the end of
the first period. The "Railer Express" got on track and took a 39-34
lead at half, keeping the five-point margin in the third quarter.
Lincoln pulled away in the fourth to a 78-62 win. Verderber led the
way with 27, Weingarz had a breakout game in the scoring column with
17, and Siefken and Duff added 10 each.
The win set up a match between Big 12
foes Lincoln and Bloomington for the title. Bloomington was as close
to home as any team could be, but several thousand of the Railer
faithful made the 30-mile trek to support the squad.
What they saw for three quarters of the
game might have made them regret the trip. Bloomington coach Tom
Hodgson was a bright man, and he had no inside answer for Verderber,
so he employed a box-and-one defense around the Railer star, with
four men playing zone and quick junior guard Dana Dunson chasing
Verderber. It nearly worked, as the other Lincoln players couldn’t
shoot well enough to break the trick defense. Bloomington led 12-9
at the end of the first quarter, 21-16 at the half and 34-24 at the
end of three. The Railsplitters looked tired, and at one point
during the third quarter Wallace had his entire starting lineup on
the bench.
It was at the end of the third that the
Railers woke up. Charlie Johnson hit a 25-foot bomb at the gun, and
it seemed to wake up the lethargic Lincoln squad. Bloomington drew
out to a 14-point lead to start the quarter, and then Chuck
Verderber went to work, scoring 18 of Lincoln’s 24 fourth-quarter
points. Verderber ended up with 22 for the game, as Lincoln won by
six, and carted off the tournament’s MVP award.
Despite no losses and winning their
Christmas tournament, the Railers weren’t getting any recognition.
They had yet to be ranked by UPI and were facing a rematch with
Bloomington on Bloomington’s home floor just a week after beating
them at ISU.
Hogdson didn’t use the trick defense
this time, and the Purple Raiders kept the game close, losing by
only one. Verderber poured in 30, with Siefken adding 14. The next
night was a road game against Springfield, coached by Verderber
cousin Norm Keefner. Family ties didn’t matter to Chuck. He burned
the Senators for 22 points on nine-of-16 shooting, while Voyles
added 15 of his own. Only one Senator scored in double figures as
Lincoln led 36-13 at half. In the stands to scout Verderber was
Centenary College’s head coach — none other than Loren Wallace’s
brother Riley.
The Railers began to get some
recognition, just not in the rankings. They were featured in the
Springfield newspaper during the week, and they began to jell as a
team. The Railer ball press forced Urbana into 22 turnovers at
Urbana and out-rebounded the Tigers 39-21 in a 13-point win on the
road. Turk Peacock’s 22 points weren’t enough to offset the 26 from
Verderber or the 10 from Joe Weingarz.
Stephen Decatur was the next opponent
to get steamrolled by the Railer Express, taking a 27-point hit at
Roy S. Anderson. Rease Binger’s "Runnin’ Reds" had no player in
double figures, while Vederber scored his uniform number once again
(34) and Weingarz and Howard reached double figures with 10 each.
Lincoln was now 14-1 and 6-0 in the
conference. Bloomington was second at 6-1, with Mattoon at 4-2.
Lincoln had to make a trip to Champaign, and playing Lee Cabutti’s
teams always worried Loren Wallace. Cabutti had a philosophy that if
you didn’t have "the horses to play with the other team, you put the
ball in the deep freeze," meaning that he would stall all game if it
meant he could win 4-2. It would be imperative that the Railers
broke out early to avoid the stall.
The Railers did just that, leading 14-7
at the quarter and 24-13 at the half. They won by 18 as Verderber
scored a game-high 26, with Merle and Weingarz adding eight each.
They had a week off before a rematch with Springfield, and during
the week Chuck encountered the flu. Feeling weak, he shot only
six-of-20 against Springfield and ended the game with 14 points.
Fortunately, his teammates and the Lincoln defense were superb,
limiting Springfield to just 42 points. Joe Weingarz with 15 led the
Railers, and Charlie Johnson added 11.
