BY JACK BULLOCK
It is all over but the shouting for the Mid-South Conference.
With the exodus of Norris City-Omaha-Enfield and Thompsonville from the MSC – to join the Greater Egyptian Conference - this league will disband at the end of the 2007-08 school year.
Its hoop history – though brief – was outstanding for the most part with boy’s basketball regional titles won by every member of the league except Thompsonville in its run.
The remaining five members will ‘slug it out’ one more time before heading north to join the Midland Trail Conference in all sports beginning in the fall of 2008.
While some may turn a bit melancholy as the end draws near – others will look at the change as an improvement.
As for the Mid-South ‘swan song’ this basketball season – three of the five teams appear to have a legitimate shot at taking the final conference hoop honors home to their trophy case.
In the final season of the Mid-South look for a recent trend to stop. The last five conference champions ran the table to win all 12-league games. ABV expects that the team left standing on the top will likely have at least one blemish.
Woodlawn and head coach Shane Witzel have the most varsity experience returning – having lost just a pair of seniors from last year’s 13-14 campaign that ended in a first-round regional loss to Chester.
Coach Witzel will have some size and athletic ability to mold into a potential 1A regional champ.
Grayville has perhaps the two best returning players back after reaching a regional title game last February - losing to the eventual ‘Sweet 16’ squad from Mount Carmel.
Coach Mike Denault sent a great group of players to graduation after three consecutive 20-win seasons at Waltonville.
Although the Spartans won’t have the size to stick on the floor this season – Coach Denault’s bunch will be ready for battle. Most of the team will come from a talented junior varsity group that - at one point - had won 41 consecutive games spanning three seasons.
Wayne City and Webber Township break in new coaches and philosophies in 2007-08.
Before anyone reaches for a tissue to mop up the tears caused by the end of the Mid-South Conference – keep this thought in mind.
Each team in this league has had some sort of postseason success over the years.
Expect that to continue when they join their new athletic conference.
1. WOODLAWN
The Cardinals have been given the ever so slight ABV nod over those talented Bison from the East.
Experience and strength of schedule should make Coach Witzel’s job this season both enjoyable and apprehensive.
Sometimes high expectations are a good thing and this season the Cardinals should at least flirt with 20-wins.
Playing in three shootouts and in three challenging tournaments will keep these Birds on their respective toes.
Coach Witzel will point to one senior with experience along with some talented underclassmen that all have varsity experience - adding to the "Great Expectations."
Ethan Shurtz could be the key to the whole season especially if he continues to develop his game.
At 6-foot-5 and 240 this post player will have very few kids in this conference that can stare him in the eye or keep him out of the lane.
His numbers from his junior year were solid. At 10.9 points per contest he was good enough for second on the team last season behind graduated senior guard Scott McNeil.
But his 7.2 rebounds a game was one of the top marks in the Deep South.
Foul problems from a year ago will need to be addressed this season. The Cardinals are a much better squadron when Shurtz is on the hardwood.
His continued success in the paint will make a lot of people in the western part of Jefferson County very happy.
Six-foot-three junior Jase Green also had his moments in 2006-07. Averaging 7.5 points a night ranked him third on the Cardinals’ scoring list.
Kyle Boldt – a 6-foot-1 junior forward – will also be counted on for continued improvement. His numbers will likely go up to help pick up some of the scoring slack left by McNeil from a year ago. He averaged 7.2 p.p.g. as a sophomore. His top moment was perhaps his last second shot that beat conference rival Wayne City last January.
The experienced ones include Jesse Hart – a 5-foot-7 junior backcourt player – who will have some backcourt duties this season.
Hart, Shurtz, Green and Boldt played in all 27 Woodlawn varsity games - which rates the Cardinals’ as the most experienced of all Mid-South Conference members heading into the final conference countdown.
One of the players from a year ago that Coach Witzel hopes can stay off the DL is 6-foot-3 junior Bronson Verhines.
