State appearance further solidifies East St. Louis as one of metro-east’s top programs

The East St. Louis Flyers have been known for their state championship runs in football since the 1980’s.

The basketball program, however, has more than held its own in recent years, notching a state championship in 2019, a super-sectional appearance in 2022 and a Final Four appearance in the IHSA Class 3A state tournament this year.

Mark Chambers took over the Flyers’ head coaching position during the middle of the 2017-18 campaign and has revived the school’s basketball program that had run through multiple coaches over the previous seven years.

Before Chambers arrived, the city of East St. Louis last saw a state championship in basketball with the Lincoln Tigers. The Tigers were led by coach Bennie Lewis and won the Class AA championships three years in a row — 1987, 1988, 1989. In 1998, Lincoln High School consolidated with East St. Louis Senior High School.

After winning a regional title in 2013, the Flyers went through four coaches in four years winning games, but no post-season hardware. They hadn’t advanced beyond the sectional round since 1999.

Dealing with injuries and multiple role changes throughout a rocky path to the Illinois state playoffs, Chambers knows fighting through adversity will benefit his players long term. In addition, the Flyers played their entire home-court schedule at Lindenwood-Belleville University while their home court was being worked on.

“It helped us to be able to get to this point,” Chambers said. “This season is going to help them not only in basketball, but it’s going to help them in life.”

The Division-I talent surrounding this year’s East St. Louis’ squad was spotlighted by four-star Kansas State recruit Macaleab Rich along with Cal-Fullerton recruit Antwan Robinson.

“I’m really proud of him (Rich) and the seniors — also the guys that have left,” Chambers said.

The Flyers’ coach challenged his talented group to a competitive schedule pitting them against some of the top schools from both Illinois (Belleville East, Hillcrest, O’Fallon) and Missouri (Vashon, Stanley, Chaminade).

Following a strong regular season, East St. Louis got a taste of redemption with a super-sectional victory over defending Class 3A champion Sacred Heart-Griffin in a double-overtime thriller Monday night. Sacred Heart-Griffin defeated the Flyers in the super-sectional match-up last season.

Furthermore, the 2022-23 Flyers continued to set a foundation of success.

“We’re excited about where we’re headed ... a lot of people counted us out and nobody gave us a chance to be here (playing in the state semifinals),” he said.

Chambers set the precedent for success in the coming years and plans to be in Champaign again.

“This is my second time making it to the Final Four in my fourth season coaching,” Chambers said. “It’s a testament to these guys working hard and buying into me (as a coach).”

The Chambers file

Here is a brief look at how the Flyers basketball program performed during Chambers’ previous four full seasons as coach.

• 2018-19: East St. Louis went 30-6 and captured the Class 3A state championship.
• 2019-20: East St. Louis went 21-11 and won its first postseason game. The rest of the playoffs were canceled due to COVID.
• 2020-21: East St. Louis went 10-5 in the COVID-abbreviated campaign.
• 2021-22: East St. Louis went 27-6 and reached the Class 3A super-sectional.
• 2022-23: East St. Louis went 26-9 and finished third in Class 3A.

This story was originally published March 11, 2023 at 7:00 AM.