Good friends trying to phone Dr. James Collie, retired Illinois State basketball coach, need to be patient. Collie has been clogging up telecommunication lines because his 1967-68 team, which went 25-3, is going into the Illinois State University Athletics Hall of Fame.
This is a wonderful event, and Im calling all my players to try and get everyone back, said Collie whose team is being honored in the 30th year of hall of fame inductions at Illinois State and with a special dinner Sept. 21, 2001 at the Ballroom in the Bone Student Center.
Actually, the 1967-68 team is the middle of three straight teams which Collie says represent the glory years of his 13-year coaching tenure at Illinois State. The teams both before and after 1967-68 earned bids to the NCAA College Division (now known as Division II) Tournament. That success paved the way for the three decades since of Division I success at Illinois State.
Those three teams all were great, but this one was better, said Collie. It was my best.
In the book, 100 Years of Redbird basketball, author Roger Cushman--then the teams publicist--called Collies trio of stars, Steve Arends, Jerry McGreal and George Terry, A Redbird Triple Play. They were the first three Redbird classmates to all reach 1,000 or more career points and they did it in three years.
Collie agrees. They played a big role in the 1967-68 teams school-record 18-game winning streak and average of 90 points per game in an era well before the shot clock, the three-point field goal, freshman eligibility, ESPN and athletic scholarships.
They were immensely talented and played because they loved basketball, said Collie. The other starters were Tom Taulbee and Tom Cirks who also were excellent players. But we had weapons off the bench. Blaine Royer and Mike Green and Ed Brucker ... lets just say I didnt hesitate when I substituted.
Collie understood even then that he had something special at Illinois State.
Other coaches said I had the best stack of small college cards (players) in the country, said Collie, and I believe they were right.
Collie appreciates that his team, the fifth such team to join the ISU Hall of Fame, will have the first ISU Hall of Fame induction of its kind (from a Saturday morning to a Friday night event.)
I appreciate that Illinois State is making this night so special for our players and everyone else involved, said Collie. Its great recognition for this team.
DR. DAN SCOTT
Just as the Collie coach era was ending and Division I sports were beginning at Illinois State, a young physician named Dr. Dan Scott moved in to the house next door to Warren Crews, Collies assistant coach who was to become a successful administrator at ISU as well.
Warren asked me to help with football physicals, said Scott. Then he asked me to come to the games because they needed a doctor on the sidelines. Then I started traveling with football. Then, they needed somebody for basketball. It just kept growing and I just kept enjoying it.
Now, 30 years later, he has helped assemble a staff of doctors who treat Redbird student-athletes. Scotts still on call, conducting clinics two days a week and enjoying his ties to Redbird athletes, working closely with Kathy Schniedwind and her team of athletics trainers at ISU.
In recognition of his three decades of service, Scott will be honored with the Campbell Stretch Miller Award during the ISU Hall of Fame induction dinner Sept. 21. The award is named for Miller, a Redbird athlete who went on to broadcast Illinois State games in the 1940s before joining the St. Louis Cardinals broadcasting team. The award named in his honor celebrates the contributions of those whose main contributions were neither playing nor coaching, but important to the programs success.
Although Scott has befriended and counseled many individual student athletes (I treat people, not just disease, said Scott), he sees a big picture when it comes to measuring the growth and success of Redbird Athletics over the past 30 years.
I have watched as Illinois State has become more integrated into the community, said Scott. The university also has grown and developed and I have enjoyed watching the progress in academic support and success by student-athletes.
Scott also is proud of Redbird Arena for special reasons.
One of the things I have enjoyed the most was the fund-raising work we did in the community to help build Redbird Arena, said Scott. It gave me a great feeling of pride in ISU because I saw that so many people were behind the program in so many ways.
But not many have been behind the program for as long or as much as Dan Scott.
I have enjoyed it, said Scott. Ive met and worked with so many great people ... its been quite an experience.
Linda Herman, senior associate athletics director and ISU Athletics Hall of Fame committee chair, is looking forward to the 2001 dinner as the start of a new era for the hall inductees and Miller award winners.
Our goal is simply to make it the classiest event that we can, said Herman. There are no higher honors than this, and the 30th anniversary is the right time to make this change.
Athletics Director Perk Weisenburger believes the dinner will be an enjoyable gathering for all who attend.
I am extremely excited about the 1968 basketball team and coach Collie coming into the hall of fame and that we are honoring Dr. Scott for his contributions to Illinois State University and to the athletics program, said Weisenburger.
The dinner is open to the public. For tickets and reservations, call Pat Cattron at (309) 438-3639. Tickets are $25.The Team
Players:
Steve Arends
Martin Bailey
Bob Brewe
Al Brown
Ed Brucker
Tom Cirks
Chet Fuller Dick Gibbs
Mike Green
Dave Handy
Jerry McGreal
Bob Rath
Blaine Royer
Tom Taulbee
George Terry
Head Coach:
Jim Collie
Assistant Coaches:
Warren Crews
Dale Cruise
The Event
Who: Hall of Fame Induction Dinner for the 1968 Redbird basketball team; and Dr. Dan Scott, Stretch Miller Award winner.
When: 7 p.m., Friday, Sept. 21, 2001
Where: Ballroom, Bone Student Center
Tickets: Call Pat Cattron at (309) 438-3639; price is $25
