The Decade of the 1980's

This is the fourth post in a series of seven that I am writing about the great Illinois high school basketball programs and their coaches. The basketball programs of central and southern Illinois were not ready to concede the power or influence of high school basketball to the north or Chicago just yet. The 80's had powerhouse East St. Louis Lincoln in Class AA and Lawrenceville continued their Class A dominance. The 80's did not have the number of great players like Isiah Thomas, Quinn Buckner, Jack Sikma, Glenn Rivers, Terry Cummings that had played in the 70's, but had Nick Anderson, Bruce Douglas, and Stephen Bardo who went on to make a name for themselves.

East St. Louis Lincoln led the way in Illinois high school basketball in the 80's with FOUR state championships. They are one of the very few programs that have a "3-peat". The Tigers took home the 1st place trophy in '82, '87, '88, and '89. Lincoln was 246-39 in the decade. Coach Bennie Lewis won 519 games while losing only 191 in his 27-years at the helm. Peoria Manual was just getting "warmed-up" for what was to come in the 90's. Manual was 229-74 with two 3rd place trophies in the decade. Dick Van Scyoc coached at Manual for 26 years and ended his career with 501 wins and a state championship in '94. Chicago Simeon was at the genesis of what would be an extraordinary four decades of fabulous basketball for the Wolverines. They won 232 games including a state championship in '84 and lost only 25 in the decade. Quincy, the perennial basketball power in Illinois, won state in '81, finished 3rd in '82 and was 2nd in '87. The Blue Devils were 225-54 in the decade. Springfield Lanphier was the Illinois State Champion in '83 and finished 2nd in '85. Rock Island, coached by Duncan Reid, had two 4th place finishes '88 and '89 during the 80's. Lincoln had a 4th place finish in the state tournament and was 225-57. The Loren Wallace coached Railsplitters were 271-68.

Class A was dominated again by Lawrenceville who won state titles in '82 and '83. McLeansboro, coached by David Lee, compiled a 212-79 record with a state championship and an undefeated team in '84 after finishing 3rd in '83. The Class A school from Chicago that was getting all the attention was Providence St. Mel. They were 226-44 with a '85 state championship and a 3rd place trophy in '84. Pinckneyville with their rich tradition finished 2nd in '88 and coached by HOF coach Dick Corn was 231-76 in the decade.

East St. Louis Lincoln, State Champions in '82, '87, '88, and '89.

Cuonzo Martin, 2x All-State, Played at Purdue (Picture of Martin playing against Indiana All-American Calbert Cheaney)