State tournament notebook: Robbins’ defense is on point, Eagles share Illini locker room, Altmix finally gets hit by spotlight

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Logan Robbins embraces playing defense.

Actually, he enjoys it quite a bit.

“It’s another way to impact the game,” said Robbins, a 6-foot-5 senior forward on the Liberty boys basketball team. “And if you can get the guy your guarding frustrated, it’s going to give you an edge.”

It helps explain why Liberty went on such a memorable postseason run.

In the final three games of the season, Robbins was tasked with defending a first-team all-state selection, and his lock-down efforts carried the Eagles to the brink of a state title. Liberty led top-ranked Yorkville Christian 21-20 at halftime of Saturday’s Class 1A championship game at State Farm Center, but the Mustangs’ depth and balance enabled them to outscore the Eagles 30-16 over the game’s final 11 minutes to earn a 54-41 victory and their first crown.

However, Yorkville Christian’s Jaden Schutt, the 6-foot-6 Duke signee, wasn’t at the heart of that run. He had seven points in the second half and just 12 overall — 13 below his season average — as Robbins allowed Schutt to go just 4 of 12 from the field and 1 of 6 from 3-point range.

“He’s just one heck of a defender,” Liberty coach Greg Altmix said of Robbins. “I really believe he had to open the eyes of some college coaches with the way he’s played. Somebody is going to get one heck of a player.”

In Thursday’s 75-41 victory over Scales Mound in the state semifinals, Robbins put the clamps on the Hornets’ Benjamin Vandigo, a 6-foot-4 forward averaging 17.3 points per game. Vandigo had just three points on 1-of-5 shooting.

Before that, in the 49-42 victory over Southeastern in the super-sectional at the Jacksonville Bowl, Robbins limited the Suns’ Danny Stephens to 19 points, which was nearly 10 points below his season average and the first time all season he scored less than 20 points.

“Defense is something you just have to play,” Robbins said. “So get after it and do your best to be good at it.”

Dressing where the Illini dress

When the Eagles arrived at State Farm Center about an hour or so prior to tipoff, they learned they would be using the University of Illinois men’s basketball team locker room.

“They were pretty excited about that,” Liberty athletic director Adam Lee said.

The Eagles took advantage of the moment, taking pregame pictures while seated in the Illini lockers and embracing the spoils afforded only the teams still alive on the final day of the season.

Altmix finally gets hit by Spotlight

Altmix tried to avoid “The Spotlight.”. His players wouldn’t let this season end without him taking his turn.

An Eagles’ post-practice ritual, “The Spotlight” puts a single player front and center and requires the rest of the team to each say something they like about that player. In some cases, it’s as simple as “I like your smile” or “I like your hair.” Other times, it’s more touching or sentimental.

During the welcome-home celebration Saturday night in the Liberty gym, the Eagles declined to give speeches, and instead put their head coach in the spotlight.

To speed up the process, the responses were limited to the Eagles’ nine seniors with guard Reese Knuffman going first.

“I love that you treat us like family and that you love every one of us individually,” Knuffman told Altmix.

Several of the responses centered on Altmix always believing in his players and pushing them to excel, especially beyond what they thought were their limits. And then there were the more comical responses, which Altmix knew were coming at some point.

“I like your wife,” senior forward Devin Klauser said.

And senior guard Clayton Obert added, ‘I like your smile.”

Every player embraced Altmix after their moment at the microphone, further showcasing how through tragedy and triumph this group morphed into a family.

Best of the bunch

The Eagles’ second-place finish is the best in program history and the top finish by any team in school history.

Liberty previously had won three state tournament trophies in boys basketball, finishing third in 2016 in Class 1A and finishing fourth in Class A in 2005 and 1981. The 30-6 record also matched the 2005 and 2016 teams for the most single-season victories in program history.

Liberty also has a pair of third-place state finishes in boys and girls cross country. The Liberty boys took third in Class A in 1991, while the girls took third in Class 1A in 2018.