Schuckman: Trio of Blue Devils take final step of journey together in Muddy River Showcase

QUINCY — The pictures form a rolodex of memories and illustrate the changes and growth of a group of boys who have become young men.

Every step of their journey has been together, from second grade to seniors in high school.

They take their final step together Saturday as three of the lynchpins of the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s recent run of success play their final game together. Keshaun Thomas, Kamren Wires and Dom Clay will team up for the Illinois all-stars in the fourth annual Muddy River Showcase, taking place at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center.

It’s not quite the last ride of the four horsemen off into the sunset, especially with Bradley Longcor III already having left to join his future teammates at Santa Clara University, but it will be emotional, entertaining and enjoyable for a group that has been inseparable for as long as anyone can remember.

“Growing up playing with them my whole life, it’s a great opportunity to play with them one more time before we are all headed to college,” said Thomas, the 6-foot-6 forward. “We started off super young and everybody just kept putting us together and we just kept it rolling.”

Victories and accolades piled up along the way.

The pictures shared on social media and on the videoboard in Blue Devil Gym during home games last winter, especially Senior Night, depicted a group that always had fun.

Smiles were abundant, as were trophies and medals from success in tournament after tournament.

“As a group, we learned how to win together and how to trust each other,” Wires said during the Blue Devils’ postseason run, which included Class 4A regional and sectional championships. “There was a high level of trust because we all worked for the same goals and knew we were in this for each other.”

Their collective high school resume shows what teamwork and trust can do.

In four seasons at QHS — all four began playing varsity basketball as freshmen — they won 30 or more games twice and 26 or more games each of its four seasons. They finished with a four-year record of 116-19, three Western Big 6 Conference championships, four regional championships and two sectional titles.

They also left their own individual marks.

Thomas graduated as the program’s all-time leading rebounder and established a new single-game rebounding record when he pulled down 25 boards against Sterling. He also scored more than 1,000 points in career. Clay put his name on the list of top 3-point shooters in program history, finishing with more than 150 made treys. Wires became known as one of the best on-ball defenders of the Andy Douglas coaching era, battling his older brother, Ralph, for that distinction.

And Longcor, who received an invitation to play in the Showcase but declined due to his college commitments, graduated as the second-leading scorer and all-time leading 3-point shooter in QHS history.

Opportunities to play beyond high school opened up for all of them. Thomas will play at NCAA Division II Drury University next season, while Clay is headed to Division I North Dakota State and Wires will play at Culver-Stockton College.

But there is still one last opportunity to do something special together on the court, and that’s lead the Illinois all-stars to a victory Saturday.

It would be a fitting end to an incredible journey that won’t be forgotten.