Final review of the ’50 After 50′ series: Exceptional interviews, heartfelt stories helped make these teams memorable

A few final thoughts as Muddy River Sports wraps up the “50 After 50” series after nearly four months … 

• I’m so glad I had the chance to interview Harry Wagy, the coach of the 1990-91 Pleasant Hill team which was the No. 50 team on the list. That team is arguably the best in the history of the tiny Pike County school. The Wolves led Pittsfield by three points with six minutes to play in the regional championship but eventually lost 50-47. It was the closest score in the postseason for the Saukees, who went on to win the Class A state title.

The story about the Wolves appeared on the MRS website on Dec. 13. Harry died Jan. 11. His love of basketball and life are missed.

• If we could go back to November when the “50 After 50” was created and I could add one team to the list, it would be the 2003-04 Barry team. Jordan Harris was a heckuva scorer, and the Wildcats’ patterned style gave the athletic, full-court-pressing Raiders fits. Barry lost twice to Quincy Notre Dame that season, including a 60-57 setback in the regional title game.

“Oh, they were good,” Raiders coach Scott Douglas said. “People forget how good Barry was.”

The problem: Which team drops off the top 50?

(To my friends from the 1988-89 Griggsville team: The pride you have for your successes is great. You didn’t make the top 50, but you’re not forgotten.)

• Which stories were the most read? Here are the top five:

• 1. All-Stater for No. 24 Saukees nearly didn’t play so he could raise his infant daughter
• 2. Before becoming one of Illinois’ most successful prep coaches, Bennett says injured foot was costly for No. 44 Saukees
• 3. Facing lofty expectations and high state ranking, No. 12 Saukees accomplish list of goals
• 4. New coach, new style lead to repeat of postseason success for No. 33 Cardinals
• 5. No. 5 Wildcats unbeatable during regular season, but IHSA ruling pulled plug on state title hopes

• The story about the 1977 postseason was unforgettable. Can you imagine winning a regional championship, only to be stopped by a sheriff’s deputy on the way to a sectional game when a judge filed for a temporary injunction because of how the final seconds of the regional semifinals had been officiated? 

That’s what happened to the 1976-77 Hamilton Cardinals. When a Warren County judge ruled in favor of the Cardinals at 4:55 p.m. on a Thursday, Hamilton coach Red Rogers left the courtroom and drove to Lewistown for a game two hours later. Not only did the Cardinals win that game, but two days later they shocked a very talented QND team (that spent much of season ranked No. 1 in the state) 72-65 in the sectional final.

“It was crazy,” said Hal Hall, a senior on that team. “I’m not really sure what happened, but it was just chaos.”

• The most prolific decade in west-central Illinois was undoubtedly the 1990s. It started with Unity’s “30 and Oh Baby” team and Pittsfield’s quarterfinalist team in 1990. Pittsfield won the state title in 1991, followed by Southeastern’s fourth-place finish in 1992 and Hamilton’s fourth-place finish in 1993. Hamilton lost in the quarterfinals in 1994, and West Pike followed with a third-place finish in 1995. 

Pittsfield was ranked No. 1 for most of the 1995-96 season before losing in the super-sectional. Warsaw won the state championship in 1997, and Nauvoo-Colusa brought another title to Hancock County in 1998. QND wrapped up the decade with a third-place finish in 1999. (Let’s not forget the 1999 Warsaw team that was undefeated but lost star player Jason Edwin because of an IHSA ruling.)

• Ever wonder if the players on these teams ever forget their postseason experiences? Take a moment to read about the Quincy Catholic Boys team that played in the first Class A state tournament in 1972. The Raiders lost 57-56 in the quarterfinals to eventual state champion Lawrenceville. Dan Pieper, who averaged 26.2 points that season, didn’t touch the ball on the final play. 

Fifty years later, Pieper says he still has a “sour taste” about that play.

“I mean, I’ve got a lot to live for and to be thankful for and just keep moving forward,” he said. “But yeah, that one has stuck with me.”

How about the 1987-88 Dallas City team that lost 38-37 in the regional championship game on a half-court shot by Hamilton’s Kevin Fleck?

“I’ve gotten to where I only think about it three or four times a week,” John Rowley, a senior guard for the Bulldogs, said with a laugh. “I don’t have nightmares about death. I don’t have dreams about being rich. But I still have dreams about replaying that game.”

• Thanks for Don Crim for telling the stories of some of the stars from the 1980s like Quincy Notre Dame’s Mike Siebers, Pittsfield’s Tim Fischer and Warsaw’s Steve Rothert. It’s nice to have the best writer and editor I’ve ever worked with being a part of the Muddy River team.

• Three stories I had not heard was but thankful to tell: Pittsfield’s Jamie Reel, who nearly thought about giving up basketball when his daughter was born before practice started in 1995; the 1978-79 Payson Seymour basketball team, which played host to players from Providence St. Mel in downtown Chicago and showed them what life on the farm was like; the 1972-73 Unity team, which returned to Mendon to play the 1989-90 “30 and Oh Baby” team in an exhibition game during the spring of 1990 to help raise money for a senior class trip.

Thanks to the players and coaches who took the time to tell us their stories. It was a wonderful walk through the basketball-rich history of this little corner of the state.