1970s All-Decade Team: Illinois High School Basketball Legends

1970s All-Decade Team

The 1970s produced an extraordinary collection of Illinois high school basketball talent that shaped college and professional basketball. Here is the complete All-Decade Team:

Quinn Buckner — Dolton Thornridge (1971-72)

College: Indiana | Position: 6'3" Guard

Back-to-back state championships in 1971 and '72 (58 straight wins). Many high school followers consider Thornridge the greatest team in Illinois high school basketball history. 2x All-State (also All-State in football), Parade HS All-American, Mr. Basketball USA in '72. One of only 3 players to win NCAA Championship, Olympic Gold, and NBA Championship. 1,195 points at Indiana (10.4 average), All-Big Ten, All-America. '75-'76 Indiana team was undefeated and won NCAA title with record 108-12. 1st round draft pick. 10-year NBA career, 4x All-Defensive Team, 8.2 career points average, 4.3 assists average. College HOF.

Lloyd Batts — Harvey Thornton (1969-70)

College: Cincinnati | Position: 6'4" Guard

2x All-State, Scholastic HS All-American. 1,600 career points with 29-point average as junior and 35-point average senior year. Scored 885 points his senior year with 50 points in one game. Thornton record was 71-15 during his three years. 1,585 points in career for the Bearcats (20 point average). Played one year in the ABA for the Virginia Squires (10.4-point average).

Terry Cummings — Chicago Carver (1979)

College: DePaul | Position: 6'9" Center

2x All-State, HS All-American. Considered one of the best high school players from the city. 2x All-American at DePaul with 1,398 points and 855 rebounds. '79-'80 Demons were 26-2 and ranked #1 in the nation; '80-'81 team was 27-2 and #1; '81-'82 team was 26-2 and finished #2. Cummings averaged 22.3 points and 11.9 rebounds. 2nd pick in '82 draft by Clippers. 18 years in the NBA with 16.4 point career average and 7.3 rebounds.

Eddie Johnson — Chicago Westinghouse

College: Illinois | Position: 6'7" Forward

All-State, McDonald's All-American. Scored 1,692 points in career at Illinois (14.0 average), All-Big Ten. '80-'81 team was 21-8 and lost in Regionals to Kansas State. 2nd round draft pick by Kansas City Kings. 17-year NBA career with 19,202 points (15.0 point average).

CJ Kupec — Oak Lawn (1971)

College: Michigan | Position: 6'9" Center

All-State, McDonalds All-American. MVP of '71 state tournament even though his team lost by 2 points in the finals to Thornridge. 2,377 points in high school career (23.2 average as senior). Scored 967 points as Wolverine (12.7 average, 8.0 rebounds average for career). All-Academic All-American in football and basketball at Michigan. 4th round draft pick in '75 by the Lakers.

Jack Sikma — St. Anne (1973)

College: Illinois Wesleyan | Position: 6'10" Center

All-State. Sikma played guard his first 3 years in high school (he was 6'1"), then grew to become a center. 4th place in state tournament in '73 (30-3), averaged 23.4 points a game as senior with 11.3 rebounds per game. 3x NAIA All-American with 2,272 points and 1,405 rebounds in career—still records at Wesleyan. 1st round draft pick of Sonics in '77. '79 Sonics won the NBA title. 7x All-Star, All-Defensive team '80-'81. 14-year NBA career with 17,287 points and 10,816 rebounds. One of top 50 NBA players of all time. Hall of Fame.

Jay Shidler — Lawrenceville (1975-76)

College: Kentucky | Position: 6'1" Guard

2x All-State, Parade All-American. 2,183 points in high school career with 1,013 in his senior season (32.6 average). '74 state champions. Lawrenceville was 103-15 in Shidler's career. Scored 193 points in 6 games of state tournament. Considered one of the best shooters in Illinois high school basketball history. Scored 703 points at Kentucky. Wildcats won the NCAA Tournament in 1978.

Mark Aguirre — Chicago Westinghouse

College: DePaul | Position: 6'5" Forward

2x All-State, McDonalds All-American, Mr. Basketball USA. Westinghouse won the City Championship and went to Elite-8 in '78. Westinghouse was 54-7 his junior and senior years. Aguirre scored 2,182 points in his career (24.5 average) and grabbed 706 rebounds at DePaul. 2x All-American, '79-'80 POY. '79 DePaul lost in the NCAA Semi-Finals to Indiana State and beat Penn for 3rd place. 1st draft pick in the '81 draft by the Mavericks. 3x All-Star, 2x NBA Champion ('89 and '90 with the Pistons). 13 years in the NBA with 18,458 career points (20.8 average). Naismith College Hall of Fame.

Isiah 'Zeke' Thomas — Westchester St. Joseph (1978-79)

College: Indiana | Position: 6'2" Guard

2x All-State, McDonald's HS All-American. Runner-up in the state championship in '78. High school team was 57-5 his junior and senior years. Averaged 27 points, 7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 3.6 steals his senior year. Indiana won the Big-Ten in '80 and '81, NCAA Championship in '81 (Thomas was MVP of tournament). 1980 Olympics. #1 draft pick of the Pistons in '81. 18,882 points and 9,061 assists in 13-year NBA career. 12x All-Star, 5x All-NBA, 2x NBA Champion. Top 50 players of all time. Hall of Fame.

Glenn 'Doc' Rivers — Maywood Proviso East (1978-80)

College: Marquette | Position: 6'4" Guard

3x All-State, McDonald's All-American, Mr. Basketball USA. High school team was 99-13 his 4 years at Proviso. Broke his uncle's all-time scoring record (All-Stater Jim Brewer). Played 3 years at Marquette where he scored 1,234 points and dished out 409 assists. 2nd round draft pick of the Hawks. 13 years in the NBA—one All-Star team, averaged 10.9 points and 5.7 assists. Rivers has coached in the NBA for 27 years and won one NBA Championship. Top 15 coaches in the NBA. Hall of Fame as coach.

Mike Duff — Eldorado (1977)

College: Evansville | Position: 6'7" F/C

2x All-State, Street & Smith HS All-American. Began high school at Shawneetown, then moved to Eldorado. 2,558 points in 4-year career (25.8 average). Scored 1,088 points in '77 (32.3-point average) and 515 rebounds in season, with 47 points in a game. Eldorado finished 3rd in state in Class A in '77 and 4th in '75. Overall high school record was 101-21. Duff signed at Evansville University but tragically died in a plane crash in 1977 that killed 14 players and their coach.

Kevin Stallings — Collinsville (1977-78)

College: Purdue | Position: 6'5" Guard

2x All-State. Holds career assists record at Collinsville (665) and 284 assists in one season (14th all-time). Kahoks were 58-4 his junior and senior seasons, finished 3rd in state tournament in '78. Played one year at Belleville JC where he made NJCAA All-Tournament. Played 3 years at Purdue with 333 points and 189 assists. Stallings has coached 25 years at the D1 level (479-324 record).

Glen Greunwald — Franklin Park East Leyden (1975-76)

College: Indiana | Position: Guard

2x All-State, Parade HS All-American. Scored 2,200 points in career (21.0 average as sophomore, 23 average as junior, 27 average as senior). Only high school player to be selected 4x All-Area by the Chicago Daily News. Teams were 53-2 his last 2 years and ranked #1 in the state. Played 4 years at Indiana but lettered 5 due to an injury. '80-'81 Hoosier team won the NCAA Championship. Drafted by the Celtics. Served as GM for the Raptors and the Knicks.