Jim Harrington admits that at least once a week he takes time out to scan the massive Elgin Wall of Fame that sits at the east end of Chesbrough Field House.
"One day a week, I look up and down the Wall of Fame at all the coaches and players. It's really unique," said Harrington, Elgin's boys basketball coach for the past 15 years. "Just the thought of people that have played in this program give me goose bumps."
It's certainly no surprise Harrington and the 1999-2000 Elgin team are well aware of the tremendous tradition that surrounds this boys basketball program.
 |
| Marcus Smallwood is the all-time leader in blocked shots for the Maroons. He will play at NIU next year. |
On March 2, Elgin High School will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first-ever game in the program, a contest also recognized as the first interscholastic boys basketball game in state history.
"When I first came in here as a freshman, I wasn't aware (of the tradition)," said Elgin senior Marcus Smallwood, part of the M&M duo with Marcus Howard that has dominated opponents throughout the season. "Now I know about Mark Baugh (former Elgin all-time leading scorer) and Flynn Robinson. Now that I've almost completed the program, I'm glad I played here. When I look back on the four years, I realize what a great program this is and how much fun I had."
Howard had some fair warning about the Elgin tradition. Howard's father Jeff played for St. Charles and had several battles against the Maroons. His mother Delores is an EHS grad.
"My mom was here and always talked about it, and my dad talks about when he was at St. Charles about how good they were," said Howard. "Elgin High School is a big basketball school. There have been a lot of great players here. It's great to be a part of it."
Harrington remembers coming over from Chicago Weber and taking over for legendary coach Bill Chesbrough.
"It was kind of scary at first to walk into the field house named after Chesbrough," said Harrington. "This is the same guy that has (573) wins. You hope you can follow in his shoes. You can never fill them. His are size 15's; I wear 11's.
"Bill set the tone. I've been lucky to follow in his footsteps. The success I have had is a small token of what basketball is like in this school. Just some of the names here are incredible."
In Harrington's first year, that tradition rang out loud and clear, even as Elgin started out 3-3.
"It was very overwhelming," said Harrington, who recently won his 400th career game and is nearing 300 wins at Elgin. "People were in the stands telling me to go back to the Catholic League. We won the conference that year. You had to win the people over."
The opportunity to play in a program that has almost a college-like atmosphere to it is something very special, Harrington says.
"Kids here have had the opportunity to play in front of 2,500 to 3,000 people," said Harrington. "You have the newspapers and the radio. That's something you see at college. It's a lot of pressure, but it's very rewarding. No matter where you go - here or in Bartlett - everybody knows about Elgin basketball."
Howard knows something special occurs everytime he gets dressed for a game: "The Elgin that is across your chest makes you want to go out and represent the program and continue the winning tradition."
