Pure and simple, this was a title-game treat.
It isn’t often that the two best players in the state go head to head in the Class AA championship game.
Remember, such stars as Farragut’s Kevin Garnett, Westinghouse’s Mark Aguirre and Proviso East’s Glenn Rivers never even made it to the season finale.
But Quentin Richardson of Young and Joey Range of Galesburg, who emerged as the finest during the Illinois High School Association’s marquee event, put on a memorable show Saturday night in front of a capacity Carver Arena crowd of 11,500.
The only trick to this treat was that Public League champion Young and Western Big Six kingpin Galesburg focused their defenses on stopping the big two.
Richardson had to be content with dominating the backboards while Cordell Henry and Dennis Gates did the shooting in Young’s 61-56 conquest of Galesburg.
“This is the pinnacle of my high school career,” said Gates, who scored 12 straight Young points to end the third quarter.
“It’s what you put your whole heart into, trying to win a state championship,” Henry said.
“This is very emotional and a little sad,” Richardson said. “It’s our last game together in high school. And for coach (George) Stanton, who’s retiring, we wanted to send him out in style.”
Ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation, Young (30-1) had all it could handle from a well-coached Galesburg ballclub that stayed in a tight zone defense the entire first half.
Theorizing that his players were more drained than Young’s after being fully extended by Maine West in the afternoon semifinals, Galesburg coach Mike Miller disdained a man-to-man defense.
The Silver Streaks also were sagging on Richardson and didn’t allow him any close-in shots until after halftime. But Richardson owned the backboards, time and again powering up through two and three Galesburg players.
The early marksmanship of Mike Tapper and Taylor Thiel enabled Galesburg (31-2) to grab a 17-15 lead after one quarter. Young deployed a box-and-one zone defense with 6-foot-8-inch Marquis Wright assigned to Range.
Range did have a spectacular lob dunk early and hit several hang-time jumpers. After a Tapper three-pointer gave Galesburg a 20-18 lead in the second quarter, Young went on a 12-4 run and secured its biggest lead of the first half. The Dolphins began the third quarter ahead 31-26 and watched Galesburg stay within striking distance.
Coaches and fans were extolling all the virtues of the 6-6 Richardson and 6-5 Range the last two days while Duke-bound All-American Corey Maggette had to settle for watching the title game after Fenwick was upset by Maine West on Friday.
“I feel Richardson is the more refined talent,” said Maine West coach Jim Sullivan, whose team lost to Galesburg 73-70 in Saturday’s semifinals. “Range is a real load inside, and the moment you step back, he’ll hit a three-pointer in your face. I got enough of his Wild Bill act today.”
In three games here, Richardson lived up to his reputation as the state’s most complete player. He consistently knocked down three-pointers while also dominating inside with offensive rebounds and tip-ins.
“He is one of the five best high school basketball players I have ever seen,” said Elgin coach Jim Harrington after watching Richardson dismantle his Maroons in the quarterfinals. “He is great going to the basket and a terrific shooter, but you could put together a highlight film on his moves away from the ball.”
Galesburg’s Miller and his program had the misfortune of running into powerful state champion King in 1993, the last time the Silver Streaks advanced to the title game.
“Young is one of the best teams in state history after what they did here in this tournament,” Miller said. “They have all kinds of talent and are super well-coached.”
Quincy coach Loren Wallace, whose team was bedeviled by Young in the semifinals, heartily agreed. “They are one of the better teams I’ve seen in the state of Illinois,” he said. “They fit right in with some of those great championship teams. They are powerful in every spot, play within themselves and aren’t going to beat themselves. They aren’t No. 2 in the nation for nothing.”
