Incredible year for Fieldcrest basketball

      Editor: Dave Uphoff
It has been an incredible year for the Fieldcrest basketball teams. Fieldcrest West won the State Class 7A championship at Clinton last week finishing with a 23-2 record. In the Class 8A tournament, Fieldcrest West lost their first game of the year against Lexington to finish their season at 22-1. Fieldcrest High School was undefeated until they lost their first game of the season Friday night at Tremont and have a 22-1 record. Together the won-lost record for all Fieldcrest teams this year is 67-4.

Congratulations go to the coaches and players of the Fieldcrest West teams for their outstanding play this year. In addition, congratulations are in order for Fieldcrest High School for compiling the best won-lost record of any basketball team to ever play in Minonk, Wenona, or Toluca.

Basketball has always been the favorite sport in this area. Toluca was a perennial powerhouse under coach Chuck Rolinski back in the 1950's through the 1970's. Minonk had a great team in 1947-48 when they went 26-2 losing in an upset to Henry in the Regional tournament that year. Another great team was the 1951 Minonk-Dana team that went as far as the Sectional tournament in Ottawa.

One of the reasons for Fieldcrest High School's success this year is their teamwork and balanced scoring along with an excellent defense. The team is not dependent on any one person to carry them through to victory. It is a tribute to Coach Matt Winkler to be able to instill a selfless discipline in his players that emphasizes teamwork over personal glory.

I have witnessed many Minonk basketball teams over the past 57 years and there were a few teams that could have been better had it not been for a "gunner" who took more than his share of shots. I have a theory about "gunners" in basketball. If the gunner is a center it is not so bad because the center is dependent on getting the ball from a guard. If he is a good shot, he will more than likely receive the ball from a guard or forward whenever possible.

However, if the gunner is a guard, that spells trouble for the team because the guard usually gets the ball first and has the liberty to shoot the ball instead of passing off to someone else. If he is hot, the team may win. But if he is cold and continues to shoot, the team will probably lose. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is a good example. He is the NBA's leading scorer averaging 35 points a game but his team has a mediocre 25-25 record.

The future for basketball looks great for Fieldcrest with Fieldcrest West teams combining for a 45-3 record and the Fieldcrest freshman-sophomore team is doing great as well. It is wonderful to see players from each different town within the Fieldcrest come together to form an excellent team. It has a unifying effect on the communities to be able to collectively root for the same team even though the team is comprised of players from different communities.

With the prospect of an excellent basketball future for Fieldcrest some sports fans have suggested that it is time for Fieldcrest to toughen up their schedule and play some bigger schools like Metamora or Pontiac to more adequately prepare them for the year end state tournament.

The lone loss to Tremont last week should take the pressure off of Fieldcrest as being the only unbeaten team in the area. Now they can concentrate on winning the regional tournament and, hopefully, advance to the state tournament. Regardless of how far they go this year, it has been a great year for the Fieldcrest Knights. And what makes it really great is the unselfish play of each player who is playing for the good of the team rather than for himself.

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February 13, 2006