Verhines played in just 11 varsity contests in 2006-07 but played well while he was suited up.
He scored 6.8 points a game while finishing second to McNeil in assists’ averaged with 1.4 per outing.
With that in mind Coach Witzel will likely have the ball in Verhines’ hands when the offense begins.
A sixth component to the Woodlawn season should be sophomore Casey Hammond – a 5-foot-9 guard – who came off the bench to spark the Cardinals in several key games in the second half of the season. Hammond and Hart will be in a competition for the fifth spot in the starting lineup.
“We return a significant number of players that saw varsity time,” said Witzel – a Woodlawn grad from 1988 and the point guard on the last Cardinal regional boy’s basketball champion. “We will still be a bit young with just the one senior starter (Shurtz). Our non-conference schedule will be challenging and hopefully these type of games will make us a better post-season team.”
OUTLOOK – They have experience, size, athletic ability and a testing slate of opponents on the schedule. It is time for these kids to step up and get the job finished. Depending on how the map shapes up for the postseason journey – the Cardinals are a sleeper to reach Peoria in the first season of four-class basketball. Shurtz has the potential to be a dominant force in the Mid-South and the others all have proved that they can find the basket. All of Coach Shane Witzel’s teams can defend because if a player can’t he won’t find a uniform hanging in his closet. With Breese Mater Dei, Mounds Meridian, Marissa-Coulterville and Lebanon on the schedule along with the usual contests against Grayville and Waltonville – the Cardinals are going to have to show up each night. ABV believes that they will.
1A. GRAYVILLE
The number two just didn’t look right next to the Grayville name. The Bison will scuffle with Woodlawn for the top spot – rest assured.
Coach Will Knight took over a program in the second half of the 2005-06 season and his hard work and patience has picked up the pieces of a once down program.
The Bison finished second in the conference last season behind Waltonville and they have decided that runner-up isn’t good enough for 2007-08.
Last year Grayville was ‘money’ in very close games. Of the 13 games they played that were decided by 10 points or less – Coach Knight’s Bison were 10-3.
Two very fine players will once again don those Red and Black uniforms this season.
Taylor Lynn and Drew DiMaggio return after leading their team to a 22-6 mark – one of the top records in the school’s history.
A 76-67 loss to Mount Carmel on the Aces’ home court can be deemed a springboard to a start of a potentially grand 2007-08 drive.
Lynn edged DiMaggio for team scoring honors with 14.1 p.p.g. – slightly better than Double D’s 13.7.
It is very possible that each of them could average 20 points plus this winter. They are that good.
Both are lefties and athletic – a dynamic duo dilemma for the opposition.
Although Grayville lost four seniors to graduation – things look even better for Coach Knight and Crew.
A pair of 5-foot-11 senior guards will be in the mix.
Logan Bailey and Mikey Brown were in nearly all of the varsity games a year ago and that experience will show when the Bison hit the floor for four games in their own Thanksgiving Tournament beginning November 19.
Five-foot-ten Thad Sexton will be in the running for PT in the backcourt.
The junior class has four players with varying degrees of varsity know-how.
Two are 5-foot-10 (Sean Maurer and Taylor Schoenholt) and another pair is 5-foot-8 (Taylor Milligan and Ryan Pinkstaff).
All four will need to be ready early if the Bison are going to make another run at 20-wins and finish at the top of the heap in the MSC.
The Bison and Woodlawn Cardinals have a common non-conference opponent thanks to a pair of shootout games.
Grayville will take on Mounds Meridian at the SIC Shootout on Saturday February 2. The Cards will take on those same Bobcats the following Saturday at the Waltonville Shootout.
Although those measuring stick games come late in the season – both MSC teams will benefit from playing Coach Jeff Mandrell’s team that ABV lists as the preseason top 1A squad in Southern Illinois.