[to top of second column in this
article] |
The flu seemed to go away the next
night. Perhaps it was the excitement of a sellout crowd at Roy S.
Anderson, or perhaps it was the excitement of playing the storied
Quincy Blue Devils and their coach, the animated Jerry Leggett.
Quincy was small and young but talented and quick, and they loved to
press. Both teams used a deliberate offense during the game, and
Quincy led 16-10 in the first half. Verderber and freshman Danny
Duff got the crowd going in the first half. Chuck got behind the
Quincy press and took in a floor-length pass from Duff for a
powerful two-hand jam, electrifying the crowd, the team and,
surprisingly, his own coach. Quincy tied the game in regulation on a
last-second shot, but Chuck and Merle Siefken scored four each in
the overtime to lead Lincoln to a 54-50 win.
The Railsplitters made the 90-minute
trip to Mattoon for a conference showdown with the third-place Green
Wave. Before a packed house, the ball press held Mattoon to 37
points and 40 percent field-goal shooting as Lincoln won by 20.
Verderber paced the Railers with 22, while Craig Howard added 12. A
home game with Champaign on a bitterly cold night was next.
The danger in playing Lee Cabutti was
that you could never be sure how slow his team was going to play. An
18-point loss at home convinced the legendary coach that he had one
option to stay close to the Railsplitters on the road, and that was
to stall the entire game. The game inside was about as cold as the
temperature outside, and the game became one of the more memorable
ones to be contested at Anderson gym. Lincoln led 5-2 at the end of
the first quarter, 11-5 at the half and 15-12 at the end of the
third quarter, despite causing 31 Champaign turnovers. The Railers
won the game 22-18, setting a record for the fewest points scored by
two teams on the Lincoln floor. Verderber had only nine points — the
only time all year he failed to reach double figures.
The blizzard of 1978 hit during the
week, but by the time the weekend games rolled around, the roads
were clear enough to stage the contests. One would go a long way
toward cementing a conference crown; the other would deal a terrific
blow to the Railers’ postseason chances.
A standing-room-only crowd was on hand
at Roy S. Anderson gym as the Purple Raiders of Bloomington rolled
into town on Friday, Feb. 10. A nip-and-tuck game ensued, but the
Railers were able to lead 33-21 at the half. The second half
featured a two-hand slam by Verderber over two Bloomington defenders
and a runaway dunk by Bloomington’s Dodie Dunson. Bloomington erased
a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but a runaway dunk at the
buzzer by Joe Weingarz sealed a three-point win. Lincoln, led by
Verderber’s 29, Weingarz’s 15 and Siefken’s 12, was now 11-0 on the
conference and 20-1 overall. Bloomington had two conference losses,
and one more Lincoln win would guarantee a tie for the title.
A game against Jacksonville yielded a
29-point win over Mel Roustio’s Crimsons, but the Railsplitters
suffered a huge loss. Senior forward Joe Weingarz badly injured his
back during the contest, requiring a trip to St. John’s Hospital.
The back problem would haunt him and the team for the rest of the
year.
Lincoln began to gain quite a bit of
recognition in the coming week, but they were very concerned about
the health of their senior leader. Verderber, averaging 26 points
per game, was featured in the Springfield paper. He had offers from
Kentucky, Illinois, Illinois State, Purdue Missouri and Hawaii on
the table. The team climbed into the rankings that week, gaining the
12th slot in the UPI coaches’ poll.
Lincoln clinched a tie for the Big 12
title with a 14-point win at Decatur, then came back to win by 25 on
"Senior Night" at home against Urbana, taking the title outright.
Verderber scored 28 against Urbana, as Siefken and Perry Voyles
added 10 each. Weingarz suited up for Senior Night but scored no
points.
Lincoln ended the regular season at
24-1 and 14-0 in the Big 12 with a 60-53 win on the road at
Danville. Verderber had a thunderous breakaway dunk during the game
and scored 25 points with 20 rebounds. Voyles added 10, while
Weingarz didn’t make the trip due to his bad back.
