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.
NUMBER 21: UNITY ROCKETS
(6) Unity vs. (3) TBA
PG – Sam Leeper (Illinois) 6-0, 1 letter 1962, 1,217 points UHS (broken by Cardinal); track star as well; Class of 1958
SF - Tyler Smith (Illinois Wesleyan) 6-5, 2003 Area POY, First Team All-State (two-class system), Led 2002 state tournament in scoring with 80 points; 8 rpg reg season; Class of 2003
SF – Fred Budinger (Air Force) 6-4, 15-5 best year Air Force, double figures all three years; Class of 1963
PF - Aaron Larson (Olivet Nazarene) 6-8, 2x All-State, All Area, 1,000 points UHS; 23-9 senior year at ONU; Class of 2012
C – Brian Cardinal (Purdue, NBA) 6-8, 12 years NBA, 2nd Team All-Big 10, 24-12 senior UHS, Elite 8 with Purdue, 1,584 points Purdue (18th), 2nd round pick NBA, 1995 Area POY
Bench
PF – Robert Riegel (Illinois) 6-5, Captain of 1936-37 Illini
G - Greg Reinhardt (Parkland) 4-year starter, 1,771 points, 634 rebounds, led Rockets to first regional and sectional title in 1981-82
PG – Zebo Zebe (Illinois track), 5-10. 1,312 points, HM All-State 1A/2A; Class of 2010
SF – Zach Trimble; 6-3, 17.6 ppg senior; Class of 1997
SG – JT Wheeler (Olney CC) 6-3, HM All-State 1A/2A; Class of 2018
G – Rocky Ryan (Illinois, NFL) 6-1 2nd round pick to Eagles 1954
G - Cole Voigt (Truman State football) 6-2, 225 lbs, 25-8 State 2002; Class of 2002
G – Bradley Siuts (Parkland) 6-2, 500+ in a year
G – Kyler McFall, 5-10, First Team All-Area 2010
Overview: This is arguably the most unusual roster in the field. And it's one of the most fun. Four forwards and one point guard (Illinois' Sam Leeper) to run the show. I'm a firm believer that the best players should be on the court, regardless of position. The Rockets are for real and will make any No. 3 seed it faces cringe.
Upside of roster: Two words: The Janitor. Brian Cardinal and his $39.4 million in career NBA earnings speak for themselves. He's a killer. The ultimate team player. The son of one of Illinois' most beloved figures, former trainer Rod Cardinal. Only two people in this tournament have an NBA Championship ring to my knowledge, and the other is Andre Iguodala (Lanphier). But this roster is ranked so high because of its depth too. Fred Budinger is a name the casual fan will not know, but he's among the standout players in Air Force history and averaged 15 points, 5 rebounds per game in his senior season at the Division-I level. Great pairing for Cardinal. But it doesn't stop there: 6-8 two-time All-Stater Aaron Larson (Olivet Nazarene) is representing the Class of 2012 and 6-foot-5 star Tyler Smith (Illinois Wesleyan) led the 2003 Class A State Tournament in scoring with 80 points to go with his First Team All-State honors. That's one big, versatile bunch to throw at another team.
Downside of roster: Guard play. Maybe my four-forward experiment will backfire. Who cares -- it's fun! This is fun. Remember that. You might argue that Reinhardt, Zebe, Trimble, Wheeler, Ryan, Voigt or Siuts deserves to start so that there's another guard to help Leeper out. But this is essentially the only team ranked this high without multiple star Division-I guards. Then again, Smith, Budinger, Larson and Cardinal will be unselfish passers from the forward position.
Highlights of bench: I just mentioned the guard rotation in the blurb above -- there are a number of highly accomplished players to choose from, The forwards have a number of interesting names as well, like 6-5 Robert Riegel who was the captain of the 1936-37 Fighting Illini.
Best season: The 2002 team is legendary, with a fourth place finish in the old two-class system. Names like Tyler Smith (Illinois Wesleyan) and Cole Voigt (Truman State football). The Rockets lost
Enrollment: 550 (2020), 445 (2002)
GOAT: Brian Cardinal. NBA ring. 12 seasons. 40 big stacks. Dirk's cell number. End of discussion.
Music: Astronomical exploration. Come blast off with the Rockets!
Controversial decision: As discussed above, the four-forward lineup is not something you'll see Coach K roll out, but hey, let's have some fun. Those are the four best players in school history. You have to figure out what strengths to leverage and what weaknesses to exploit in this tournament, which is an honest-to-goodness arms race. Plus they're good enough to figure it out. Each of the four was a versatile, unselfish player. As for Leeper (only one season with Illini) you could argue that Reinhardt's (Parkland) 1,700 points or Zebe's (Illinois track) clutchness and speed makes them more attractive candidates. I would certainly hear both arguments. They'll get big minutes off the bench regardless.
Bonus: 6-foot-1 guard Rocky Ryan was a second-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1954 after a football career with the Fighting Illini.
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:Â 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
No. 21: Unity
February 26: The 5 seeds
No. 20: TBA
No. 19: TBA
No. 18: TBA
No. 17: TBA
