Little Illini Conference 2007-08 Preview

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Marshall, Flora have the most returning talent
Casey-Westfield, Red Hill, Cumberland have the best shot at overtaking top two

LITTLE ILLINI CONFERENCE
Projected Order of Finish
1. MARSHALL
2. FLORA
3. CASEY-WESTFIELD
4. RED HILL
5. CUMBERLAND
6. MARTINSVILLE
7. HUTSONVILLE-PALESTINE
8. EDWARDS COUNTY
9. LAWRENCEVILLE
10. OBLONG

BY JACK BULLOCK
This is a conference that is on the verge of expansion.
Rumors have flown around; important people have had meetings, etc.
But the group that enters this season needs to focus on basketball.
And with the state going to four-classes the path to state has taken a turn north for most of this membership.
Marshall is looking for any sort of postseason luck that isn’t as bad as it has had in the last few seasons.
Regular season Lions and postseason Lions haven’t looked the same and that needs to change.
Coach Tom Brannon has been one of those mentors that must wonder out loud “what do I need to do to win one of these regionals?”
But in this freaky little game called basketball the best teams don’t always win.
The Lions are loaded again and ABV believes a change in postseason karma could come this February and March.
Flora and head coach Phil Leib has a talented backcourt player back for a senior season. This one might be the top player in the LIC this season.
Casey-Westfield has a new coach in place (Chris Seaton) but this program is a good one so there shouldn’t be a drop off.
New coaches have also stepped in at Cumberland, Edwards County, Lawrenceville and Martinsville.
Red Hill lost three really good seniors to graduation but return some talented and experienced kids.
ABV projects Marshall, Flora and perhaps Casey-Westfield and Red Hill in the chase for the LIC title.
1. MARSHALL
Coach Tom Brannon is an outstanding coach who must have broken a mirror, crossed a black cats’ path or lost his rabbits’ foot somewhere in the past seven years.
Bad luck (if one believes in such a thing) has befallen this mentor when it comes to IHSA postseason.
The recent seasons have begun with optimism and ended suddenly in the first week of the state tourney.
His teams have gone 283-134 in 15 seasons but haven’t won a regional title since 1994.
That will hopefully change for this fine coach and person.
The kids work hard too and deserve to hoist some hardware.
Conference titles are cool but the big prize – or prizes – have that IHSA Logo on them.
The horses are in place for the run. How well they respond to the whip will tell the 2007-08 tale.
Marshall finished 19-8 a season ago and swallowed a bitter pill with a loss to Robinson, 54-53, in the Class A Regional semifinals at home.
Marshall has a wealth of talented kids returning from the Little Illini Conference regular season and tourney champions.
Lucas and Logan Eitel is where ABV begins the Lions story.
They combined for 36 points a game as sophomores and at 6-foot-4 each they are big and strong enough to handle the LIC riggers.
Logan was injured for part of last season and appears mended.
Two other kids lettered and started some for Coach Brannon in 2006-07.
Travis Johnson and Alex Bullock are both 6-foot-1 senior vets.
Both Johnson and Bullock will be important in keeping the opposition honest on the defensive end.
Three other senior letterwinners should be in the running for the final starting spot and also bench minutes.
Kyle Burnam is a 5-foot-9 senior guard and will suit up just like 6-foot-2 Alan Wolter and 5-foot-8 Steve O’Rourke.
That trio will be hard pressed to hold off a pair of underclassmen.
Sophomores 6-foot-2 Taylor Duncan and 6-foot-4 Dustin Morey should push for playing time early in the season.
”I’m very excited about this team. It could be the best team I’ve coached here,” said Coach Brannon – who should reach 300 wins by the end of the season. “Four of our kids back started at least some games last season and five of our top seven are back. It should be a fun season.”
OUTLOOK – ABV is a big fan of this coach and program. The piece of advice for this group is simple. Don’t worry about anything until February 18. That is the first night of the regionals and the Lions should realize that everything before that date is window dressing. The Eitel twins in the next two seasons should be part of regional and perhaps sectional champions. It is all about the big prize. Winning another LIC title (although important) should be the least of their collective worries.
2. FLORA
The Wolves and head coach Phil Leib have been nearly the opposite of the Lions in the postseason.
