It's WAND's "All-Time 5"! Which local high school has the best all-time, all-star lineup of basketball players from any era, together on one court in a tournament of 33 teams? Tune in every Wednesday at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. through March 18 as Gordon Voit announces a new group of seeds in the bracket!
53 pages. 12,000 words (and counting). Countless conversations, messages, box scores, All-State lists and school records. Now that Gordon Voit's research packet has been compiled, we begin the fun. (Quick reminder: It's not who was the best player in high school, or who had the best stats. It's which player [evaluated at his peak] would help the team stay competitive against the Lanphiers and Lincolns of the tournament, who have All-Americans up and down the lineup.)
NUMBER 17: TAYLORVILLE TORNADOES
(5) Taylorville vs. (4) TBA
PG - Bill Ridley (Illinois) 5-9, 3rd Team AA, All-Big Ten, 2nd points THS; Class of 1952
G – Ron Bontemps (Beloit) 6-2; Team USA Gold Medal in 1952 (Helsinki), Co-Captain of 45-0 1945 team; First-Team All-State; First Team All-State Tournament Team; 4th in state in scoring (613 points), THS HOF, 57 points in a game at Beloit; 1,744 points at Beloit; “National Outstanding Amateur Basketball Player in 1954; Class of 1944
G – Johnny Orr (Illinois, Beloit, NBA) Coaching legend (Iowa State, Michigan) who was a superstar himself and a 2nd round pick of the Lakers in 1948; Co-captain of 1944 state championship team
G – Jase Bergschneider (Current, Elmhurst) 6-0; 1st points THS (broke this year); Most wins since 1951-52 (28) last year; 18-5-4 junior year, amped it up this year, broke single game scoring record (51 pts vs. Mattoon)
C - Jens Kujawa 7-0 (Illinois) 5-5 rpg best year with Illinois; 17-11 rpg THS: German Olympic Team 1992 with Blab and Schrempf; Taylorville Class of 1984
Bench
G - Mark Stephenson (Southern Illinois), 2nd points 1,261 THS: Class of 1969
G – Michael Beck (Stonington HS!) 2,177 points is 81st in IHSA history; Did not attend Taylorville but gets special mention for outstanding achievements as a part of the modern-day Taylorville district; Class of 1982
G - Jaris Wommack (Baker) 6-1, 3rd points 1,431 THS, 1,462 at JuCo + Baker; First Team All-CS8 2006 + 2007; Class of 2007
Larry Friedrich (Eastern Illinois) 23.7 points per game at EIU, regional title at THS, THS HOF; Class of 1957
G - Ron Viskozki (Centenary), 953 points, had 31 points in a game against Texas A&M; Class of 1953
Photographer: Harold “Slick” Parrish, 1944 + 1945 player (state championship) who is a HOFer for his role shooting photos of the Tornadoes
Zach Beaty , First Team All-CS8 2001 + 2002, 2002 regional champions
F – Rick Bonn, 6-4, 16-12 best year THS, THS HOF, 1,078 points, Unanimous First Team All-Mid-State Conference in 1974; Class of 1974
F – Bob Parker (Missouri, Memphis football) 6-2, 237 lbs Drafted 5R by Lions in 1970
Adam Stork (Aurora) 18 ppg best season THS, 23rd points 834; 1st Team All-CS8 1995
G – Jordan Moats (Millikin) 6-0, 1,000 points Top 10; Class of 2018
G – Tanner Champley (St. Ambrose football) 6-1, defense, athletic; Class of 2015
G – Joe Champley (Aurora) 16 ppg senior year; Standout career at Belleville JuCo; Class of 1985
G – Kyle Werve (Aurora) 903 points 13th, 14-5-2 at Aurora; 2nd Team All-CS8 1994
G – Kenny Melvin (Arkansas State) 1940s superstar who was drafted into U.S. Coast Guard, which interrupted his career
Bo Lykins (Campbellsville) 1st Team All-CS8 1996, THS HOF; Class of 196
F - Luke Hennings, 6-4, 1st Team All-CS8 1999
F - Josh Beyers, 6-4, 1st Team All-CS8 2008
C – Eric Dust (UMSL) 6-8, 11-5 rpg best season; Class of 2015
Ryan Beeler (Southern Illinois football) THS HOFer who starred in football, HM All-CS8 2003; THS MVP of team that won the second regional since 1984
PG - Schultte Bishop, Starting PG on 45-0 1944 state championship team; Defensive ace; 2nd Team All-State Tournament, HM All-State; Class of 1944
Gordon Brown, Captain of 20-10 1940 team that made school’s first-ever Sweet 16; 548 in three years of basketball; Class of 1940
F - Phil Clark (Missouri football) HM All-State, 18 ppg senior year, 1,065 points, Team MVP; Class of 1963
G - Ken Deck, three-sport star and THS HOF, pass-first point guard who averaged 5.5 assists and played stifling defense; Class of 1966
Steve Dilley, THS HOF, First Team All-Apollo 1987
G - Matthew Hixenbaugh (WashU) Long-distance specialist who scored 998 points in his THS career; THS HOF
G - John Jones (Eureka) THS HOF, back-to-back winning seasons 1962 + 1963
G - Johnny Jones (Centenary recruited, WWII instead) Track star; THS HOF; Class of 1940
James Lancaster (Aurora) 692 points in early 1980s; THS HOF; Class of 1982
Chuck Martin, First Team All-Area, THS HOF; Class of 1970
Barney Melvin, 1940s star, THS HOF
Bruce Meriwether (Dubuque) 804 career points, three-year letterwinner at Dubuque; Class of 1956
Jerry Parker (Tulsa) THS HOF; Class of 1959
Terry Passoni (Illinois Wesleyan) 833 points, THS HOF; Class of 1966
Steve Schmedeke; 1,000 points, THS HOF; Class of 1976
Dick Secrest, THS HOF, Sweet 16 team; Class of 1959
Kyle Werve (Aurora) THS HOF; 1,182 points at Aurora; Class of 1994
G - Garry Whitlow (Beloit) 5-9, 19 ppg at Beloit; Class of 1954
F - Bennie Wilhelm (Arkansas State) 6-2, 1930s/40s superstar; THS HOF and Arkansas State HOF
George Zigman (Illinois State) Sweet 16 team, THS HOF; Class of 1950
(Did we miss a player? Email gordon.voit@wandtv.com so we can update the roster! Thanks for your help in making this special project complete. If you submit a name for consideration, please remember to include height, position, graduation year, college destination as well as a list of accolades. Please also remember that this is a fun hypothetical basketball project.)
