No holiday tournaments happened this past week like they normally would because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But area coaches, administrators and fans weigh in with some of their favorite holiday tournament memories to cap this two-part series:
Dave Beery
Monticello girls’ basketball coach
I would say my favorite memory of the Monticello Holiday Hoopla is getting to play in the championship game in three of the last four tournaments. We were fortunate enough to win in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, we played Ridgeview, who came into the game 17-0 and ranked in the top three in the state in Class 1A. We knew they were really good, and Coach Ghere and Coach Jones always have them playing at a high level.
We got behind 10-4 in the first quarter and I was thinking, ‘Oh no, we can’t let them get away from us this early in the game,’ but our girls calmed down and somehow we went on a 27-4 run and we ended up winning pretty handily 49-20. The next year we played Paxton-Buckley-Loda and it was fiercely contested game. They had a player get injured when we were up five, and that kind of turned the game and we were able to win 53-38 in a game that was closer than the final score. It was very rewarding to win back-to-back.
In 2019, in some ways, was equally rewarding to make it back to the championship game — again against Ridgeview. This time they returned the favor and blew open a close game in the fourth quarter to beat us 51-32. The games are a lot of fun, especially the games with Ridgeview and Tuscola as both schools are always very tough and very well-coached. It is so impressive how many passionate fans they bring to support their girls’ teams.
Justin Franzen
St. Joseph-Ogden athletic director
Our SJ-O girls’ basketball and boys’ basketball teams have both played in the State Farm Holiday Classic in Bloomington-Normal for the past few years, and it has been a lot of fun watching both teams compete.
In 2018, Maclayne Taylor hit a buzzer-beater to beat a tough Camp Point Central team by one in the quarterfinal game, which was an unbelievable moment. Another memory that stands out is the SJ-O boys team beating a tough Bloomington Central Catholic squad in a quarterfinal game at the Shirk Center, which was also fun to watch.
The State Farm Holiday Classic has always been a personal tournament favorite of mine. I have been lucky enough to have played and helped coached in this tournament in the past, and being able to watch both SJ-O boys’ and girls’ basketball teams compete in this same tournament now is special.
Ross Harden
Fisher girls’ basketball coach
My favorite holiday tournament memories are when my Grandpa and Grandma Harden used to take me to the holiday tournaments when I was a kid.
I remember they would pick me up and take me to the Monticello Holiday Hoopla or any surrounding tournament. We would sit and watch two or three games and then go get something to eat. Then we’d probably go back to the tournament the next day.
I remember when I was playing in high school, they would be at every game sitting in the same spot of the gym. We continued to go to tournaments after I graduated and I still enjoy going to the holiday tournaments with my grandpa Harden.
Larry and Sherry Johnson
East Lynn residents
We, like many others, have spent many holidays through the years attending basketball games.
The tournament with the most memories is the Rossville Holiday Tournament. We celebrated our first wedding anniversary in 1969 by going out to eat and then going to Rossville for the tournament.
Since our anniversary is Dec. 29, we spent all of our anniversaries at the Rossville Holiday Tournament until it was disbanded, 25-plus years ago. Some years were more exciting as Hoopeston won a few of them.
They were even more exciting — or nerve-wracking — when our son was playing. Fun memories of those times include many exciting close games, meeting friends who were frequently opponents on the court and cheering on a favored team.
It was always hot, crowded and the bleachers were hard and wobbly. The holiday tournaments were fun and exciting times.
Tim Kohlbecker
Tuscola girls’ basketball coach
The Monticello Holiday Hoopla always added a positive sense of craziness to the holidays.
If you poll our girls, they really look forward to Hoopla every year, especially as it is such a well-run event. Our girls and boys have played simultaneously every year, which results in such a variety of supporters — from former players, any and all relatives of players in town for the holidays, and so many other Tuscolians.
I look forward every year to competing against teams we normally don’t see. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to the excellent food in the hospitality room.
Undoubtedly, the top highlights have been winning the title twice since 2015 after a number of near misses (and some not-so-near misses).
For me, it’s also been a family affair. I have watched nephews and son-in-laws compete and coach, I’ve coached three nieces and coached a daughter. Being that it’s such a family affair, it has resulted in lasting memories and holiday conversations.
Mike Koon
Monticello resident and
Illinois women’s basketball
radio play-by-play announcer
For me, high school basketball has been an integral part of the holiday season for the past 40 years.
A native of Monticello, the Holiday Hoopla has been a staple for me for a quarter of a century. However, my love affair with holiday tournaments began with the 16-team Charleston Holiday Tournament where my hometown Sages were a regular.
From the age of nine, I listened to radio broadcasts of every game of the tournament from my basement while filling out large poster-sized brackets. From the time I could drive, I would attend every game of the 26-game event. For most years, Monticello was one of the little schools in a sea full of larger schools.
In 1986, however, the Sages defeated Paris, Robinson and Lawrenceville to advance to its only championship game before falling to Belleville Althoff by three points for the title.
Prior to my radio career, I would record myself doing play-by-play of Sages games onto a cassette recorder. I still have my “broadcast” of the four games of that tournament. I later published a detailed history of the exciting moments of the tournament during the 1980s that regularly included state tournament qualifiers, including three state champions in Lawrenceville twice and Teutopolis.
Jeff Scott
Champaign resident
My junior year at Bolivar Central High School, a small New York school much like most around here, we won a Christmas tournament. I played well in two intense games.
As they were calling out the all-tournament team and saving the MVP winner for last, a high school friend’s dad hollered down from the packed house, “Jeff Scott MVP,” and a second later, they called out my name. It was funny and satisfying in the same moment.
Kevin Thomas
Georgetown-Ridge Farm
principal and athletic director
I was born and raised in Rossville. The high school no longer exists, but the Rossville Holiday Tournament was a classic in its day. Some said it was one of the best in the state. The finest moments of the tournament were probably in the mid-to-late 1970s.
That was when it was the era of the big man, featuring household names such as Jeff Jacobs of Cissna Park, Scott Eells of Hoopeston and Scott Finet of Westville.
There were other great players such as St. Joseph-Ogden’s Tab Carmien, Lance Freeman and the Sjuts brothers. Oakwood had players such as Rick Gross and Monte Hazelbaker. Too many great players and teams to mention. I remember this tournament mainly because I was a young Bobcat fan that enjoyed basketball.
I would be sure to be the first in line for the tournament sessions. This meant I could sprint to the stage and grab a front row seat with my buddies so I could get an up-close look at my high school idols.
I have many memories of the Rossville-Alvin gym being packed full of spectators resulting in standing-room only crowds on championship night. I was fortunate to eventually play for the Bobcats in the early 1980s. It was probably the most important tournament to me, as I understood the history of the classic.
Mike Waters
Westville athletic director
I was fortunate to play at Tuscola in the late 1960s, and we played in the Paris Holiday Tournament in the legendary Ernie Eveland Gymnasium in Paris. This was before the Class A and AA distinction, so there were both schools of all sizes there.
This was at a time when high school basketball was an event and crowds were always big and loud. The band played in the upper level of the gym and the atmosphere was electric.
The tournament created lots of excitement with the pairing of schools that would not normally compete against each other. This was also in an era when cancellation of a holiday basketball tournament just wasn’t thought about.
I remember driving to the semifinal games and the snow was blowing so hard you couldn’t see the road and the side windows were so frozen up that you could hardly see outside. But the crowd was still big and the games went on. It was an exciting time for a high school basketball player then.
The Link LonkJanuary 02, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Holiday tournament memories, part II: 'The atmosphere was electric' - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette
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