In the fact Flora has had a great deal of success in February and March in the past.
Coach Leib’s team made a trip to the ‘Elite Eight’ in 2005 and the school boasts 29 total boy’s basketball regional crowns and four ‘Elite Eight’ appearances since they started keeping records for Flora basketball back in 1914-15.
As for the 2007-08 Wolves – one standout guard is back for senior season that could be special.
Ian Ridge was the leading scorer on the 17-12 club in 2006-07 that shared the LIC regular season crown with Marshall and lost to St. Elmo at the Vandalia Class A Regional semifinals.
Ridge is 6-foot-6 and when your point guard is that tall he can find the open man when he throws it over most of the kids trying to guard him. He earned a spot on the ABV Charleston Supersectional Area Honorable Mention list as a junior as he popped home 14 points a game.
He is quick enough to give big defenders problems while small defenders have difficulty-handling Ridge underneath the basket.
Ridge – more than any player in this conference – creates problems for opponents.
This is far from being a one-man team with the return of five other letterwinners.
The Wolves did lose three important seniors (Stephen Putbrese, Trevin McGrew and Kaleb Greenwood) to graduation.
However the returning kids can take a step forward and perhaps capture 20-wins.
Six-foot senior guard Bandon Bible added 10 points a game to the Flora totals as a junior. He will likely line up in the backcourt for Coach Leib.
Add the names Rendell Flood and Jeremy Wallace to the list of starters.
The 6-foot-2 senior forward Flood chipped in eight points a game while Wallace – at 5-foot-9 – was at five points a night as a sophomore.
Six-foot-five senior Logan Erbacher and 6-foot-3 Justin Rinehart will add some size to an already strong first six.
“Our success will depend on how healthy we stay thru the course of the year,” said Coach Leib. We have a very competitive schedule to start the season and we will rely heavily on our senior leadership.
OUTLOOK – Although not as deep as Marshall the starting unit looks every bit the part of LIC champs. Coach Leib is correct in that his team isn’t deep enough to overcome any serious injuries. As long as none of his kids head to the DL - this coach will have his Wolves in the pack at the top of the conference standings. But then again Flora might be alone at the top when the dust settles.
3. CASEY-WESTFIELD
The Warriors have a new coach in place and several of the key components return from a 14-12 team that went 6-3 in the LIC regular season.
Five seniors hit the bricks last spring after C-W was ousted from the Teutopolis Class A Regional in the opener by fellow LIC team Cumberland, 70-66.
Ian Littlejohn (an ABV Honorable Mention pick in the Charleston Supersectional Area) Dylan Finney, Lydon Burson, Brennan Ragon and Zach Briggs are gone.
That is 47 points a game from last season missing.
Under most circumstances that might be too much of a loss to expect much out of the 2007-08 Warriors.
But Coach Seaton has a pair of starters back in Logan Boyd and Mitch Snyder.
Boyd averaged a fine 10.1 points a game as a junior. He is a 6-foot-1 guard who also averaged exactly seven assists a game (182 total in 26 games), which shows he knows where to go with the ball.
Snyder – a 6-foot-3 junior - was a recipient of some of those assists last winter – scoring 12.7 points a game.
Both of those kids played in every Casey-Westfield varsity contest in 2006-07.
Five letterwinners will be part of the lot in which Coach Seaton will chose from to fill three spots on the hardwood.
Kaleb Barnhart is a 5-foot-11 sophomore who was listed first of the group on the coaches’ questionnaire. In limited time spent of the varsity floor as a freshman – Barnhart scored just over a point a game. He must show promise if he is listed here.
Six-foot-two senior center Ty Boyd got in about half of the Warriors’ wars as a junior. He will get a shot at starting.
Another sophomore – 6-foot-1 guard Kruz Kustermann – was in the same scoring arena as Boyd and Barnhart at around a point a night.
Obviously those figures would have been higher had they gotten more playing time.
That time will come this season.
Potentially speaking – Kirk Shawver is a 5-foot-11 junior guard that could breakthrough this season as a starter. He averaged 1.6 points in 16 games a year ago.
Five-foot-ten senior guard Luc Yates played some as a junior and will be part of the Warriors plans as either a starter or key reserve.
One player transferred in from Paris – 6-foot-1 Aaron Rhoads.
