PEORIA — After Jordan Ash received his gold medal Saturday afternoon, he leaned over the rope that kept fans off the Carver Arena court during the postgame ceremony.
On the other end was Brandon Watkins, wearing a shirt that read “St. Joseph Basketball Never Sleeps” and a ring he earned by leading St. Joseph to the 1999 Class AA championship.
As Watkins and Ash embraced, Damien McIntosh, Watkins’ former backcourt mate, slapped Ash on the back.
“Welcome to the club, boy!” McIntosh said.
The club of St. Joseph state championship teams now includes two members after this year’s Chargers defeated Belleville Althoff 67-63 for the Class 3A title.
Coach Gene Pingatore has coached plenty of great teams in his 46 years as St. Joseph’s coach, including 31 regional winners and 12 sectional champs. The all-time Illinois wins leader boasts a 962-333 career record and coached Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas and three McDonald’s All-Americans.
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The debate about which of Pingatore’s teams is best rages among members of the St. Joe family. Some say it was Thomas’ 1978 team that finished second at state to Lockport and started what Pingatore calls the “Frankenstein monster” of high expectations. Some say it was the 1982 team that went 29-2 led by future Indiana player Daryl Thomas. Others say the state title gives the 1999 team the nod.
“We get into it all the time,” said Watkins, who played at Penn State and professionally in Europe and is now a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois. “Guys go back and forth, but I always say if you put up a banner you get the last word.”
Pingatore says the 1987 Chargers were his most talented team. St. Joseph finished third in Class AA that year, finishing 28-3 with five Division I players: Brian Molis (Colorado and NIU), Cliff Scales and Carl Hayes (both Nebraska), Terry Mister (Loyola Marymount) and Deryl Cunningham (Kansas State), a 1989 McDonald’s All-American who came off the bench in 1987.
“Who’s the best? It depends,” Pingatore said. “But when you win state you have to be a pretty special team.”
Led by future Big Ten stars Evan Turner and Demetri McCamey, St. Joe went 81-9 in three seasons from 2005 to 2007, but never made it to state, falling to Proviso East twice in the sectionals and to Derrick Rose and Simeon in a 2007 supersectional.
Glynn Watson, this year’s point guard and McCamey’s half-brother, now has familial bragging rights.
“We never really thought about being as good as all those great teams,” said Watson, who will play at Nebraska. “But now that we won state, I guess you have to put us up there.”
When comparing St. Joe’s two champions, Watkins admits this year’s version — with Watson, the Northwestern-bound Ash and high Division I prospect Nick Rakocevic — is more talented than the Chargers from 16 years ago.
“Our big thing was chemistry,” Watkins said. “This group does it a little more unconventionally in that area. But they came together at the right time, and they’re going to go down as a great team.”