Illinois Hall of Fame to move to Danville

BY CHAD DARE

DANVILLE Tue, May 13 2008

— For nearly 40 years, the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association has been searching for a permanent home for the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame.
Until Saturday morning, it was a wall of fame in a Bloomington-Normal hotel, but the IBCA Executive Director Chuck Rolinski announced in a press conference at the Danville Days Inn that the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame would move to Danville.
According to Danville Mayor Scott Eisenhauer the actual location of the hall of fame will announced in two to three weeks, but he did confirm it will be a downtown location.
“We started this process four years ago and we want Danville to be the custodian of Illinois high school basketball history,’’ he said.
According to Rolinski, there are four major moments in being named and Illinois Basketball Hall of Famer.
“First off, you get that letter telling you that you are in,’’ he said. “It’s something that you, your family and friends get to celebrate. Than you have your local media that take the time to honor you with stories. Thirdly, you have the banquet, where you are presented your plaque in front your peers and friends. Finally, you have a place where your accomplishments are shown for all to see.
“Up until this year, all we had was a wall of fame in a hotel. Now, we’re going to have a permanent building where they can take their kids and grandkids to see their plaques and accomplishments.’’
Rolinski admitted that it is a huge weight off of the shoulders of the IBCA to have a community like Danville step forward with its proposal.
“Actually, the hall of famers and the old-timers kept asking when we were going to get a building,’’ Rolinski said. “It’s another one of our goals as a basketball coaches’ association.’’
One of the driving forces for the Danville area was former Danville Area Community College coach John Spezia, who is a member of the hall of fame.
Growing up in Bismarck, Spezia remembers all of the great players and teams that have played in Illinois in the last 40-plus years.
“Obviously when I was growing up, it was never my intention to be in the hall of fame,’’ Spezia said. “I grew up watching the state tournaments in both Illinois and Indiana and until you are away from this region, you don’t realize how big high school basketball is in our society.
“To bring the hall of fame to Danville and Vermilion County is an honor.’’
Spezia has also helped bring U.S.A. Basketball president and former Illini basketball player Jerry Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I’ve been honored to have been elected to the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame a number of years ago and I’m just as passionate about the game of basketball as I am about my roots in Illinois,’’ he said in taped interview with WDAN-AM and until you are away from this region, you don’t realize how big high school basketball is in our society.
“To bring the hall of fame to Danville and Vermilion County is an honor.’’
Spezia has also helped bring U.S.A. Basketball president and former Illini basketball player Jerry Colangelo, the former owner of the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“I’ve been honored to have been elected to the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame a number of years ago and I’m just as passionate about the game of basketball as I am about my roots in Illinois,’’ he said in taped interview with Mike Hulvey of WDAN-AM 1490. “I think Danville would be a great location for the hall of fame.’’
Colangelo admitted that when he was growing up and playing at Bloom Township his only goal was to win a state title.
“Back in those days in the mid 1950s, basketball was our life,’’ he said.
Now, he wants to be part of honoring all the people like himself that are members of the exclusive club.
Locally, one of those members is former Danville High coach Gene Gourley.
“I think it’s a great situation for Danville,’’ he said. “A lot of people don’t know about the great tradition in Illinois basketball. You hear a lot about Indiana and they definitely have a great tradition over there, but so does Illinois.
“I was explaining to Jeanie Cooke with Convention and Visitors’ Bureau about the parallels between Illinois and Indiana basketball. They have the great story about Milan winning the state title and Illinois had Hebron. It’s basically the same situation where a little district school wins the state tournament. There is so much history here that needs to be told.’’
Gourley said he believes the community leaders will take this opportunity and run with it and promote the history of basketball.
“Every year, there are new pages of history being written,’’ he said. “Twenty years from now, they will be talking about the great games and the last-second shots of today.
“To have Danville be the home of that history is an honor.’’

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