“We will be an exciting team to watch this winter,” said Coach Seaton – a Mount Carmel native and 18-year vet of coaching basketball at the junior high and high school levels. “We have some players that can really shoot the ball and we will focus on improving on the defensive end of the floor. I’m very excited about the potential of a very memorable season.
OUTLOOK – Coach Seaton mentioned the defensive improvement. That was a problem last season. The Warriors averaged 70.5 points a game last season but gave up 67.8 points a game on defense. That second number won’t cut it when playing the really good teams on the 2007-08 schedule. They can score but can they stop anyone from doing the same? Winning shootouts are a tough way to make a living in a basketball sense. Sooner or later Casey-Westfield will have to get better defensively if they are going to make a serious move toward the collection of hardware.
4. RED HILL
One of the top players in the league last season has graduated from the Salukis program.
Six-foot-six senior forward Robert Petty who averaged 18.3 points a game on 59 percent shooting last season for a Red Hill team that finished 18-9 overall and 7-2 in the conference.
He was named ABV First Team Charleston Supersectional Area and deservedly so.
South Central dumped Red Hill out of its own Class A Regional, 71-62, in the semifinals.
Lenny Diggs (ABV Honorable Mention) and Blake Potts were also part of the Salukis starting unit in 2006-07 that have graduated. Those two together scored 21 points a game as seniors.
All of those numbers will be missed including Petty’s 10.8 rebounds a game.
But this is a new day and head coach Bryan Havill will put a good product on the floor.
Two returning starters return when they start the season co-hosting the annual Capital Classic.
Chris Wampler is a 5-foot-10 senior guard averaged 9.6 points a game last winter along with 4.2 assists.
Six-foot-three senior Bradley Padgett (9.1 p.p.g., 5.8 r.p.g.) is also going to be very important.
The sixth man on Coach Havill’s team last season will begin the season on the bench with a broken collarbone.
Josh Hawkins – a 5-foot-9 junior – will be out until mid December.
One other player expected to be in the lineup is 5-foot-11 senior guard Josh Young.
After those four players – Coach Havill will need to find some help.
Five-foot-nine Brock Holmes, 6-foot Jake Brian and 6-foot Zach Western are juniors that played last season in a few games.
Sophomore Matt Wirth – a 6-foot-3 forward – got in some games last season and averaged 1.4 points a game.
”We lost a lot to graduation but have two very good seniors back in Wampler and Padgett,” said Coach Havill – who is 76-63 in six seasons at Red Hill. “Wampler will be one of the best guards in the area. Padgett is a solid defender and excellent rebounder. They must provide us with a one-two scoring punch.”
OUTLOOK - This team will be right in the chase because of backcourt strength. But the top teams here on this list have a size advantage on the Salukis. The role players must contribute if Red Hill is going to finish in the top half of the LIC.
5. CUMBERLAND
New head coach Josh Forsythe takes over a program that has recently faired well in the Little Illini Conference. He was an assistant last season to head coach Brad Oakley and now he gets to pull the strings.
Those Columbia Blue and Gold clad Pirates finished the 2006-07 season at 17-13 overall and 6-3 in the LIC.
They gave eventual ‘Elite Eight’ qualifier Teutopolis some trouble for a while in an 85-66 loss.
Lost from that club are three graduated seniors: Justin Wallace, Luke Plummer and Bart Holsapple. Holsapple also made the ABV Honorable Mention roll call.
Oakley played a lot of kids a season ago and that fact will help the transition of players and the new head coach heading into a tough early schedule that includes the Cumberland Thanksgiving Tournament and a shootout trip to Springfield to tackle Petersburg PORTA.
Six-foot-five senior Kye Butler was a starter on the club last season.
So were Jeremy Jansen and Dalton Sowers. Both of these kids are juniors with size.
Sowers is 6-foot-5 and Jansen is 6-foot-4.
So the frontcourt is solid, but what about the backcourt?
Sowers is listed as a guard and if this one can handle the rock and put it in the hole – the Pirates have an exceptional weapon that most teams will have trouble defending.
Six-foot-one sophomore Silas Gabel played a lot as a freshman and is expected to step up.