Overview: History. The Tornadoes are dripping with it. The 1944 team (state record 45-0) could be a movie. From 1950s Olympic captain Ron Bontemps to 1980s German exchange student Jens Kujawa this roster has so many fun twists and turns through history. Coaching bonus: having legends like Orr (Michigan, Iowa State), Brian James (NBA, Northwestern) and Dolph Stanley run the show is a major boost. Stanley essentially ran Beloit College like a second Big Ten program in the state of Wisconsin. He even beat DePaul at Chicago Stadium. James maintains ties with his hometown to this day as he serves on staff at Northwestern.
Upside of roster: An Olympic captain, a Big Ten All-American, a 2nd round NBA draft pick, a 2020 career record sweeper and a 7-foot German national team center. That's one special group. Four talented guards in the starting lineup who have a ton of support coming off the bench as well.
Downside of roster: Other than Kujawa this roster will struggle to defend other teams in the post, many of whom have 6-7+ at each frontcourt spot. As great as the guards are, this is a serious concern. However, with coaches Stanley, James and Orr on the chalkboard you can bet on them minimizing any deficiencies with strategy.
Highlights of bench: Mark Stephenson is a sixth starter. Ignore the fact he's on the "bench". He was elite in high school (1,261 before the 3-point line) and played at Southern Illinois. Enough said. Starter. Jaris Wommack was also in my starting lineup until I had to move him to make room for the legends. Michael Beck is a name I explained earlier above -- an honorary member of the Taylorville district even though he played for Stonington. Eric Dust might not have the most accolades but his 6-8 size could come in handy off the bench given that size is a weakness of this roster.
Best season: 1944. Movie-caliber. No team will ever match the 45-0 record because there are now game limits. The Tornadoes also made State in 1940, 1950, 1952 and 1956. The last regional title was 2013 (3A, four-class system) and the last sectional title was 1959.
Enrollment: 769 (2020)
GOAT: Do I have to pick? Bontemps is the Olympic captain and was named "National Outstanding Amateur Basketball Player" (nationally!) in 1954. That's hard to top. Orr's impact on the game is arguably bigger given his coaching legacy. Ridley was arguably the most decorated college player (All-Big Ten, Third Team All-America). Pick from that triumvirate. And yet none is the scoring record holder, nor a 7-footer. That's what makes this team so fun.
Music: 1940s swing. Taking it back to the 1944 days when the Tornadoes were unquestionably one of the country's finest teams.
Controversial decision: One of the most consistent critiques of my proposed roster was that Kujawa 1) only was at THS for a short time and 2) played his best basketball after leaving THS. My response: For the purposes of this project we are evaluating each player based on his peak, so in this case Kujawa is the Illini center who went on to play on the German Olympic team in 1992 with Detlef Schrempf and fellow Central Illinoisan Uwe Blab (Effingham). Plus, if you are suddenly faced with defending Keon Clark or Brian Cook you need to have adequate size. Kujawa is a must-start.
Bonus: Shout-out to Bob Parker. He played basketball at Taylorville but his claim to fame is he was a fifth round pick to the Detroit Lions in 1970. He played football at Missouri and Memphis and was 6-foot-2, 237 pounds which was substantial in that era.
ALL-TIME 5 OVERVIEW
WHAT: A competition to see who has the best all-time all-star squad of any high school basketball program in the 217 area code.
WHEN: February 5 - March 18 (Phase 1)
March 18 until the NCAA Final Four in April (Phase 2)
HOW: Gordon Voit will release four more teams every single Wednesday night, two during the 6 p.m. show and two during the 10 p.m. show. This is Phase 1. Phase 2 consists of a bracket challenge pitting the teams against each other in a simulated tournament.
RELEASING THE TEAMS
February 5: The 8 seeds
No. 33: Mt. Pulaski (Play-in game)
No. 32: Okaw Valley (Bethany-Findlay) (Play-in game)
February 12: The 7 seeds
February 19: The 6 seeds
February 26: The 5 seeds
No. 17: Taylorville
March 4: The 4 seeds
No. 16: TBA (6 p.m. show)
No. 15: TBA (6 p.m. show)
No. 14: TBA (10 p.m. show)
No. 13: TBA (10 p.m. show)
