The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 11

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 1995 The Pantagraph SU Nationwide search under way '4 iv il miss each and every one of those guys. They're like family and anytime you lose family it hurts." "I felt that (final three games) would have a big effect whether they would stay or not," said junior wide receiver Jarrett Jackson. "I hate to see them leave. I hope the new coaches are just as good as the ones who are leaving." Heacock was dismissed after an eight-year record of 37-49-2.

The Redbirds were 16-15-2 the past three seasons. "It was pretty unexpected," senior tailback Keith Goodnight said. "That the coaches were released right now is pretty bad with the See PLAYERS, page B4 recruiting season." Greenspan said the process would take anywhere from two to six weeks, and he is hoping to have a new coach named in four weeks. "But I am not going to be hamstrung by a specific deadline," he said. Greenspan said he would accept applications for the head coaching position.

But he also will be contacting several See SEARCH, page B4 Andy Ziebarth Keith Goodnight around," junior offensive tackle Andy Ziebarth said. "Coach dedicated his whole life to this team. Even though his record might not By RANDY REINHARDT Pantagraph staff The Illinois State football team salvaged a respectable 5-6 season with wins in its final three games. Several of the Redbird players believed they also had saved the jobs of Coach Jim Heacock and his staff with the late-season surge. But it was Heacock himself who informed the Redbirds Monday that they had not Heacock had been told earlier Monday afternoon by athletic director Rick Greenspan that his contract would not be renewed for next season.

"I thought he would be back. I'm surprised and disappointed. You could tell things were turning Leonard no stranger to pressure By JIM BENSON and DAVID BRUMMER Pantagraph staff Ken Leonard isn't worried about losing his job. He shouldn't be now. Leonard, a Chenoa native and ISU's young guns blaze By RANDY REINHARDT Pantagraph staff The search for Illinois State's next football coach begins immediately, athletic director Rick Greenspan said Monday after announcing Jim Heacock would not return for his ninth season as Redbird coach.

"It will be a national search," Greenspan said. "I hope to fill the (head coaching) position and staff as quickly as I can to make the most of the Pierson and a Cartmill basket off an assist from Muller gave ISU 10 straight points. The Redbirds led, 55-35, at halftime. The Converse All-Stars, a collection of former college players, crept within 12 at 59-47 at the 13:29 mark of the second half before Smiley hit a 3-point basket to halt the rally. ISU iced the victory with an eight-point run midway through the second half that extended its lead to 79-57.

Hill started and finished the run with rebound baskets. In between, Pierson had a high-flying slam dunk and Cartmill drove the length of the court and used a nifty behind-the-back dribble to get past the final defender for an easy lay-in basket "They could play with a lot of teams in the Top 20 and they could beat some Top 20 teams," said Converse coach Mickey Walker, whose team has lost to national powers Kansas and Arkansas but beaten No. 7 nationally ranked Massachusetts. "I was really impressed with their team. They are going to surprise some people.

They are disciplined offensively, but not so much that they pass up open shots. Defensively, they do a very good job of helping each other. They didn't allow us to dictate the tempo." Stallings said the Redbirds accomplished their objectives in running their exhibition record to 2-0. "We took better care of the basketball; our shot selection, for the most part, was better; and we did a better job of getting the ball inside," said Stallings. "We also played 25 to 30 minutes of solid defense.

"The competition was much better tonight and we played much better. Now we have to go out and build on this and make the same kind of improvement we have since last week." ISU leaves today for Puerto Rico where it will meet James Madison at noon Friday in the opening round of the San Juan Shootout Voters put Arizona back in AP Top 25 ISU, Illinois get votes in latest poll By Associated Press Arizona's basketball team is back in The Associated Press' Top 25, although coach Lute Olson can't understand why the Wildcats ever lea Arizona's streak of being ranked in 144 consecutive polls was broken when the Wildcats were missing from the preseason rankings last week. The Wildcats were 19th in Monday's first regular-season voting after winning two games to reach the semifinals of the Preseason NIT. "How can you tell how good a team is until they've played a few games?" Olson said. "If we played two or three games and lost them and fell out of the poll, then we played our way out of it" Illinois State, which has yet to begin regular-season play, received one vote from AP pollsters, while the University of Illinois Fighting Illini got 13.