Another player – 6-foot-3 senior Matt Whitaker – will also be tested this season. Whitaker earned a letter as a junior.
”We lost a lot of our offensive production with the departure of Luke and Bart, so our seniors and juniors are going to have to step up into an unfamiliar role of leading this team,” said Coach Forsyth who takes over the club in his first season as a head coach.
OUTLOOK – This is the sleeper team in the LIC. They have size and experience returning and familiarity in the coaching staff. The schedule – as mentioned earlier – will have some pitfalls and they may experience some losses along the way. But a piece of this conference title by the end of the regular season is possible and making some serious noise in the postseason can also occur.
6. MARTINSVILLE
The Blue Streaks are another of the teams in the South that have leadership on the bench as Kyle Shelton is the head coach now after Jeff Holloway stepped down.
Shelton inherits a team that went 15-13 overall and 4-6 in the LIC.
Shelton – a Lawrenceville graduate who was the head coach at Durand High School in northern Illinois last season – comes back home to the South to take over a program that has won more games than it lost the past two seasons.
Starting with five returning seniors – Coach Shelton has some experience heading into the 2007-08 season.
Chase Lee is the first of the seniors listed by this coach. The 6-foot-3 senior forward was a double-digit scorer for the Blue Streaks last winter.
The same can be said for 6-foot senior Harry Downey.
Both trailed only graduated senior Matt Higginbotham (ABV Honorable Mention) in points from a year ago.
They both have something else in common. Both are injured and both could miss the beginning of the season.
Lee has a broken arm while Downey has knee problems. The Streaks will need these two to compete in the Little Illini.
Lee and Downey will have to carry the early scoring load for Martinsville.
Another starter returning is 5-foot-11 senior guard Bobby Short.
This trio forms the nucleus of a club that could move up the standings from last season’s finish.
Two other seniors - Ethan Nash and Cody Finney – will be in the mix according to Coach Shelton.
The junior class has Keith Perisho – a 6-foot guard – 6-foot guard Ryan Slater and 5-foot-11 Jared Truelove.
“We have a senior lead team paced by Lee and Downey - both of whom are injured,” said Coach Shelton – who was 4-23 at Durand last season. “Our JV squad this season will be competitive which will bode well for our varsity team next season.”
OUTLOOK – Without Lee and Downey healthy it may be a long season for Martinsville. Those two are clearly the best players and will be needed. However if they miss a lot of games it will allow some others to get valuable experience. If Martinsville wins more than it losses – this will be a successful 2007-08 run.
7. HUTSONVILLE-PALESTINE
Coach Denis Bennett’s Tigers will go just as far as 6-foot-4 senior Ryan Roberts can take them.
This guard/forward averaged 22 points and eight rebounds on a 10-13 overall, 3-6 LIC club that dropped out of the state tournament after a 60-39 opening round loss to Robinson at the Marshall Class A Regional. Roberts joined a lot of LIC players on the ABV Charleston Honorable Mention squad.
After Roberts – there are four other players back that will likely fill starting roles.
Six-foot-four senior forward Anthony Shanes will join Roberts in the frontcourt.
Three other potential starters are all backcourt variety.
Five-foot-ten senior Ethan Holscher, 5-foot-7 Ethan Blankenbaker and 5-foot-9 sophomore Jeff Otte should fill out a three-guard lineup.
OUTLOOK – Roberts is going to have to score a lot of points if H-P is going to ink the win column many times in 2007-08.
8. EDWARDS COUNTY
Coach Nathan Toothman is the new mentor at Edwards County and his task in front of him will require a lot of effort. Turning around a program that hasn’t posted a winning record in a few seasons is going to take some doing.
This coach will start with five returning players from a 6-19 squad that lost to rival Grayville, 59-48, at the Mount Carmel Class A Regional.
Seniors missing from the lineup after graduation are Logan Holmes – a 6-foot guard that averaged 13.6 points a game. Jonathan Henton, Travis Shilling and Carl Bunnage are also gone.
As for the 2007-08 version of Lions’ basketball – look for some experienced players to step forward.
Ben Kinsey is a 6-foot guard that chipped in 8.8 points a game as a junior player.
Five-foot-nine senior Brian Winter (two p.p.g.) 6-foot-2 senior Zack Hays (1.4 p.p.g.) and 5-foot-10 senior (1.7 p.p.g.) all contributed last season.