Verderber won his second consecutive
Big 12 MVP award during the week, and Weingarz joined him on the
first team that included Matt Houpt of Danville, Dodie and Dana
Dunson of Bloomington, and Mark Fitt of Mattoon. Voyles and Siefken
made the honorable mention list.
Lincoln hosted the regional, and their
first-round opponent was none other than Springfield Lanphier. Joe
Weingarz was back in the hospital for his back troubles, and his
presence was sorely missed. Wallace expected Nika to slow the game
down, and his worst fears were realized. It nearly cost Lincoln the
game. Employing a Cabutti-like offense, with a sagging defense on
Chuck Verderber, the Lions led 6-2 after the first quarter and 16-15
at the half. Lincoln was able to take the lead by one after three
quarters, and Perry Voyles’ 15-foot basket at the two-minute mark
was Lincoln’s final score. Verderber missed the front end of a
one-and-bonus with 1:03 to go and Lanphier ran the clock down to the
end, but Hulett missed 20-footer at the gun that would have won the
game. Verderber had 26, two on a nifty reverse layup in the second
half. Chuck also had 13 of the 18 Lincoln field goals in the game,
as the Railers were one-for-five from the line. Voyles added eight
as only four Railers broke into the scoring column.
Springfield Southeast beat Taylorville,
and the young, quick but short Spartans faced the top-seeded Railers.
Lincoln held high-scoring sophomore guard Henry Felton of Southeast
to nine points as the Railers won by 10. Verderber’s 28 offset Jim
Collier’s 20 for Southeast, Voyles added 11, Howard nine and Siefken
seven as the Railers won the 29th IHSA Regional championship in
school history. Lincoln’s defense forced 11 Southeast turnovers in
the first half, while building a 23-point lead. There was a lot to
celebrate, and Loren Wallace was picked up by his players after the
game and dumped into the showers!
The sectional was to be at the
Springfield Armory once again, the site of Railer triumph and
tragedy. Stephen Decatur was slated as Lincoln’s opponent in the
first game, with Mattoon playing Quincy in the other game. The Big
12 had three teams in the sectional, and all of the teams were
squads Lincoln had defeated earlier in the year. However, the old
adage that it was hard to beat good teams three times in the same
season would trouble the Railsplitters in the postseason.
At first it didn’t look as if the
sectional would ever be played. Snow postponed both games to March
9, the night before the sectional final. Lincoln opened against
Stephen Decatur, a team it had easily beaten twice during the year.
The Runnin’ Reds had upset Decatur Eisenhower to win the Decatur
Regional and were expected to employ the same box-and-one defense
they had used in the two previous losses to Lincoln. The
Railsplitters, with Joe Weingarz on the bench, were prepared for
this game, using the ball press and a patient offense to lead by 11
at the end of three quarters. Verderber gave the fans a scare when
he left with a slightly twisted ankle in the fourth, but the Railers
shot free throws and fended off a Decatur run to win 56-46.
Verderber led with 20, but the story was the return of Joe Weingarz,
who added 11 points. In something of a shock, Mattoon upset Quincy
to face Lincoln once again.
The Springfield Armory was a fun place
for a fan to watch a game, with its rustic setting, but it can be a
nightmare for players and coaches alike. The clock and scoreboard
were set on the stage and difficult for the players and coaches to
see. And during this particular sectional, it featured a basket that
was askew and for some reason not reset.
Mattoon came into the game running over
with confidence, and that confidence was bolstered as they ran out
to a 10-6 first quarter lead. Lincoln, shooting at the bad basket on
the south end, could not get shots to fall and couldn’t stop Mark
Fitt of Mattoon. Fitt staked Mattoon to a 32-12 lead but made one
crucial mistake in the second quarter. He made Chuck Verderber and
Loren Wallace mad.
