50 After 50: Physical play, difficult schedule helped No. 43 Raiders reach super-sectional for third time in four years

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. 43 — 1974-75 Quincy Catholic Boys

QUINCY — Jay Frericks said playing a schedule full of Class AA schools had its plusses and minuses when he played at Quincy Catholic Boys.

“The games were so much more physical, so we tended to play more physical,” Frericks said. “And I didn’t mind that. But I was always in foul trouble when we played the Class A schools. I mean I was constantly in foul trouble, and we were an extremely physical team. At least when we played in the postseason, I remember they let you play a little bit more.”

The 1973-74 team struggled against the larger schools, but the Raiders jelled when the Class A tournament started and eventually finished fourth. That team was led by All-State guard Chris Curran, but his graduation didn’t mean Catholic Boys wouldn’t follow the same game plan the following season.

“You thought about what it was like losing Curran, but you didn’t let it set in your head. You didn’t want it to affect your play,” Frericks said. “We went from Chris Curran to Tim Koetters at point guard, and Timmy was not a physical ballplayer by any means — but he was crafty. Chris just jammed it down your throat. He was just so physical. He could drive and dump it off because he was always drawing multiple players. Timmy had to have a little bit more awareness and finesse to get the ball inside. 

“But we still were going to be physical, and we’re going to still take the ball to the hole. I mean, our motto was defense. We hung our hats on defense. We usually scored in the 50s and low 60s. We weren’t a great shooting team.”

The Raiders, coached by Phil Conover, were ranked No. 11 in the final regular season Class A state poll. Their top scoring threats were Frericks, who averaged 15.5 points per game, and 6-foot-5 Mike Real, who averaged 10.5 points. Their physical style often meant plenty of free throws when they played Class A teams.

Catholic Boys reached the regional title game in Mount Sterling by defeating West Pike 72-51 and Central 88-45. West Pike tried to befuddle the Raiders by starting five reserves and using less than a minute to put CB in the bonus, but the Raiders made 16 of 28 free throws to foil that strategy. Central then committed 38 fouls in the semifinals, and the Raiders made 34 of 48 free throws.

Snow delayed the title game for one night, but the strategy was the same for CB. After falling behind early, the Raiders pounded it inside and shot 39 free throws (making 22) in a 70-49 victory.

At the sectional in Lewistown, Catholic Boys rolled past Carthage 74-56 in the semifinals. The Raiders had a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter against Cuba in the title game, but they missed 17 out of 34 free throws and fell behind 64-63 on a basket by the Cardinals’ Greg Garrett with nine seconds remaining. Junior reserve Mark Longo was the Raiders’ hero, taking the inbounds pass and going the length of the court. As the defense surrounded Frericks, Longo went down the middle of the lane for the game-winning shot. 

Foul trouble plagued Frericks in the super-sectional against Chatham Glenwood. He picked up his third foul with two minutes left in the first quarter, and his earned his fourth foul late in the third quarter. He had a chance to win the game in regulation play but missed a five-foot baseline jumper in the final seconds. The Raiders went on to lose 54-51 in overtime.

“It was such an emotional and physical game,” said Frericks, who scored just six points before fouling out in overtime. “I just couldn’t get my head in the right place. We should have beat Chatham. We just had too many turnovers, and I put myself in bad situations being in foul trouble. We should have gone back to state. I don’t take anything away from Chatham. They were a good team too, but I thought we were a bit better team.”

The Raiders finished 22-9 but four points away from their third trip to Champaign in four years.

“We played a heck of a schedule,” Frericks said. “Records don’t define everything.”

Frericks is retired and living in Quincy. After graduating from Quincy College, he worked at the family business — Frericks Gardens — for 10 years. He was a pattern maker at Midwest Patterns for 22 years, then returned to Frericks Gardens before he retired.