Schuckman: Gem City basketball teams set new standard with all reaching 20-victory plateau

QUINCY — What transpires over the next three weeks will help define how the 2022-23 prep basketball season in the Gem City is remembered.

Already it’s been historic.

It could become legendary.

The Quincy High School and Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball teams open regional play Wednesday, both harboring high hopes while knowing significant hurdles could impede their progress.

The QND girls basketball team is five victories from defending its Class 2A state championship. The QHS girls basketball team’s season ended in last week’s regionals, but not before reaching two significant benchmarks — a 20-win season and a regional title game appearance.

The Blue Devils have won 20 games only twice in the last 25 seasons, and they hadn’t appeared in a regional title game since 2012. In fact, the regional semifinal victory over Collinsville was the first postseason victory for the QHS program since 2016.

The strides made in Brad Dance’s fourth season at the helm with a roster heavy with underclassmen enabled the Blue Devils to be part of Gem City history.

For the first time ever, each of Quincy’s four prep basketball teams has won at least 20 games in the same winter. Much of that success was expected. All of it has been earned thanks to coaches willing to schedule opponents that will test their teams, not pad their records.

The QND girls are 31-1 heading into Tuesday night’s Class 2A Pleasant Plains Sectional semifinal, and nearly half of their games have been played against state-ranked opponents. The QHS boys played the No. 1-ranked team out of Missouri, while the QND boys faced Illinois’ No. 1-ranked Class 3A team on the road. The QHS girls traveled to state-ranked Alton in December and played in the Dixon Holiday Tournament, which featured four teams that have won regional titles.

How do those games matter now?

There doesn’t appear to be anyone better than teams the QND girls have already played ahead of the Raiders. The QHS boys earned the top seed in their sub-sectional and are capable of competing with anyone. The QND boys appear battle-tested ahead of a challenging postseason path.

How does it end?

It could be one of the best overall seasons in Gem City history when all is said and done. 

That depends on how the next few weeks play out and if the 20-20 vision these teams enjoy has prepared them for what lies ahead.