QHS boys basketball team sits No. 3 in first Class 4A state poll

QUINCY — With success comes respect, as much as the Quincy High School boys basketball program has earned in quite some time.

Andy Douglas wants the Blue Devils to embrace it, but not get consumed by it.

“It’s not the outcome of these games that is important,” said Douglas, who has coached Quincy to an 8-0 record with three regular-season games to play before the Christmas break. “It’s the process of getting there.

“A lot of people are excited, ‘Hey, you’re undefeated. You’re gonna go undefeated. That’s not what it’s about for us. If we end up that way, and we should, then great. But it’s the process of coming in every day and focusing. That means getting in the gym and working.”

The need for that grows everyday, just like the target the Blue Devils’ wear.

Wednesday, that target grew just a little bigger.

Quincy is ranked No. 3 in the first Associated Press Class 4A state poll, its highest state ranking in more than 30 years. The Blue Devils have been a top-15 team at different times the past three decades — 1995, 2000, 2007 and 2021 for example — but they haven’t been as high as No. 3 since the 1991-92 team reached No. 3 following a 17-0 start.

Victories over St. Louis Chaminade and Webster Groves (Mo.) — both are ranked in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch large school top 10 — enhanced the Blue Devils’ resume and reputation, but that only matters if the process doesn’t stall.

The Blue Devils travel to East Moline on Friday night for a Western Big 6 Conference showdown with United Township. Saturday brings a trip across town to face Quincy Notre Dame at The Pit. Next Tuesday, the Blue Devils head to the state capitol to face Springfield.

“So we have to get back in the gym and get ready,” Douglas said after the 61-51 victory over Webster Groves on Tuesday night at Blue Devil Gym. “We can’t take any days off.”

Associated Press boys basketball state polls

CHICAGO — Here are the boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points.

Class 4A

School                             W-L   Pts 

1. Normal Community (7)     6-0   117

2. Curie  (3)                     8-1   101 

3. Quincy                         8-0   92  

4. Homewood-Flossmoor              9-1   80

5. Lisle (Benet Academy) (1)       9-0   75  

6. Glenbrook North  (2)            8-1   62

7. Chicago Heights (Bloom Twp.)    5-2   42

8. Gurnee Warren                  9-1   40

9. Downers North                  5-1   34

10. Collinsville                   9-0   32

Others receiving votes: Moline 11. New Trier 7. Bolingbrook 6. Whitney Young 5. Evanston Township 4. Waubonsie Valley 2. Kenwood 2. Marist 2. Oak Lawn Community 1.

Class 3A

School                             W-L   Pts 

1. Chicago Mt. Carmel (1)          10-1   110 

2. Brother Rice (7)                9-0   108 

3. Harvey Thornton (5)             6-1   107

4. Richwoods                      8-1   77  

5. DePaul College Prep             9-0   58

6. De La Salle                    7-1   44

7. Mt. Zion                       9-0   42  

8. East St. Louis                 4-2   33  

9. Kankakee                       7-0   32

10. Morton                         8-1   29

Others receiving votes: Hyde Park 20. Metamora 16. Lindblom 15. Centralia 13. Belvidere North 4. Sterling 3. Decatur MacArthur 3. St. Patrick 1.

Class 2A

School                             W-L   Pts 

1. Rockridge (7)                  7-1   126 

2. Breese Central (4)              8-1   124 

3. Peoria Manual (2)               4-3   86

4. Trenton Wesclin                10-0  66

5. Fieldcrest                     7-0   45

6. Tolono Unity (1)                6-0   42

7. Peoria Notre Dame               2-5   41

(tie) Chicago (Christ the King)     6-2   41

9. Byron                          3-0   34

10. St. Joseph-Ogden                7-0   29  

Others receiving votes: Phillips 27. Benton 18. Beecher 15. Clinton 14. Macomb 13. Rockford Christian 11. El Paso-Gridley 10. Fairbury Prairie Central 9. Northridge Prep 6. Julian 5. Columbia 3. Teutopolis 2. Pinckneyville 2. Lawrenceville 1.

Class 1A

School                             W-L   Pts 

1. Tuscola (7)                    8-0   124

2. Pecatonica (3)                 6-0   112 

3. Illini Bluffs (2)               8-2   96  

4. Effingham St. Anthony           7-2   61

5. Scales Mound                   9-1   54

6. Springfield Calvary             8-0   46

7. Serena                         9-0   44

(tie) Manley                       5-1   44  

9. Aurora Christian                9-1   40

10. Fulton                         6-1   28

Others receiving votes: Griggsville-Perry 24. Winchester-West Central 16. South Beloit 14. Franklin 13. Waltonville 11. Altamont 7. Camp Point Central 7. Lexington 7. Goreville 7. New Berlin 7. Waterloo Gibault 5. Crab Orchard 2. Dieterich 1.