The Wildcats' poll run started with the preseason Top 25 for the 1987-88 season and dwarfed that of runner-up North Carolina, whose two appearances this season made it 92 straight times in the poll. Olson said the poll snub fired up his players, as Arizona beat Long Beach State 91-57 at home and then-No. 16 Arkansas 83-73 at Fayetteville. In the NIT semifinals at New York's Madison Square Garden, the Wildcats will face No. 16 Michigan Wednesday night after No.

5 Georgetown faces 25th-ranked Georgia Tech. Kentucky, which is next in the consecutive poll streak with 90, remained No. 1 with 42 first-place votes and 1,567 points, 27 more than Kansas, which held second and had 18 first-place votes from the national media panel. Villanova, UCLA, Georgetown Connecticut and Massachusetts also held their spots, Nos. 3-7, from the preseason voting, while Utah and Iowa changed places, with the Utes going from 10th to eighth, with Mississippi State holding ninth.

UCLA, the defending national champion, received the other four first-place votes. A'" aTLJ I tw 1 A 'V 8 i F' i I nrr. ft y. Jim Orsulak Jarrett Jackson show it he's a true winner. "Everything he did was positive.

But Mr. Greenspan thought it was time for a change. I'm going to Central in opener McClintock's shot from the key sent Normal West to defeat in its first game ever. In Monday night's opening game, senior forward Jason Barrow scored 15 points as Bloomington downed Central Catholic, 62-45. The season-opening tournament resumes Wednesday with Central Catholic facing West at 6:30 p.m.

and BHS meeting Normal Community at 8 p.m. High-Normal West High, in its first appearance since winning the Class A state championship in March, called a timeout with 22 seconds left after Eric Phillips' rebound basket tied the game for West at 43-all. The Pioneers ran Olson off a double screen on the baseline, but when point guard Jeremy Stanton dished the ball to him, he was well covered. Olson then penetrated in traffic before hitting a wide-open McClintock. "Matt flashed to the open area, which is what we want him to do," High coach Cal Hubbard said.

"We really Just wanted the best available shot and we got a good shot Luckily, we made it" By BRYAN BLOODWORTH Pantagraph sports editor Illinois State's basketball team showed its youth Monday night at Redbird Arena. And the young guns responded as the Red- birds shot ISU 102 past the ALL-STARS 77 Converse All-Stars, 102-77, in ISU's final preseason exhibition game before 6,153 people. First-year players Rico Hill, a 6-foot-6 freshman forward, and LeRoy Watkins, a 6-7 sophomore center, each scored 17 points to share scoring honors with veteran teammate Mo Trotter. Hill and Watkins also grabbed 15 and 13 rebounds, respectively, as the Redbirds held a 59-32 advantage on the boards. But they weren't the only first-year players to shine.

Freshman guard Kyle Cartmill did an admirable job of filling in for the foul-plagued Jamar Smiley at point guard. Cartmill scored seven points, handed out four assists and had a steal and only four turnovers in 22 minutes. "My job since I've been here has been to mostly play the point" said Cartmill. "My role is to spell Jamar. It really helped my confidence when I proved I could handle the ball against their pressure defense." Redshirt freshman forward Kenneth Pierson added 11 points, six rebounds and blocked three shots in 21 minutes.

"The thing we have to remember is that they are young and they are going to make mistakes, but we know they are talented and they showed some of their capabilities tonight," said ISU coach Kevin Stallings. The Redbirds had a 29-17 lead when Smiley was forced to the bench with his third foul at the 8:23 mark. Three minutes later, with Cartmill running the show, ISU had extended its lead to 40-23. Two 3-point baskets by Dan Muller, a rebound basket by nip West McClintock said the shot "felt good" when he released it, but added, "The way we played tonight I wasn't totally happy." The Pioneers, who lost four starters off the state title team, trailed 30-19 with two minutes left in the first half. West's Bryan Mounce nailed four 3-pointers in the second quarter to create the margin.

