Glory Days Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball

Glory Days Illinois: Legends of Illinois High School Basketball by Taylor Bell (Sports Publishing L.L.C., 2006). Trade paperback in Like New condition.

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Along the way, somebody invented the jump shot and the crossover dribble and added a three-point line. Times changed, the game was integrated, players grew taller and more wildly athletic. That evolution is chronicled in Glory Days, as 50 of the state’s best high school basketball players from the past five decades sit down to chat with longtime prep basketball scribe Taylor Bell. Every last one of the featured players was an all-state selection. Some led their teams to state titles; others were chosen as Illinois’ Mr. Basketball; many were named McDonald’s All-Americans.

Glory Days pulls its roster from all regions of the state: from southern Illinois (Edwardsville, Centralia, Mount Vernon) to the state’s waist (Galesburg, Peoria, Decatur) to north of I-80 (Rockford, Evanston, and many Chicago schools). Each player on the roster relives his time on the high school hardwood, but also reveals what happened after he walked down the aisle in his cap and gown. Bell catches up with greats like Mannie Jackson, Dave Downey, Jay Shidler, Jack Sikma, Rashard Griffith, Cazzie Russell, Kiwane Garris, Cuonzo Martin, and Billy Ridley, and discovers what happened to these legends later in life, after their hops deserted them. Their Chuck Taylors may be a distant memory, but for each of these former stars, basketball has continued to hold a special place in their heart.