Verderber wasn’t the type of player who
did a lot of "trash talking" on the floor, nor would his coach allow
him to engage in that activity. Verderber was a warrior on the
court; he played hard, yet channeled his emotion into working hard.
Several times during the second quarter, Fitt yelled in Verderber’s
face that "I am unstoppable, you can’t stop me," and for a while it
appeared he was right. The Lincoln faithful were in shock at the
half, and the coach was furious.
Verderber was already upset when
Wallace entered the locker room at halftime. After several minutes
of impressing upon the team that they weren’t playing with the skill
and pride they had shown all year, he kicked a bench out from
underneath his star player, and Verderber hit the floor. The silence
was deafening, but it was a determined Railer team that hit the
floor for the second half.
Mattoon hit the opening shot of the
second period to go up 20; then the most remarkable comeback in
Railer history began. Wallace moved Verderber out to a wing position
on offense, and the bank shot he learned so well as a youth came
into play. Hitting bank shots from 18-22 feet, Verderber and the
Railers ran off 15 straight points to close to within five and then
nine at the end of the third quarter. Merle Siefken became one of
the heroes of the night when he hit a shot with 4:27 to go to close
the gap to 42-40, got fouled, and then Mattoon’s Mike Bond was
called for a technical. Siefken hit three free throws, the Railers
had the lead 43-42, and the Lincoln crowd went wild. The Green Wave
went back on top, 46-45, but a Verderber bank shot put Lincoln back
on top for good, as the Railers went on to a 60-48 win. The end of
the game was so wild that Lincoln broadcaster Sam Madonia was
interviewing the Lincoln bench before the final horn sounded. It was
the seventh state tournament appearance in school history for the
Railers.
Verderber led the Railers in scoring,
netting his uniform number (34) for the sixth and final time in his
career. Siefken added nine, as Mike Dow had 24 in a losing cause. A
large caravan headed home from Springfield and celebrated at the
high school at a spirited rally after the game.
Potentially good news awaited the
Railsplitters. Danville (with a 13-14 record) won the Kankakee
Sectional. While the Railers had not dominated the Vikings, they had
beaten them twice already. It looked as if they had a good chance at
playing in the Assembly Hall on Friday but first had to get past
Danville in the super-sectional at Illinois State’s Horton
Fieldhouse on Tuesday.
During the week Lincoln was rated
seventh in the state by UPI and picked to win the game. However, a
couple of bad omens hung over the team going into the game. One, the
superstition about beating good teams three times in one year was
coming into play again. The other was that Joe Weingarz would be
unavailable for the game. His fragile back was out again — so bad,
in fact, that Joe would have to be transported to the game lying
flat in the back of a station wagon.
Lincoln came out smoking in the first
quarter, looking to put Danville away early. The Railers led 22-8 at
the end of the first quarter when Verderber picked up his third foul
with :57 to go. Wallace had no choice but to take him out; however,
Lincoln still held a 10-point lead at the half. Danville’s Houpt
brothers warmed up in the second half, and with Verderber trying
hard not to pick up his fourth foul, had a field day shooting over
the Lincoln zone. With Matt on one wing and John on the other, they
routinely sank 25- and 30-foot jump shots and closed to within one
point at the end of three quarters. Danville took a lead in the
fourth quarter, but Craig Howard’s foul shot with a minute to play
tied the game at 52. Danville had a last-second shot go awry, and
the game went into overtime. Danville kept the hot hand in the
overtime, as Verderber fouled out, and the Lincoln dream ended in
Normal with a 65-59 loss.
The hurt spread quickly through the
Lincoln crowd, and the tears flowed at an assembly for the team
after the game. Danville entered the Elite Eight as the team with
the most losses ever to make it to the Assembly Hall and promptly
lost their first-round game.
Once some time had passed, everyone
realized they had little to be sad about. A 28-2 record was one of
the best in school history, they had won a tough Christmas
tournament, and they were undefeated against some tough Big 12
competition.
