SHAWNEE'S 'MAGICAL' FIRST TEAM LEFT A LASTING IMPRESSION
- A Special Report by Shannon Woodworth

10/3/08

With no gymnasium, a small budget, and only players from Southern Illinois, no one gave Shawnee Community College much hope for success in its first basketball season. But a magical combination of coach and athletes made the critics disappear as the Saints won a sectional championship and the hearts of their fans.

The year was 1972, and as the fall leaves began to turn colors and loosen their grip, Tom Jones had put himself out on a limb by moving his family to Ullin and believing that Shawnee's inaugural basketball team would leave a lasting impression in the College's history book. Jones, a star athlete himself - lettering in three sports at Huron College in South Dakota and later playing minor league baseball - knew that in order to make the team shine, he had to teach them to play together and believe in themselves, and,as the College's first head coach, he had to do it in a short period of time.

There was no great recruitment effort that brought players to Shawnee, nor was there funding for a national search or outreach to other nations for players. Gene Cross, the College's dean, had simply been invited to speak at a dinner honoring The Cairo Evening Citizen's 1971-72 pick of all-star high school basketball players. There, he talked about how Shawnee was starting a basketball team.

In the crowd that night were 11 of the best high school players in Southern Illinois. They included: Kenny Hefner of Century; Calvin Johnson of Meridian, Kelley Glass of Metropolis; Jerry Tripp of Anna-Jonesboro; Gary Jackson of Vienna; Craig Fitzgerald of Meridian, Darrell Flowers of Cairo; Ronnie Roundtree of Joppa; David Davis of Dongola; Greg Austin of Metropolis; and Eddie Smith of Shawnee High School. Shawnee College signed three of them; Smith, Glass, and Johnson. Smith, a 6'2" sharpshooter, said that when Cross and Jones visited his home and told his parents how much they wanted their son to play for Shawnee, "it sealed the deal for me."

Smith was soon joined by Johnson, a 5'10" guard who had just led his high school basketball team (30-2) to the 1972 Class A IHSA basketball championship game in Champaign. Meridian brought home second place, and Johnson wowed a number of college coaches throughout the state and nation. Glass, a 6'0" standout guard, would join Smith and Johnson in the College's first starting five. Jones and Cross also reached out and brought Al Crim, a 6'5" former Joppa High School star who played his first season at Lindsey Wilson Junior College in Columbia, Kentucky, to the team. Crim and 6'3" Earl Green would eventually round out the College's first starting lineup.

The trick now was to attract additional players. With no college gymnasium, Jones turned to officials at the tiny Grand Chain grade school, only a few miles from the college campus, to seek permission to hold tryouts in the school's cracker box gym. The Saints continued practicing in the gymnasium throughout the season. During the winter, the school's janitor was kind enough to warm the gym by stoking a fire each time before the team practiced.

Also joining the Shawnee squad were David Huggins, a 6'4" center from Goreville High School; Charles Campbell, a 6'3" forward transferring from Southeastern Illinois College, and Egyptian High School graduate; Sammy Ulen, a 6'5" forward from Century High School; and Tally Hawkins, who starred with Johnson on the Meridian (Mounds) High School team.

Still other local players to join the team were Bill Spaulding, Jay Holder, Ken Meadows, and Mike Reeves.

Jones wrote a letter to all the players' parents on Oct. 17, 1972, announcing that their sons had made the team. "Each of these young men is among the finest from each of the participating schools in the district and I believe it is an honor to be a part of this ball club," he wrote. Ulen credited Cross as being the mastermind in the team's creation, saying that along with being dean of students at Shawnee College, he was also a former high school basketball coach and a long-time referee who called a number of games in Southern Illinois.

"He officiated our games, and watched us all come up through high school," Ulen said. "He led Coach Jones to the right people, and since everybody liked Gene Cross, it was easy to say 'yes' to him."

Huggins said he was just happy to make the team. As a jumper, he could dunk the ball, "but I could not shoot worth a hoot," he said. Overall, Huggins said, his service to the team was highlighted as a "practice player."

"In practice, I made (Calvin) Johnson earn every basket he made when he drove into the lane….I always wanted to block just one of his shots, but this guy was great, and it was impossible to do," Huggins said.

Jones said every player had an important role to the team, and each player quickly fell into that role and played it well.

"I couldn't have put this team together without Gene Cross, that's true," Jones said. "He was very instrumental. My assistant, George Floyd, was also great help. Success takes the help of a number of people, and I certainly had the help I needed."

Smith, however, said it was Jones' magical way that brought out the best in each player. "We wanted to play for him," Smith said. "He recognized when he had to praise us and when he had to criticize us to get the best out of us. He was our leader. We knew he knew what he was doing." Smith said one of the first things Jones made players do was condition their bodies for some of the most physical basketball any junior college at that time would play.

"We played man-to-man defense and fast break offense," Smith said. "Coach Jones' philosophy was hard-nosed play every minute on the floor."

Shawnee College played its first basketball game on Nov. 18, 1972, at Metropolis High School in an afternoon match-up with St. Meinard College, a four-year college in Indiana. The team was already 2-1 on the season, averaging 75 points per game and giving up only 65.

"I remember a number of area fans turned out, I think mostly curious to see how we would do," Smith remembered.

Jones had told his team that he wanted them to "harass the opponent's every play, every pass, every dribble." He told them, "I want you to make your opponent mentally and physically tired" despite the fact that sickness was worrying the coach as several players were suffering from various stages of the flu, the Cairo Evening Citizen reported.

The Saints crushed their opponent by more than 20 points, "and we were all pretty cocky after that win," Smith remembered.

The next game, however, pitted Shawnee against Olney Central College, which featured Kansas University-bound Roger Morningstar. In 1974, the 6'6" Morningstar led KU to the Final Four. "Morningstar brought us all back to earth," Smith said. "What a great player. In fact, almost half of our losses that year were to Olney, you just couldn't stop Morningstar, I know. I guarded him."

Shawnee College posted a winning season, and after ripping through the sectional tournament, which included Kaskaskia, Belleville, John A. Logan, Southeastern, and top-seeded Rend Lake College, Shawnee would face Olney again in the first round of the regional tournament.

"I suppose you could wonder how far we could have gone if such an outstanding player (Morningstar) had not been playing junior college ball before moving on to a major university," Smith considered. "But we put Shawnee College on the map in a way that it hadn't been put on the map before. We had a great following, and we got a lot of media coverage, and every game was full of excitement and anticipation. In the end, we all got a great college education and formed life-long friendships and memories that makes life very special."

Jones said the first Shawnee team is the most important team he ever coached. "I simply didn't know what to expect when I moved down there," said Jones, who again lives in South Dakota. "Something magical did happen that year."

The team ended its season 14-9, with four of the losses to Olney.

The season was so impressive that Loren Klaus, Shawnee College president, issued a letter to each team member. On March 8, 1973, he wrote, "Our first year's team was successful in all ways far beyond expectations of most people. I commend you for your part in this."

The College's current president, Dr. Larry Peterson, said after 35 years, it is time for the story to be told, and time to bring the team back together. On Oct. 18, the team will meet in a private luncheon, where Coach Jones will speak, and players will have the opportunity to reminisce. A gym dedication ceremony will follow the luncheon.

"This is going to be a very exciting day for the College, we have a lot planned," Peterson said. (Note: Gene Cross passed away on Sept. 20, 2002.)