‘The sky’s the limit’: Youthful Hornets lay foundation for future success

WHITE HALL, Ill. — An abrupt ending to a resurgent season did not prevent Brown County boys basketball coach Jeff Bottorff or his players from recognizing what they accomplished.

When Bottorff addressed his team in the locker room following the Hornets’ 59-40 loss to Edwardsville Metro-East Lutheran in Wednesday’s Class 1A North Greene Sectional semifinal, he reminded them of the foundation they laid.

“I told the kids, ‘Keep your heads high. Nobody expected you to come out and win 25 games this year, and you did it. You had a lot of fun, and you brought Brown County basketball back. We’ll just start building from here,’” Bottorff said.

Those 25 victories were a 19-win improvement from last season and the program’s most since 2006-07 when the Hornets went 26-7 and reached the state quarterfinals.

“Last year was last year, and I didn’t spend much time worrying about last year,” Bottorff said. “I felt like with the pieces we had, we could find the right combination to be competitive. Honestly, I told people privately that I think we should win 20 games. I think we should compete for a regional title, and I thought we could get to a regional championship game.”

The Hornets did more than just get to a regional championship game. They won the Griggsville-Perry Regional title 67-65 in overtime against Jacksonville Routt, the No. 8 team in the final Associated Press Class 1A state poll. This was the Hornets’ first regional title since 2018.

“Now, winning it and beating a team like Routt, you have to play well, and we’ve had a couple of those games where we’ve played well, and we’ve had some other games we let slip away,” Bottorff said.

The most recent game that got away from the Hornets ended their season two wins shy of a program record and their first sectional title in 18 years, but sophomore forward Jackson McNeff, who led Brown County with 13 points on Wednesday, said playing this deep into the postseason was just icing on the cake.

“Beating Routt in the regional championship was our main goal this year,” McNeff said. “We just wanted to be regional champions. This was all added stuff onto that.”

McNeff is part of a young group of Hornets — 10 of the 12 players on the roster were freshmen or sophomores — that along with Bottorff, who took over the reins this season, have helped inject renewed excitement into the Brown County program.

“Give a lot of credit to Coach Bottorff,” McNeff said. “He’s turned this program around and gotten people engaged in basketball again.”

Freshman Michael Kassing said the fun is only beginning.

“The sky’s the limit,” Kassing said. “We didn’t know coming into this that we would finish with 25 wins, which is crazy. The next three years are going to be awesome, and we’re going to keep going.”

That 25-win mark may be difficult to repeat — Bottorff promised to put together a schedule suited to challenge his team — but Wednesday’s loss could be the fuel the Hornets need to reach that plateau again.

“I think they’re hungry,” Bottorff said. “I think when you’re that close and don’t really have your best effort, I think they will be determined to not let that happen again.”

Only time will tell, but early returns have proven plentiful.

“Our guys got a lot of experience this year,” Bottorff said. “I think we start with a much higher level of expectation going into next year because we have guys who have been in the battle.”

McNeff sees plenty more of those battles on the horizon.

“Sectional champs, then super-sectional champs, hopefully state senior year. That’s the goal,” McNeff said.

Maverick Henry, one of two seniors graduating in the spring, cannot wait to see what the Brown County hoops youth movement can accomplish.

“The future is definitely bright,” Henry said. “We have a lot of underclassmen that will work hard, and they have the talent to do it. There’s a bright future for the Hornets.”