OUTLOOK – This is one of those teams that might finish second in the conference but be good enough to win a regional title – the school’s first such success in boy’s hoops since 1987. Lynn and DiMaggio were strong inside and out last season. Continued strong play from these two should propel the Bison to another 20-win season. Having two 1,000-point scorers is rare but Lynn and DiMaggio are both approaching that coveted plateau. The two tourney’s Grayville plays in (Wayne City, Grayville) are winnable. ABV can find no reason to think that this season will be worse than last year. Don’t pencil in 20-wins, use a Sharpie.
3. WALTONVILLE
With the success that has came the way of the Spartans from the past four season’s under Coach Mike Denault – fans of Waltonville can walk the streets proudly.
In that quartet of campaign’s the Spartans were a sizzling 83-38. Considering that Denault inherited a team that would finish his first season at Waltonville at 9-20 – the program took off on a long winning streak. That is 74-18 in three seasons.
The Spartans played in two-consecutive regional title games; losing to Nashville and Pinckneyville.
Not too bad for a school which barely has a 100 enrollment.
In other words – four-class basketball came to Illinois about two years too late for this program.
Having to butt heads with the larger Class A teams in the past is just that - in the past.
With the supposed playing field now being level – Coach Denault can begin building from the recent success with more than a glimmer of hope when February rolls around.
Waltonville lost all five starters from a season ago to graduation. As numbers go nearly all the points left the building in a cap and gown with eight seniors gone.
With no starters returning from the 25-6 team that lost to Pinckneyville 70-52 in the final at the Trico Class A Regional look for Coach Denault to turn to his only returning letterwinner – 6-foot senior Derek Reaves – to provide some needed leadership.
Reaves played well in his cup of coffee in those A games in 2006-07.
But he and his teammates will have to grow up a lot in the coming months.
Joseph Lewis is a 6-foot-2 sophomore who was good enough to wear a varsity uniform as a freshman.
In fact Coach D lists three other sophomores who will probably see action right off the bat.
Six-foot-two Skyler Witges; 6-foot-3 Gavin Bassett and 5-foot-10 Brock Wheatley (a transfer from Christopher) to plea their cases for starting slots.
There are a couple upperclassmen holdovers that are looking for a chance to shine.
Jason Cook is a 6-foot senior who – like Reaves – was awarded some time on the varsity pine.
Several other kids will be all right if they can get some varsity minutes.
Five-foot-ten senior Daniel Kash; 5-foot-11 junior Deven Lamke, 6-foot junior Derek Ford, 5-foot-9 Brock Kabat, 5-foot-10 Jon Stanhouse and 5-foot—11 Jack Kibler should all get into action this winter as Coach Denault will try and get the right combination on the floor.
“We will be very inexperienced and with one of the toughest non-conference schedules of any 1A school, we are hoping for steady improvement,” said Coach Denault, a Trico graduate who enters his fifth season leading the Spartans.
“Hopefully we will be prepared to compete in the post-season.”
OUTLOOK – The past three seasons at Waltonville gave fans a lot of thrills. But losing eight seniors that hogged most of the playing time last season has left a huge void. For the first time since he took over the program Coach Denault won’t have much size to work with. This team will have to use quickness and hard-nosed play to earn victories in 2007-08. They open the season at the Du Quoin Tip-Off Classic where some larger and talented programs will be waiting. They are a solid choice for third in this conference and should finish above .500.
4. WEBBER TOWNSHIP
A new coach will now lead a program that won just four games in 2006-07.
Sam Root takes the reigns of a team that will need to work very hard for victories this winter.
Root was formally the head girl’s coach at Charleston and helped out the Windsor boys program during college.
But this is his first boy’s gig where he is in control.
Needless to say he will have his work cut out for him.
Webber Township (4-21 in 2006-07) lost five seniors to graduation and its two top offensive threats.
Nick Skorch was the club’s top marksman – leading WT with 11.7 p.p.g.