Coach Toothman points to some newcomers that are going to get some playing time in the Edwards County system this winter.
Stephen Vallete is a 5-foot-9 junior guard. Classmates Jacob Columbia – a 5-foot-10 guard – 5-foot-11 guard Craig Harris and Tyler Bunting – a 6-foot-1 senior guard will have opportunities to prove themselves worthy of minutes.
”We want to be competing in every game we play,” said Coach Toothman whose experience is limited to three years coaching at the grade school level. “We have 10 players that will compete for varsity time.”
OUTLOOK – They are smallish and are not overly athletic. But this team in the past has played hard and worked hard for wins. That shouldn’t change this season. Unfortunately neither will the won/loss mark. A couple of additional wins would help the psyche.
9. LAWRENCEVILLE
The once mighty Indians have fallen on hard times and this program and coaching staff deserve more respect than what they have been given.
Last season came and went without a single victory.
ABV looks for that mark to change in 2007-08. It won’t be a complete makeover in success but Lawrenceville should dent the win column at least a couple of times.
First year head coach Jason Green takes the wheel of a program that went from a state-ranked club to winless in just two seasons.
There are a few players returning that may be able to produce more points and play a bit better on the defensive end this season.
Green – a Lawrenceville graduate himself – has several kids that saw action previously.
Five-foot-nine junior Josh Potts played a lot of guard in 2006-07 as a sophomore.
A pair of seniors – 6-foot-1 Cody Reed and 5-foot-11 Robert Sakowicz – are returning starters.
Two more juniors – 6-foot-1 Nathan Waldroup and 5-foot-10 Nathan Shoulders – could be in the opening night lineup.
Waldroup is the teams top returning scorer at just over six points a game while Reed added three points a night.
Zach Manley is a 5-foot-9 junior who also played some last winter - as did 5-foot-11 senior Adrian Meyer.
After that group look for Coach Green to be unafraid to use his bench.
Six-foot-three Dane Kelly is a sophomore who entered a handful of contests as a freshman.
Playing time will be handed out to freshman Michael Leighty – a 6-foot-1 guard - and 6-foot junior Zon Kitchell.
Two other names – Jacob Gerritsen and Aaron McCullough – are on the list.
Gerritsen is a 6-foot-1 junior while McCullough – a 6-foot-5 sophomore – will add some size when he is on the floor.
Nick Potts is a 6-foot-5 sophomore that is also on the roster.
”I want us to be able to play some physical full-court defense and be able to use a deep bench,” said Coach Green who was a player on the 1996 Elite Eight team. “Yes we are rebuilding but I am looking forward to the young kids we have and excitement that they will bring to the game.”
OUTLOOK – When a team goes 0-24 and 0-9 then there is just one direction for the program to go. The new coach has a background at this school and he knows how to win games. More importantly he feels that losing is unacceptable. These Indians - by the end of the season - should be much better than last winter. Single digit wins – or any wins for that matter – will be a welcomed sight.
10. OBLONG
The Panthers have a new coach but this one faces the same problems.
This club managed ten wins in 2006-07 but don’t look for that mark to be met this season.
Much of the offense is missing from a team that lost to Dieterich, 64-50 in the first round of the Teutopolis Class A Regional.
Gone is ABV Honorable Mention pick Landon Littlejohn – a 6-foot senior.
Nile Wilson, Dustin Clark and Josh Rodrick joined Littlejohn in the parade out of Oblong H.S.
The starters for new head coach Brent Harper should begin with returning letterwinners 6-foot-1 senior forward William Wilson.
Two others – 5-foot-8 junior Curtis Legg and 5-foot-9 Elliot Smith – both played significant minutes in 2006-07.
After those three the contenders for time will be Lane Morecradft – a 6-foot-5 senior – 6-foot senior John Winters, 5-foot-11 senior Isaiah Osborne, 5-foot-9 junior Justin Allen and 5-foot-11 junior Kendrick Greathouse.
Six-foot-three Drew Morecraft and 5-foot-10 Curtis Holt are sophomores who could slip into the lineup.
OUTLOOK – The Panthers have finished in the basement of this league before and it won’t be a big surprise if it happens again this season.