Several members of the team received
various forms of recognition at the end of the year, but none as
much as Chuck Verderber. Verderber was named to perhaps the best and
most talented all-state team in Illinois high school history. On the
team were Kevin Boyle of Burbank St. Laurence, who would later star
at Iowa, Mark Aguirre of Chicago Westinghouse (DePaul and the NBA),
Kevin Stallings of Collinsville (Purdue), Scott Parzych of Lockport
(North Carolina State), Phil Gary of Harvey Thornton, Jim Stack of
Burbank St. Laurence (Northwestern), Darius Cleamons of Chicago
Wendell Phillips (Loyola), Willie Rogers of East St. Louis Lincoln
and one Isiah Thomas of Westchester St. Joseph. Thomas would win a
national title at Indiana and NBA titles with the Detroit Pistons.
Verderber made several other all-state
teams as well and left Lincoln as the school career point and
rebounding leader, as well as having several other records. He
played in the McDonald’s all-star game that spring as an
all-American and signed April 10 with newly crowned NCAA champ
Kentucky. He played four years for the Wildcats and was a
seventh-round draft pick of the Chicago Bulls. Chuck played overseas
for a while, then went to dental school and has a successful
practice in the Northeast. He was one of the brightest stars to ever
put on a Lincoln uniform.
Craig Howard played junior college
baseball, and Merle Siefken played college basketball at Lincoln
Christian College. Joe Weingarz would have played at Bradley, but
his back injury was severe enough that it ended his competitive
career.
Loren Wallace would continue to have
success at Lincoln nine more years, then move to Bloomington, and he
currently coaches at Quincy.
For one
season 25 years ago, they were all part of a magical page in the
history of Lincoln Railer basketball.
[Jay Hardin]
['77-78 Lincoln
roster and schedule]
Editor's note: Jay Hardin graduated with the LCHS class of 1980.
He is an attorney, married, has
three daughters and lives in Marion. His mother, sister and her
family live in Lincoln. An
uncle and his family live in Atlanta
Thanks
for the memories, Jay!
 |
|
Enter the "Fantastic Five." That's how
I'm referring to this newest crop of Illini recruits. Some of our
staffers who have already seen these guys in practice or during one
of the two exhibition games say that these kids are "the REAL DEAL!"
Those of you holding onto tickets might have a gold mine in your
wallets. These guys don't seem to care if Cook, Howard or Head ever
make it back to the lineup. Forget about taking it slow and being
worked into the system. When their warm-ups come off, they put it in
overdrive! They were flying down the floor and peskily picking the
Hawk's collective pockets repeatedly!
Now the Illini's upperclassman did have
strong performances, and they weren't totally upstaged by their
younger counterparts. Illinois was led by Roger Powell, who had 15
points and nine rebounds, and another returning player, Nick Smith,
chipped in 10 points and three boards.
But it was the FANTASTIC FIVE who made
their opening statement before a court-room crowd listed at 11,758…
and an inspiring statement it was. All they did was score 52 of
Illinois' 90 points on the evening, while three of the quintet
scored in double figures.
Also, you would expect a lot of sloppy
play from freshmen just learning a new system… maybe guessing 20-30
turnovers? How about 14? And the majority of those were during the
first five minutes, due to jitters.
Matt Logie and Zlatko Savovic led
Lehigh with 18 points each, and don't be surprised IF these guys
take the Patriot League by storm under first-year coach Billy
Taylor. I like their perimeter game, and if their interior post
players can come up big, they could really turn that program around.
This was a well-scheduled game for both
teams.
Illinois will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Wednesday night in the Assembly Hall. Plenty of tickets are still
available.
Stray
shots
• Illinois now owns an
all-time record of 85-13 in season-opening contests, including a
33-7 record in the Hall.
