Daniels | Warriors are talk of the town -- again

Dec. 15—Justin Bozarth is no stranger to Tuscola. He grew up there. Played basketball for the Warriors.

And now, in his seventh season pacing the sidelines at his alma mater, is the coach of the top-ranked boys' basketball team in Class 1A less than two weeks before Christmas.

That's what the first Associated Press poll of the season revealed late Wednesday afternoon, with Bozarth's Warriors firmly etched into the No. 1 spot. It's a ranking they'll hold until the new year since the next AP poll won't come out until after holiday tournaments are wrapped up.

It's a statewide ranking that makes sense, too, considering the Warriors won 31 games last season, played in the 1A state tournament at State Farm Center in Champaign, brought a third-place state trophy back to Douglas County, returned four starters off last year's record-setting team and have rolled to an 8-0 record through the first three weeks of the season.

So Bozarth is well aware of his hometown, too, when he makes the following statement.

"The ranking is a great conversation piece for the four to five local morning coffee groups in Tuscola," Bozarth said. "It brings me joy knowing that their morning conversation is centered around Tuscola hoops through the long winter months. Other than that, it is what it is. Our kids have poured an enormous amount of work into developing as basketball players. It makes you proud to see their efforts be noticed, but the target on our back just got bigger."

The same is true for two other area boys' basketball teams who also saw their team name mentioned in the AP poll. Unity, off to a robust 6-0 start for a program that last won IHSA hardware with a Class 2A regional title in 2012, is ranked sixth in the first 2A poll. St. Joseph-Ogden, undefeated at 7-0, is 10th in 2A for a program that won a 2A state title in 2016 and is fresh off winning back-to-back regional championships.

"It's a nice honor and it's fun for the fans to have that speculation, but for us, we're just focusing on the process of getting better," Unity first-year coach Matt Franks said. "Our kids have been working hard and getting better, and that's fun to see."

Sixth-year SJ-O coach Kiel Duval is used to his program getting attention from outside of their own school's hallways. Especially the last two seasons with current Illinois State freshman guard Ty Pence capable of going off for 40 points every time The News-Gazette's Player of the Year last season stepped on the court.

Still, it's a new season for the Spartans. New roles, even for returning starters like senior guards Tanner Jacob and Logan Smith.

"For us, the ranking doesn't really matter," Duval said. "We know it's a long season and there will be plenty of ups and downs along the way. I am proud of how the guys have played so far to earn some recognition. To have a bunch of new roles, lose an All-State player in Pence and obviously a big-time scorer, these guys have adjusted well."

Finding a balanceThe News-Gazette's latest Top 10 rankings (), which will come out every Friday during the season, has SJ-O in the No. 1 spot. Mainly based on road wins against Big 12 foes Normal West and Danville, with Tuscola at No. 2 and Unity at No. 3.

Tuscola has won its first eight games by wide margins going into Saturday's 2:30 p.m. home game against Tri-County. Including two lopsided victories in the last week, with the Warriors beating Uni High 84-7 last Friday night and then winning 78-14 against Heritage on Tuesday night.

Making sure Tuscola's starters in senior forward Jordan Quinn, senior guard Josiah Hortin, junior guard Kam Sweetnam, junior guard Parker James and junior forward Sawyer Woodard get enough playing time is key. But also making sure the Warriors don't generate headlines outside of this area for winning 200-0 is also key.

"We've got great respect for the coaching staffs at Uni High and Heritage," Bozarth said. "Their teams are both young and in rebuilding modes. It's certainly a process that's not easy. We've tried different measures where we sit our three seniors at the same time so that our younger guys can develop and build chemistry not only for this year, but beyond. We didn't play our junior varsity starters in the second half of one JV game because we knew they'd play the majority of the varsity game. Nights like those are great for all of our younger guys."

Even with the eye-opening wins against struggling programs, Bozarth understands the rugged part of Tuscola's schedule is fast approaching, with a game at rival Arcola (5-2) next Tuesday night. Then, the Warriors will try to win their second straight Monticello Holiday Hoopla title in two weeks before five road games to open 2024 — Unity on Jan. 9, Teutopolis on Jan. 13 and Clinton on Jan. 19 stand out — greet the Warriors.

"Our starters are going to get minutes as we know we have a gauntlet of a road stretch coming up," Bozarth said.

Winning equals more winningTough road tests have come to define the early part of SJ-O's success. Another one awaits — this time at home, though — when the Spartans host Normal U-High on Friday night.

"We try to prepare ourselves for postseason play with our schedule," said Duval, whose team hosts Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin next Tuesday night and plays at Beecher on Dec. 22 before trying to repeat as champions of the small-school State Farm Holiday Classic later this month. "We want to see as many styles, good players and programs as we can to put us in a good spot for the postseason. These guys have embraced the challenge, which says a ton about their character. We couldn't ask for a better group of guys in our program right now."

Franks feels the same way about his Rockets, the majority of whom got a late start to basketball season after playing key roles on Unity's football team that reached the 3A state quarterfinals. Senior guard Eric Miebach, senior forward Dalton O'Neill and sophomore Dane Eisenmenger, among others, have traded in their football pads for basketball shoes and have continued to experience success. Coming back to win 55-46 at Champaign Central on Tuesday night is evidence of that.

"It helps our confidence tremendously," Franks said. "Our guys were really excited to get that win. We played hard and had to overcome some adversity, which was great to see. It's part of that building process, but it makes it easier because we have kids with such high competitive spirits."

Hitting the matsNot only is Tolono home to a state-ranked boys' basketball team these days, but the southern Champaign County village will roll out the welcome mats for wrestling teams across the state this weekend.

A jam-packed two days of wrestling at Unity will begin Friday evening when the Rockets host Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, Benton, Carterville, Olympia, Peotone and Tremont in the Unity Duals.

Then, a quick turnaround takes place with the Rockets hosting the 16-team Unity Invitational starting on Saturday morning. Hoopeston Area, St. Joseph-Ogden and Urbana are area teams who will take part.

"For the program, it is an awesome weekend," seventh-year Unity coach Logan Patton said. "Friday night at the duals, we make it Unity Christmas duals for our team and the entire team wears ugly Christmas sweaters. This is something we've done the entire time I've been here and the Friday night duals has now been a main stay for our Ugly Sweater Duals. Saturday is great to get an individual tournament in for our guys, especially coming off three tough duals Friday night but getting to do it at home."

The Rockets, under Patton's leadership, have established themselves as not only one of the top wrestling programs in Champaign County, but in Class 1A. Having back-to-back state champions in Nick Nosler and Tavius Hosley maintains that credibility, but the Rockets are adjusting to new individuals in their lineup early on this season.

"It has been very up and down so far this season," Patton said. "We aren't at full strength yet having guys not certified at the right weight classes, but the standard has always been the same, and the team has been striving to achieve that."

Matt Daniels is the sports editor at The News-Gazette. He can be reached at 217-373-7422 or at mdaniels@news-gazette.com.