Collinsville... there a name from the past, one of the most storied HS basketball programs in the entire nation. The great Virgil Fletcher was the coach there for decades
Are there any other programs in the state who dominated Illinois High School basketball for a decade or more other than Collinsville, Paris, and Centralia? Some have had runs with a particular class or group, but to do it for a decade requires building a great program, tremendous pride, and genius coaching. No question Virgil Fletcher and Ernie Eveland did just that at Collinsville and Paris, but Centralia did it with a bunch of orphans and several coaches. Of course, Collinsville and Centralia generally played in the same regional every year and had to battle each other while Paris did it with a bunch small town kids and farm boys with which Eveland simply worked magic in a small prairie town less than half the size of the other two. Both Collinsville and Paris produced two state champs in less than a decade. Paris also blew and 8 pt. fourth quarter lead as Dike Eddleman and Centralia burst their bubble in 42 before Paris won in 43 and 47. I vividly remember watching the 63 title game in the first tournament played at the Assembly Hall when a team of Orphans everyone thought was unbeatable got "Smedlied"at the buzzer. Then, in 65, I was there again as Fletcher's Kahok's methodically pressed their way to one of the most efficient team performances in history. I was not born when Paris won their second title in 47, but was in my Mom's womb getting ready to be born a couple of months later. I do remember watching a handful of guys from those days play in a local league when I was in grade school, and they all seemed to play like Bob Cousy or Bill Russel.
But since then, though there have been many great teams that had runs of three of four years, I am not aware of any that have been considered a competitor for a state title...and won a couple or more...every year for a decade.. Lawrenceville, a rival that Paris played every year, had great success during two periods, the second being at Class 2 after the split, But those successes were more predicated on a particular group and did not approach a decade IIRC. The Shidler boys and Mary Simmons were the pillars of their success and they also had an excellent coach.
Fill me in if can.