BND readers select best-ever high school basketball state champion from southwest Illinois

The 1960-61 Collinsville boys basketball team is the winner of the Belleville News-Democrat’s Best State Basketball State Champion poll, as selected by readers of bnd.com.

Collinsville secured 37% of the votes to prevail. Voting ended at 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

The Kahoks finished the 1960-61 season with a 32-0 record and defeated Harvey Thornton 84-50 in the title game. At that time, the IHSA did not divide the teams into classes, making Collinsville’s achievement all the more impressive.

Here were the other candidates in the BND poll:

• 1939-40 Granite City boys: 29-5 record. Beat Herrin 24-22 in title game.
• 1941-42 Centralia boys: 34-6 record. Beat Paris 35-33 in title game.
• 1947-48 Pinckneyville boys: 33-1 record. Beat Rockford (East) 65-39 in title game.
• 1964-65 Collinsville boys: 30-2 record. Beat Quincy 55-52 in title game.
  
  
• 1974-75 Venice boys: 32-2 record. Beat Elmhurst 65-46 in Class A title game.
  
  
• 1976-77 Madison boys: 29-3 record. Beat Aurora (Central Catholic) 71-55 in Class A in title game.
• 1977-78 Nashville boys: 30-3 record. Beat Havana 54-38 in Class A title game.
• 1980-81 Madison boys: 24-2 record. Beat Dunlap 58-47 in Class A title game.
• 1981-82 East St. Louis Lincoln boys: 29-1 record. Beat Chicago Mendel 56-50 in Class AA title game.
• 1986-87 Venice boys: 29-3 record. Beat Okawville 56-54 in Class A title game.
• 1987-88 East St. Louis Lincoln boys: 29-4 record. Beat Chicago St. Francis de Sales 60-52 in Class AA title game.
• 1988-89 Carlyle boys: 32-3 record. Beat Rock Island Alleman 65-56 in Class A title game.
• 1988-89 East St. Louis Lincoln boys: 29-4 record. Beat Peoria High School 59-57 (3 OT) in Class AA title game.
• 1989-90 Wesclin boys: 30-3 record. Beat Faibury Prairie Central 83-78 (2 OT) in Class A title game.
• 1992-93: Staunton boys: 27-4 record. Beat Chicago Hales Franciscan 66-62 in Class A title game.
• 1993-94 Pinckneyville boys: 33-2 record. Beat Eureka 67-65 in Class A title game.
• 2011-12 Breese Central boys: 34-1 record. Beat Normal University 53-47 in Class 2A title game.
• 2015-16 Althoff boys: 32-2 record. Beat New Lenox Lincoln-Way West 62-37 in Class 3A title game.
• 2017-18 Okawville boys: 27-8 record. Beat Annawan 59-48 in Class 1A title game.
• 2017-18 Belleville West boys: 32-2 record. Beat Chicago Whitney Young 60-56 (OT) in Class 4A title game.
• 2018-19 East St. Louis Sr. boys: 30-6 record. Beat Chicago Bogan 68-63 (OT) in Class 3A title game.
• 2018-19 Belleville West boys: 34-4 record. Beat Evanston Township 71-59 in Class 4A title game.
• 2021-22 Nashville boys: 30-4 record. Beat Monticello 32-31 in Class 2A title game.
• 1979-80 East St. Louis Lincoln girls: 31-0 record. Beat Chicago Marshall 64-47 in the Class AA title game
• 1993-94 Okawville girls: 32-2 record. Beat Woodhull AlWood 80-68 in Class A title game.
• 1995-96 Carlyle girls: 32-2 record. Beat Carthage 86-50 in Class A title game.
• 1996-97 Carlyle girls: 33-0 record. Beat Teutopolis 57-48 in Class A title game.
• 2006-07 Breese Central girls: 30-4 record. Beat Rochester 47-41 in Class A title game.
• 2012-13 Nashville girls: 33-2 record. Beat Champaign St. Thomas More 42-29 in Class 2A title game.

To be clear, these polls are not scientific. In fact, we invite you to vote as many times as you want. It’s all for fun, BND readers.

The next prep sports/athlete of the week poll will appear on the BND’s website — www.bnd.com — at 5 a.m. Tuesday, April 12, commencing with the area’s baseball and softball teams. To nominate an athlete, email gvartanian@bnd.com.

Past poll winners: Tyler Lunning of O’Fallon High School (Week 1), Dylan Murphy of Columbia High School (Week 2), Brady Moore of Breese Central High School (Week 3), Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic (Week 4), Kaden Augustine of Gibault Catholic High School (Week 5), Natalie Peterson of Freeburg High School (Week 6), Sydney Harris of Edwardsville High School (Week 7), Kaylyn Wylie of Granite City High School and Lunning (Week 8); Kylie Kisgen of Freeburg High School and Lane Otten of Freeburg High School (Week 9); Caleb Burton of O’Fallon High School and Jaliah Pelly of O’Fallon High School (Week 10); and Gannon Birkner of New Athens High School, Reagan Chigas of Triad High School (Week 11), Norah Gum of Waterloo High School and Jake Ottensmeier of Highland High School (Week 12), Devin Davis of Collinsville High School and Harris (Week 13) and Peterson and Rini Harris of O’Fallon High School (Week 14) and Freeburg High School girls and Nashville High School boys (Week 15).

This story was originally published March 26, 2022 at 6:00 AM.