Monmouth Makes Final Four
MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth College connections were in abundance at the eight Illinois High School Association state basketball tournaments over the past two weekends.
One of the head coaches of a boys basketball state champ – Metamora in Class 3A – is 1981 Monmouth graduate and former Fighting Scot basketball player Danny Grieves.
The father of freshman Scots point guard Kyle Taylor is head coach of the Class 4A boys champions, Moline. In Saturday’s state title game, coach Sean Taylor’s Maroons handed Benet Academy only its second loss of the season, winning 59-42. Benet’s other loss had come against Simeon, which reached the 3A final before falling 46-42 to Grieves and his Redbirds.
Trevor Davis ’21 was on the coaching staff at Gibault Catholic, which won the Class 1A boys state title; the Class 2A Final Four featured alumni Jeff Henry ’93 and Toby Whiteman ’96, who serve as assistant coaches for Rockridge, which placed fourth.
Froebe, Schreacke are girls standouts
On the girls side, a pair of outstanding talents who are the daughters of Fighting Scot athletes helped their teams to the Final Four in Class 2A and 3A. Both players were unanimous all-state selections in their respective classes, the only girls players in the state so honored.
For the second season in a row, Quincy Notre Dame reached the Class 2A Final Four. A year after winning the state title, the Lady Raiders had to settle for a third-place finish. QND was led by Abbey Schreacke, the daughter of M Club Hall of Famer and track All-American Linda Schmidt Schreacke ’94. The 6-foot senior, who averaged 21.5 points and 10.3 rebounds in her final season at QND, is headed to the University of Missouri this fall on a basketball scholarship.
More from Coach Grieves
After playing his high school ball at Peoria Central, Grieves was on the team at St. Petersburg College in Florida when his mother got sick and he looked to return to the area. Wherever he went to school, he knew he was preparing for a specific job – to be a coach and teacher.
“Basketball’s all I ever knew, and I knew that my playing days would end one day,” said Grieves, who has now been coaching for 44 years.
At Monmouth, he learned from one of the best.
“‘TG’ was absolutely a big influence on me in the coaching profession. He was one of the most intelligent people I’d ever been around – not just coaches, but anybody. He was a great motivator, and our teams really knew how to win. I had a great experience there.” – Danny Grieves
“‘TG’ was absolutely a big influence on me in the coaching profession,” said Grieves. “He was one of the most intelligent people I’d ever been around – not just coaches, but anybody. He was a great motivator, and our teams really knew how to win. I had a great experience there.”
Grieves said Glasgow’s influence is still present, more than four decades later.
“His demeanor, the way he handles kids,” he said. “His coaching style, too – there are things that I stole from him a little bit.”
Metamora’s journey to the state title passed through nearby Galesburg, where the Redbirds defeated Sterling and Peoria Richwoods.
“TG came to our sectional game, and it was a great chance for me to visit with him,” said Grieves. “It had been a while since I’d seen him.”
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