Tuscola’s Boyer; Arcola’s Phillips and Sisk play in IBCA All-Star basketball game
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By Mike Monahan
PONTIAC – It is very rare that an Arcola boy or girl competes in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-Star game. This year the Purple Riders had one in boys and one in the girls in Braden Phillips and Kacie Sisk respectively.
“It meat a lot to be able to be included as one of the best players in the state,” said Sisk, who knows Boyer and Sullivan’s Addison Minor that were also on the South team.
All three were among the 15 player roster of the Class 1A/2A South teams.
Participants were able to keep their jersey and they also received a drawstring bag, a t-shirt and a program of the games.
The boys all-star games have been going on since 1975, with the exception of the COVID-19 year of 2020, while the girls started in 2014 and also did not have a game in 2020 due to COVID.
Girls game
Sisk and Boyer played on the same team, coached by Anthony Videka of Cissna Park/Christ Lutheran. The South team played the North squad coached by Orangeville’s Jay Doyle. The South lost 106-76.
Sisk, who finished her career as the all-time Arcola girls scoring leader with 1,804 points, led the 22-10 Class 1A Regional champions team in points per game (21.9), 10.2 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game. She was 214-of-456 for 47 percent from the field, including 74-of-180 (41 percent) from three-point territory. She was 115 of 163 for 71 percent from the free throw line.
In the first half a group of girls played seven minutes and there were three groups total. In the second half each group played five minutes and the last six minutes was when anyone could play.
“I got to know others on the team and we even made a tiktok after the game,” said Sisk, who scored two points. “It was okay because I thought my sports career was done when softball ended so this was just a bonus.”
Boyer played for coach Michael Rosenbaum’s team that went 17-14 overall and 3-2 in the Central Illinois Conference, good for second place. Boyer is to play softball at Illinois State.
Boys game
The South head coach was Flora’s Phil Leib and included Phillips on the roster that played the North team, coached by Nathaniel Meiss of Seneca. The North team won 112-98.
“It was a real close game all the way until the final five minutes when they began to pull away,” said Phillips.
The boys game was done the same as the girls with three groups of five rotating in during the 21 minute first half and 15 of the 21 minute second half with the final six minutes when anyone could play. Halftime was 10 minutes.
Phillips scored two in the first half on a right wing reverse layup from the left side of the basket.
“I feel like I played really well overall,:” said Phillips, who will be playing at Millikin University in the 2025-26 season. “I had to guard some really big guys and some tall guards so I feel like that was some really good work for me going into next year. Getting the hang of trying to guard those kind of athletes was great. I also took care of the boards pretty well and this something I take a lot of pride in.”
Phillips averaged 16. 2 points per game, which led the 24-8 Purple Riders, that finished second in the LPC at 9-2 under coach Greg Gisinger. Phillips, who went over the 1,000 point mark for his career, averaged 0.5 blocked shots per game.
Gisinger along with Braden’s brother Brody and his parents, Allison and Mike Phillips were in attendance.
“It was so much fun,” said Phillips. “It was a really competitive game unlike most all-star games. You could really tell that everyone there had a big passion for the sport. The competition there was crazy with a lot of Division II and III and Junior College athletes that are going to be playing basketball around the state. It really made me feel honored that I got to be there and play in the game. Building a relationship in four hours overl the game of basketball is something very special, that I will hold onto for a longtime in my life.”
Phillips also knew Casey-Westfield’s Hayden Parcel, who was on his AAU team for two years.
“I have gotten to be really good friends with him over the years and being able to play one last game together on the same court was something really special to me. He is a great person and basketball player, who will be going to Augustana College so we will now be conference opponents (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.) “
IBCA Academic All-State team area winners
This is the sixth season that the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association has had the IBCA Academic All-State Team Awards. To qualify, a school must have the entirety of its varsity team basketball team roster meet the minimum standard of a cumulative, non-weighted 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale, through the first semester of 2024-25 school year.
The award is a competition between schools within each of the seven Illinois High School Association Legislative Districts.
The basketball team with the highest grade point average in each Legislative District will be presented with a plaque. The second and third place teams (Arcola girls) will receive a certificate in the mail from the IBCA in recognition of the accomplishment.
In addition both Arcola and Tuscola girls basketball teams earned All-State Academic Honors in District 7, which had a total of 17 earn the honor.
The Tuscola boys also earned All-State Academic Honors in Division 5. There were a total of eight schools in the division to earn the honor.