IBCA All Star Games – June 10, 2023 – Pontiac High School

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce that our annual All-Star games will be held on Saturday, June 10th in the Pontiac Community High School Gym.  Admission is $5.  

1A-2A South Girls vs. 1A-2A North Girls 11 AM

1A-2A South Boys vs. 1A-2A North Boys 1 PM

3A-4A South Girls vs. 3A-4A North Girls 3PM

3A-4A South Boys vs. 3A-4A North Boys 5 PM

Girls - IBCA All Star Head Coaches
1A-2A South Maribeth Dura Canton
1A-2A North Eric Yerly Byron
3A-4A South Meechie Edwards Peoria
3A-4A North Cara Doyle St. Ignatius

On May 6, 2023 the IBCA hosted the annual Coach of the Year Luncheon.  Outstanding coaches from the 2022-2023 season were recognized for their excellent Junior High School, High School, and college seasons.  The 318 attendees enjoyed the stories of the season's accomplishments and were treated to comments from Brad Underwood, Head Men's Coach at the University of Illinois-Champaign.  The day continued with a social gathering on the CEFCU Arena Mezzanine.

We have concluded the fourth year of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Academic All- State Team Award. The lists below indicate the Top 3 in each Division for both girls’ and boys’ teams in the state of Illinois. To qualify, a school must have the entirety of its varsity basketball team roster meet the minimum standard of a cumulative, non-weighted 3.0 Grade Point Average, on a 4.0 scale, through the first semester of the current school year.

The award is a competition amongst schools within each of the seven (7) Illinois High School Association Legislative Districts. The basketball team with the highest G.P.A. in each Legislative District will be presented with a plaque at the State-Wide Coach’s Clinic in September. The second and third place teams will receive a certificate in the mail from the IBCA in recognition of the team accomplishment.

GIRLS TOP 3 (in order of finish):
DIV. 1: Chi. St. Ignatius; Chi. Resurrection
DIV. 2: Highland Park; Adlai Stevenson; Lake Zurich
DIV. 3: Herscher; Plainfield East; Braidwood-Reed Custer
DIV. 4: Port Byron Riverdale; Boylan Catholic; Morrison
DIV. 5: Cissna Park; Arcola; Newton
DIV. 6: Nokomis; Lewistown; Havana
DIV. 7: Nashville; DuQoin; Alton

BOYS TOP 3 (in order of finish):
DIV. 1: Chi. Walter Payton; Chi. St. Ignatius
DIV. 2: Belvidere North; Libertyville; Arl. Heights John Hersey
DIV. 3: Naperville North; Burbank St. Laurence; Lisle
DIV. 4: (Kewanee) Wethersfield
DIV. 5: Newton; Mt. Zion
DIV. 6: Quincy Notre Dame
DIV. 7: Columbia; Benton; Nashville

The following schools have met the minimum 3.0 GPA requirement but did not finish in the Top 3 of their Division:

GIRLS: Argo, Arlington Heights St. Viator, Bloomington CC, Carthage Illini West, Clifton Central, Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge, Elgin, Farmington, Geneseo, Grayslake Central, Heyworth, Kewanee Wethersfield, Limestone, Lombard Montini, Minonk Fieldcrest, Monmouth Roseville, (Niantic) Tri- City/Sangamon Valley, Pana, Regina Dominican, Richmond Burton, Stanford Olympia, Watseka

BOYS: Lake Villa (Lakes), Lombard Montini

On behalf of the IBCA, we extend a heart-felt congratulations to all the Academic All-State Award qualifying teams. Your efforts on the court, and more importantly in the classroom, are to be commended. We believe the Academic All-State Team Award is a proper recognition of the pursuits of educational success engrained in the schools and students of Illinois. We want all to know how much we value the efforts in the classroom above the efforts on the hardwood.

The IBCA will host its 51st Hall of Fame Induction on Saturday, May 6 at CEFCU Arena on the campus of Illinois State University.  The day will begin with a luncheon honoring the 2022-23 Coaches of the Year. These are the outstanding coaches from junior high school, high school, and college whose teams achieved at a high level under their leadership. For a list of the 2023 Coach of the Year Award winners please CLICK HERE.

The sites for the 2023 June Scholastic Events have been announced by the IHSA and IBCA. CLICK HERE to view the approved live events across the country.

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association is proud to announce our 2022-23 Coach of the Year Award Winners! Congratulations to everyone who earned an award this past season. Our IBCA Coach of the Year Award Luncheon is at Illinois State's Redbird Arena on Saturday, May 6th. We look forward to honoring everyone for their great accomplishments!

The following was sent by the IHSA regarding voting for the 2023 Mr. and Ms. Basketball of Illinois Awards:

To borrow from Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, "Oh, What a Night!" would be the best way to describe our "Museum Madness" Event held on Friday night, March 24. Close to 100 people attended Museum Madness at the Wintrust Sports Complex in Bedford Park.  Lou Malnati's donated the salad and pizza, to go along with the beverages that were provided.

The Basketball Museum of Illinois honored the Father of the IBCA, Chuck Rolinski, the 1952 Hebron State Championship Team and the 1963 Loyola National Championship Team with new historical wall displays. Phil and Paul Judson were the stars of the night and spoke to the audience about their experiences in winning the 1952 State Title. Dan Roan, IBCA Hall of Famer was our guest M.C. and shared stories covering the Chicago Bulls, his days at Illinois State University and his career with WCIA (Champaign) and WGN. Dan along with our guests were impressed with the Wintrust Sports Complex and the progress of our museum.

We also had basketball trivia competition, silent auctions, raffles, Pop-A-Shot Basketball, memorabilia displays and a lot of socializing. To celebrate the Hebron Team from 1952 we had a Limited-Edition Hebron T-Shirt.  There are a few shirts left, but not many if you are interested (you can inquire by sending an email to firchau@sbcglobal.net).

Oh What A Night, March 24, 2023!

The 20th annual IHSA Wheelchair State Tournament was held on Saturday, March 11 at the ARC on the campus of the University of Illinois. 5 teams played a round robin format with the Synergy Jr. Bulls the repeat champions. Congratulations to Coach Curtis Lease and his Jr. Bulls!

Other teams competing were the GLASA G –Cats, coached by Josh Fabian; the LWSRA Hawks, coached by Keith Wallace;  the Chicago Skyhawks, coached by Pierre Nealon; and  the Peoria Wildcats, coached by Mike Van Cleve.  A great day of competitive basketball!

A special shout-out to the game day officials: Ryan Juguan, Gary Nesvacil, Richard Kolar and Robert Quinones. Thank you, gentlemen!

A huge THANK YOU! to IHSA Assistant Executive Director, Tracie Henry, who coordinates this great event for the IHSA.

On Friday and Saturday, March 10 & 11, the IHSA and the Special Olympics of Illinois co-sponsored the annual High School Unified State Basketball Tournament at the ARC on the campus of the University of Illinois. 8 teams from throughout Illinois competed with the co-op team of Southside Occupational Academy Hub/De La Salle HS crowned the 2023 State Champions. The team was coached by former De La Salle boys varsity coach and IBCA Hall of Famer, Tom White. Congrats to all teams who competed!

What is Unified Basketball?

A Unified Basketball team is made up of 3 Special Olympics athletes and 2 Unified Partners on the court at one time. The maximum roster for a team is 15 which includes Special Olympics athletes and Unified Partners. Regular High School basketball rules are observed.

A special thank you to the Special Olympics of Illinois, the IHSA,  coaches, parents,  volunteers, and officials for their time and efforts. Check out the digital program on the IHSA website.