However, an 8-1 High run cut the deficit to 31-27 at the half. Normal West, which made 9 of 16 first-half shots, then sank only 4 of 20 in the second half. The Wildcats were 13 of 36 overall, including 7 of 21 from 3-point range. "The first half we got good, quick ball reversal and Bryan Mounce was spotting up real well," Normal West coach Dave Caslow said. "The second half we shot in a hurry and out of sync.

Their zone press tends to make offenses impatient But really our kids played a little beyond my expectations considering their inexperience." Mounce led West with 12 points while Phillips added 11. Stanton paced High with 14, followed by McClintock and Nitai Spiro with eight each. Spiro also led High See BOYS, page B4 former Gridley High School coach, directs Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin into Friday's 7 p.m. Class 4A state playoff championship game against No. 1-ranked Providence at Illinois State's Hancock Stadium.

In his 12th season on the Cyclones' sidelines, Leonard admits the tradition at his school creates high expectations. "There's pressure. You have to win," said Leonard Monday. "But I know who my boss is, and that's Sister Kathleen Anne (Tait, Sacred Heart-Griffin principal). I don't think I would get fired for a losing Ken season as long Leonard as we do the right things in our program.

"I think there's pressure within the kids and the coaching staff. You're in the wrong profession if you don't have pressure to do the best you can." 1 Few teams can match Sacred Heart-Griffin's playoff consistency. In the 22 years of the playoff system, the Cyclones have qualified 18 times. This is the first time Sacred Heart-Griffin has advanced to the 4A title game since 1982 when it lost to Geneseo. They also lost to Joliet Catholic in the 1975 Class 4A championship contest.

Leonard has compiled a 108-25 record at Sacred Heart-Griffin. Ironically, the Cyclones thought 1994 was going to be their year before losing to eventual champion Belvidere in the semifinals. "It has been a surprise to everyone except the players," said Leonard, who also guided Gridley to the Class 1A semifinals in 1981. Conference clash For the first time in a championship game, two teams from the same conference square off. DuP-age Valley Conference rivals Naperville Central and Wheaton- Warrenville South collide for the Class 6A title Saturday.

Top-ranked Naperville Central beat the Tigers 21-16 on Sept 29. It was the Redhawks' closest call this season. "I think Naperville has been on a mission for a long time to win the state title," said Wheaton-Warrenville South coach John Thome, an Illinois Wesleyan graduate whose school won the Class 5A crown in 1992. "To be able to deal with that pressure week after week after week when you're rated No. 1 in the state is very difficult" Thome doesn't believe the earlier defeat gives his team a psychological advantage.

Neither does Naperville Central coach Joe Bunge. "The trend is the playoffs has been where the team that won previously usually won the second game. We feel it's never a good idea to lose a game," said Bunge. "You never know what's going to happen." notes A tB The PantagraphLLOYD YOUNG Illinois State basketball player Kenneth Pierson tipped the ball off the backboard during the Redbirds' 102-77 win over the Converse All-Stars Monday at Redbird Arena. McClintock, High Bloomington downs By RANDY KINDRED Pantagraph staff Normal Community West High School did an effective job of taking away the first option a baseline jump shot by guard Kurt Ol son.

But just when things broke down IJ HIGH 45 for University yyCJ 43 ke'tball3 team BLOOMINGTON 62 Mtcdv.ay. nJght CENTRAL 45 at Shirk Cen- ter, forward Matt McClintock broke free. The 6-foot-2 McClintock, known mostly for his inside play, took a pass from Olson and drilled an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer to lift the Pioneers to a 45-43 victory over West in the opening round of the 25th Intercity Tournament "We had talked the other day in practice about how teams were learning our last-second play," said McClintock, who finished with eight points. "Now we're having the post (man) cut around high to about 17 feet away, in case the play breaks down. That's exactly what happened." Tn PmagraphUOYO YOUNG University High's Todd Mitchell and Normal West's Joey Miles fought for a rebound during their game at the Intercity basketball tournament Monday.

High won, 45-43. 1 1 JnrT-ii 1.