50 After 50: No. 27 Raiders recover from coaching upheaval, sluggish season to finish fourth at state

The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock counties since 1972.

No. 27 — Quincy Catholic Boys 1973-74

QUINCY — The Quincy Catholic Boys basketball teams enjoyed plenty of success during the 1970s, but there was a rather difficult stretch early in the decade.

After qualifying for the first Class A state tournament in 1972, the Raiders struggled the following season. Coach Bob Bender left for Bloomington in May, and Bill Killen from Breese Mater Dei replaced him in June. However, Killen never coached a game. He suffered a heart attack on Oct. 8, 1972, and died two weeks later. 

Mike Otolski, the junior varsity coach, stepped in to replace Killen on Nov. 1. He guided CB to a 12-13 record in his only season, and the Raiders lost in the semifinals of the regional tournament.

Phil Conover, a 29-year-old coach who spent four seasons at Rushville, replaced Otolski the following season. However, victories were still difficult to come by during the regular season in 1973-74. Chris Curran supplied plenty of offensive firepower, but Conover spent much of the season juggling his lineup to find the right mix. Facing a schedule loaded with Class AA competition, Catholic Boys entered postseason play with a 10-13 record.

“(Conover) didn’t know what he had,” said Ted Wolf, a senior on the 1973-74 team. “Curran started the previous year, but after that, there were a lot of combinations. We didn’t have a lot coming back, and frankly, you have to be honest. The juniors had more talent. They had the size that we didn’t have in the senior class at all.

“We had one star and a lot of people who were contributor types, I would say.” 

So how did the Raiders end up in fourth place in the 1974 Class A state tournament?

“I just think we had a little success (in the postseason), and it just fed on itself,” Wolf said. “It was just so exciting around school. I mean, we were just playing better, and we just got some confidence.”

But the Raiders first had to travel a rocky road.

They opened the season by losing three games at the Collinsville Thanksgiving Tournament, then lost to Fort Madison (Iowa) before rebounding with four straight victories. Two losses at the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament gave the Raiders a 5-7 record. After getting within one game of .500, CB lost four of its last six games in the regular season.

The Raiders were the top seed in the Mount Sterling Regional, but they needed a basket by Marc Miller to go ahead with 33 seconds left in a 56-53 victory over Central in the first round. They withstood a late Payson Seymour rally to win 70-67 in the semifinals. Curran then poured in 29 points in a 72-53 victory in the title game over Barry, which entered the game with a 23-2 record.

“I’m sure we were just as surprised then as I am now (by beating Barry),” Wolf said. “They must have been good if they were 23-2, and we hadn’t been showing we were going to dominate small schools.”

CB won the sectional on its home floor. It rallied from an early 10-point deficit to beat LaHarpe 77-63, then overcame a 13-point deficit in the third quarter to beat Havana 69-61. Curran had 27 in the sectional final. The Raiders knocked off Franklin 72-66 to win the super-sectional, with Jay Frericks and Curran both scoring 19 points.

Prophetstown (25-1), ranked No. 4 in the state, had a starting frontline of three 6-foot-5 players. It was the favorite to win the quarterfinal matchup. However, the Raiders pulled off yet another surprise with a 55-44 victory. 

“Their best player was a guy named (Dan) Johnson (who averaged 19.6 points a game), and he was a big strong guy,” Wolf said. “We just put it on them.”

The Raiders’ eight-game winning streak ended the following day. Ottawa Marquette knocked off Catholic Boys 65-52 in the semifinals, and Chicago Christian won the third-place game 71-62. Curran, who averaged 18.3 points per game and was named to the Chicago Daily News all-state team, made just 18 of 64 shots during the state tournament.

“We were out of gas,” Wolf said. “We probably played our best game of the year against Prophetstown, but Chris couldn’t shoot it in the ocean if he was standing on the beach. I know he was disappointed. He was really a very good player.”

The Raiders finished with a 17-15 record. They held the distinction for the most losses by a trophy-winning team until St. Francis deSales went 16-16 and placed fourth in 1997.

“We were all very proud of that,” Wolf said. “The fact that we had a team with a not-very-good record, I mean, what could have exemplified Raider Rride any better than the way we finished the season? That’s my memory of it. We showed heart and determination.”