Muddy River Showcase: Marion County’s Plunkett pours passion into family, basketball

The inaugural Muddy River Showcase is taking place June 18 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. The Illinois vs. Missouri format for senior prep basketball players will feature a girls game at 3 p.m. with the boys game to follow at 5 p.m. Ticket information will be released soon.

PHILADELPHIA, Mo. — Izack Hively played in the McDonald’s/Herald-Whig Classic following his senior season at Western High School. Marion County’s Reed Plunkett didn’t get the chance.

That fact had a way of blending into conversations when the two played basketball together at Hannibal-LaGrange University.

“He always kind of ribbed me about that,” Plunkett said.

Plunkett finally gets to respond.

The Marion County girls basketball coach will guide the Missouri all-stars in the inaugural Muddy River Showcase, taking place June 18 at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. He will guide a 10-player team featuring three players who helped the Mustangs go 21-6 and reach the Class 1 state quarterfinals.

“I will definitely be shooting a text (Hively’s) direction,” Plunkett said with a chuckle.

A 2018 graduate of HLGU who was born and raised in Marion County, Plunkett joined the teaching staff at Marion County High School after finishing his student teaching and took over as the boys basketball coach. The next year, he took over the girls program as well.

He’s watched this senior class of girls go from winning just five games as freshmen to an elite eight appearance as seniors.

“It wasn’t like anybody moved in or anything changed,” Plunkett said. “They made the decision to get better and put the work in every single day. That’s been rewarding for a coach just to see them be rewarded for the hard work and dedication they’ve put into this.”

He’s been dedicated, too.

Plunkett played four years of varsity basketball at Marion County before taking on a reserve role at HLGU. His older sister, Randi Lee, was an all-state basketball player at Marion County who helped the Mustangs to a Class 1 state championship in 2011 and four state trophies in her career.

She went on to a 1,000-point career at Culver-Stockton College.

“I don’t think I beat her 1-on-1 until I was a junior or senior in high school,” Plunkett said. “She was pretty tough me growing up, but it was really OK. We had a lot of fun.”

In the Plunkett household, basketball has always been fun.

“It’s been a family thing for us,” Plunkett said. “My Grandpa Spratt was a coach for a long time. It is both of my parents’ favorite sport. It’s just what we did together as a family growing up. From the time we were old enough to really walk and get around, we were shooting hoops outside.

“As we got older, it became a bigger and bigger passion for us. It’s a family thing. It’s what we talk about. It’s all we talk about.”

Getting to carry on that tradition right where he grew up is something special

“It’s been my dream for a long time,” Plunkett said. “It’s right where I want to be.”