• Three freshmen finished
in double figures: Dee Brown (14), Deron Williams (12) and Kyle
Wilson (14). The last time three rookies scored in double figures in
a season opener was in 1990, when Deon Thomas (21), Scott Pierce
(14) and Rennie Clemons (14) pulled off the feat vs. American
University on Nov. 23, 1990.
• I personally don't know
when the Illini ever opened the season on a Sunday night either, do
you?
• Illinois' 90-point
outburst was the most ever in a season opener.
• The 34-point margin of
victory was the most in an opener since the Illini humbled Utah
99-65 in 1983 at the Horizon in Rosemont.
• Roger Powell's 15-point,
nine-rebound performance were both career highs. However, the LDN
wants you to know that more of that may be in store. Powell played
outstanding ball this summer and led the Big Ten All-Stars on their
romp through Europe!
ISU
opener not as pretty
ISU played a very tough opponent in
Utah State as the Aggies upended the Redbirds, spoiling their season
opener 68-53. Utah State took a 32-22 halftime advantage and cruised
home from there. The Redbirds did get close a couple of times but
could never get over the hump. ISU did have some exciting play from
NC State transfer Trey Guidry, who pumped in 20 points, including
six 3s! Lincoln's Gregg Alexander added six points for the Redbirds.
Desmond Penigar showed the Redbird faithful why he may be a future
NBA prospect by dazzling the crowd with 22 exciting points. He was a
reason that the Aggies shot over 50 percent for the contest. ISU
shot only 39 percent for the game and was a disappointing
one-for-eight from the free-throw line. (See
game report from ISU.)
ISU plays next on Tuesday at Central
Michigan. (See
pre-game
notes.)
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article] |
Support
your local Railers
The Lincoln Railer boys basketball team
will open the season tonight in Roy S. Anderson gymnasium as they
host the always pesky Danville Vikings. Lincoln's game will be
preceded by a 5 p.m. game pitting Peoria Manual vs. Rantoul and a
6:30 contest that has East St. Louis going up against Morton. The Railers will be back in action Wednesday night at 8, when they host
the Potters of Morton High School. For a look at the complete
tournament schedule, stats and other exciting Railer stuff go to
www.railerbasketball.org.
We attended "Meet the Railers" the
other night, and all of our teams, including the freshmen,
sophomores and the varsity, all went through their paces very
crisply.
I like that about Railer basketball. We
expect hard work and play, we expect proper execution, we expect
poise and composure, and we expect to be well-prepared for every
opponent. We also expect to have award-winning cheerleaders and pom
squads, as well as the best pit band of any ISHA team. Hopefully our
crowds will get bigger and want to be known as the most
knowledgeable and most sportsmanlike of any in the state!
Lady
Railers
At press time we had no info regarding
the Lady Railers' schedule.
How 'bout
those Preachers?
Did you hear about LCC's game with the
University of Alaska? First, let me tell you that UAA will open the
Great Alaskan Shootout this week with a game against one of the best
teams in the country, Oklahoma State. But, on Friday night they were
just playing little ol' Lincoln Christian College of Lincoln, Ill.
Not so fast, my friend! The report I
got was that LCC's Joel Searby fired in a long, desperation 3 at the
buzzer… and it went in, and the Preachers had taken the Seawolves to
overtime! So much for scheduling LCC for an easy win before the
Shootout… Do you think they'll ever invite LCC back?
Oh, yah, LCC did succumb in overtime,
but what a thrilling effort by our Lincoln boys! (See
game report.)
LCC has its last home game of the first
semester Tuesday night at 7 versus Principia. We hope to see a lot
of community fans out for that one in the new Laughlin Center behind
the chapel.
"Fandamonium"
Excitement is obviously running high
for this week's episode. Greg and I interviewed Illini head coach
Bill Self and Illini senior Brian Cook for this week's show. It has
STILL not been decided whether these interviews will run during the
show or before or after it. We also hope to have Lincoln Railer
football coach John Oaks on the show to wrap up one of the most
exciting seasons in years! See you at 6 o'clock.
Have a great
week, everybody!!!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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