You Spoke, I Listened

Thanks to many of you for sending me these names and information on the Illinois high school basketball greats of the past. Some of these players — like Bo Ellis, Bob Kivisto, Richie Falk, and Bryan Williams — were on my prospect list when I was picking my All-Decade teams. Obviously, they did not make the cut, but thanks to you they are going to be recognized.

Here are some of the players that you have submitted to me, in the order they played.

The Early Years — 1920s & 1930s

Two "old timers" whose names were sent to me, going all the way back to the earliest days of Illinois high school basketball.

Ed "Moose" Krause — Chicago DeLaSalle (1920s)

An All-State player and All-Catholic League selection in Chicago. Went on to become a 3x All-American at Notre Dame and served as the Athletic Director there from 1949 to 1981.

Bill Guernig — Chicago Crane Tech (1930s)

The leading scorer at Crane all three years he was there. Went on to become an AAU icon, making the AAU All-Tournament team 10 straight years.

1960s

Bryan Williams — Danville Schlarman

All-State, High School All-American. Averaged 26.8 points a game as a senior and scored 56 points in a single game. Went on to Xavier, where he averaged 19 points a game as a senior.

Billy Harris — Chicago Dunbar

All-State. Averaged 33 points a game as a senior. Scored 1,331 career points at Northern Illinois — still third on the Huskies' all-time scoring list.

Ron "Moose" Stallings — Ridgway

2x All-State. Scored 2,643 career points and averaged 37 points a game as a senior. His Ridgway teams went 94-10 during his career.

Bob Kivisto — East Aurora

2x All-State. Scored 2,052 career points. As a senior he put up 796 points, 298 rebounds, 309 assists, and 271 steals. Went on to be the starting point guard for the Kansas team that reached the 1974 Final Four.

Richie Falk — Galva

All-State. Scored 1,800 career points, including 833 in his senior year — a season in which he scored over 50 points in a game five separate times. Went on to score over 1,000 points at Northwestern.

Steve Kuberski — Moline

All-State. Scored 749 points his senior season. Signed with Illinois before transferring to Bradley, where he averaged 23 points a game his junior year. Drafted by the Boston Celtics and played 11 years in the NBA.

Tommy Gardner — Toluca

2x All-State. Scored 2,100 career points. His Toluca teams went a remarkable 108-12 during his career.

Greg Davis — Danville Schlarman

2x All-State. Scored 2,000 career points, averaging 25 points and 15 rebounds a game his senior season. His Schlarman teams went 82-6.

1970s

Bo Ellis — Chicago Parker

2x All-State. Averaged 28 points and 18 rebounds a game as a senior. Went on to play a major role in Marquette's 1977 NCAA Championship.

Ricky Green — Chicago Hirsch

All-State. His team won the Class AA State Tournament in 1973. Played at Vincennes before Michigan, where he was 2x All-Big Ten and an All-American. A first-round draft pick by the Utah Jazz.

1980s

TJ Wheeler — Christopher

3x All-State. Scored 2,528 career points and averaged 32.7 points a game as a senior, including three games of over 50 points. Went on to play at the University of Illinois, where he scored 883 points.

Coaches

Finally, I had two coaches submitted that I want to recognize.

Ed Butkavich — Mt. Pulaski

Coached at Mt. Pulaski for 32 years and finished with a career record of 558-312. In the 1970s his teams went 189-82, winning the state tournament in 1976 and finishing 4th in 1977.

Gil Love — Ottawa

Coached at Ottawa for 17 years and finished 327-143. In the 1950s his teams went 218-81, including a 3rd-place finish at state in 1957.

Keep the names coming. Send me a name, school, decade, and why they belong — players or coaches — and I'll keep recognizing the people who made Illinois high school basketball what it is.