50 After 50: Once No. 36 Hornets got their basketball legs, they became defensive dynamos

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. 36: 2006-07 Brown County

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — The football hangover is real.

The 2006-07 Brown County boys basketball team experienced it.

A seven-game winning streak in the fall propelled the Hornets to the second round of the Class 1A state football playoffs. It was Brown County’s third consecutive playoff appearance, and the 9-2 record marked the most victories since the 1982 team finished 10-1.

So transitioning from the gridiron to the hardwood took some work and resulted in the Hornets losing four of their first five games. In that stretch, they allowed 68.4 points per game and gave up 99 points to Jacksonville Routt.

“If I remember right, there was a lot of foul trouble those first few games that we struggled with,” said Josh Babb, an all-state senior forward on the 2006-07 team who also quarterbacked the football team. “To me, that’s the transition from going from football to basketball. In my mind, it’s a different type of condition you have to be in.

“You can’t just run over people. You have to have a little finesse to what you’re doing.”

When the Hornets finally got their legs under them, nothing could stop them. They finished 26-7 with an historic appearance in the final Class A state tournament before the Illinois High School Association introduced the four-class system.

Following a loss to Monmouth-Roseville in the opening round of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament, Brown County rattled off 11 consecutive victories. They won the consolation championship at Macomb and then took the title at the Winchester Invitational Tournament.

The streak ended with a 64-55 loss to Liberty.

“They beat us by playing a zone, which was this team’s Achilles’ heel,” Babb said. “We scored in the paint. That’s where our bread was buttered.”

What the Hornets never lacked was defensive intensity.

Gary Wagner was the main reason for that. Asked to be the Hornets’ stopper who developed into the team’s best on-ball defender, Wagner not only pressured an opposing team’s point guard, but he was the vocal leader this team rallied around. He also led the team with 134 assists.

Brian McNeff, listed at 6-foot-3, took on every big man on the schedule and more than held his own. He averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, but he also had 55 blocked shots.

“He played 3 or 4 inches taller than he really was,” Babb said.

Nick Reynolds’ versatility allowed him to face up against a shooting guard or a forward, and Brian Geisler’s quickness enabled him to disrupt passing lanes. All told, six different players had 25 or more steals.

“We buckled down defensively,” said Babb, who averaged 19.9 points and 7.7 rebounds. “That’s the good fortune of having guys who could match up well and figure out how to fill whatever role was needed. We could figure out if we needed to go to a zone or stay in a man-to-man. We could do some things defensively on the ball and with some switches. It just took a little time to figure it out.”

It explains how the Hornets allowed 42.3 points per game during a 12-game win streak that carried them to the Pittsfield Regional championship, the North Greene Sectional title and a 44-38 victory over Breese Central in the super-sectional at the Jacksonville Bowl.

“I remember coming out of the locker room and onto the floor and 80 percent of the stands were filled with people wearing green,” said Babb, who holds the Brown County records for points scored in a game (43), a season (740) and a career (1,809). “The Bowl is probably my favorite gym in the area. It was such a neat environment. We had such a large crowd there.”

Babb scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Hornets to the first state quarterfinal appearance in program history.

The run ended with a 43-35 loss to Farmington at Carver Arena in Peoria, but the memories made along the way remain vivid.

“The fondest memory I have is the way the community came together,” said Babb, who lives in Mount Sterling with his wife and two daughters and serves as a financial officer with Compeer Financial. “It’s fun to see people get excited about a winning team. You have businesses decorating windows.

“One of my favorite memories was when we were leaving for the state tournament and we got to drive by the elementary school and the middle school. The kids were outside waving. I remember those things more than I remember the games. I couldn’t tell you the score of any game, but I remember those kids standing outside being excited and business owners being excited. Those things stick with me more than anything.”