Jarred Lowery and Josh Scott averaged 8.1 and 7.2 points a night.
All three will have to be replaced.
The best news is that Coach Root has some experience back – namely a pair of starting backcourt players: Cody Snow and John Kiel.
Snow is a 5-foot-11 senior who netted 8.4 points a game as a junior.
The 6-foot Kiel is a junior guard that put 5.4 points on the board per outing.
Both of these kids have potential and experience in the backcourt – even during a losing season – is considered a plus in the rebuilding mission.
Andrew Martin – a 5-foot-9 junior guard – will push for some minutes. If Coach Root goes small in his lineup – all three of these players will be in the starting lineup.
Martin played in 21 games last season while Snow and Kiel were on the court during all 25 Trojan games last season.
So experience won’t be a question mark for Webber Township – at least at the guard possessions.
A sophomore in the mix will be 5-foot-11 Bryan Johnson along with 6-foot junior Paul Beal.
Although they played in some games last season neither did much scoring.
Coach Root also lists 6-foot-1 junior Zack Kiel as a potential starter and two seniors – Brandon Brookman and Shane Austin – will be somewhere in the battle for playing time.
Cody Rankin and Keith Catron could end up on the varsity floor as well.
Add two freshmen to the list of potential Trojans – 5-foot-8 Ethan Gowler and 5-foot-8 Phillip Badendieck.
“We enter the season with two returning starters who need to be the backbone of our team both mentally and physically,” said Coach Root, an Edwards County grad who was an all-sport letterwinner. “We have worked hard in the off season and pre-season to improve our conditioning and shooting range. When beneficial our goal is to force our opponents play an up-tempo game. Defensively we will not be flashy but fundamentally sound.”
OUTLOOK – From first appearances it looks like Coach Root has found a home and Webber Township has a coach that will hang around for a while to try and rebuild this program. Root will have some good athletes to try and mold into a winner. But don’t expect it to happen overnight. The backcourt looks to be good but a lack of size is going to hurt the overall performance. Single digit wins with an eye at future success is the projection here.
5. WAYNE CITY
It will be very strange to walk into the Wayne City High School Gym and not see Coach Steve Strickland on the Indians’ bench.
Strickland stepped away from the coaching part of his duties there after a solid coaching career in multiple sports that spanned four decades.
Taking over for Strickland is Russ Gerlach who previously was an assistant boy’s basketball coach at Flora and also Marissa-Coulterville before taking the Wayne City spot.
Coach Gerlach – like Webber Township new coach Sam Root – is also an Edwards County alum having graduated in 1993.
The Indians struggled last season going 9-21 while finishing dead last in the MSC at 1-10.
Two of the holdovers from last season are back after spending most of the year as starters.
Kory Blank – a 5-foot-10 senior – was one of the top playmakers on the hardwood for WC.
Six-foot senior Travis Deitz also saw lots of action.
Those two will carry most of the scoring load for Coach Gerlach.
Five-foot-ten senior Michael Taylor – who hasn’t played the past two seasons – comes back to the fold for his last year as a prep.
One junior – 5-foot-11 Gare Green – and four sophomore’s (5-foot-7 Jayce Smith, 5-foot-10 Trevor Shreve, 5-foot-11 Cody Thomason and 6-foot Tyler Porter) will all get a shot at contributing from the first week of the season on.
“I feel we have a pretty good group of core players,” said Coach Gerlach. “Unfortunately we won't be very tall. This group of kids is a hard-working bunch that picked up the system very quickly. We are looking forward to starting the season.”
OUTLOOK – The Wayne City Indians' program – although not a juggernaut over the years – has held its head high. Through the good seasons and bad this school and system has delivered a quality product to its fans. Hosting one of the longest running small school holiday tournaments each season is a highlight to many in the western part of Wayne County. As for this season – they will battle their rivals from Webber Township to see who finish in fourth place in the final go-round in the Mid-South Conference.