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The ICON Series, part II: Harrisburg's Randy Smithpeters

This is the second of a four-part series that will highlight the accomplishments of four legendary southern Illinois basketball coaches. Each part will run Wednesday's in the Harrisburg Register.

Husband. Father. Teacher. Coach.

Coaches wear a lot of hats. In this situation, especially high school basketball coaches.

Sometimes it even exceeds the number of players on the team.

The mark of a great coach is finding the balance between being compassionate and being demanding.

Not lost in the equation is motivating, inspiring and pushing a kid past what's considered good enough, to greatness.

For some players, a coach is the father they didn't have or the father-figure they need.

Four coaches in southern Illinois have established themselves as icons in this sport, racking up wins, along with postseason hardware and not losing sight of why they do what they do.

Guys like Massac County's Joe Hosman, Harrisburg's Randy Smithpeters, Carbondale's Jim Miller and Murphysboro's Daryl Murphy have established a legacy that is unparalleled in this day in age.

They are legends. Not only on the sidelines, but at their school.

Each coach has coached at their respective schools for more than 20 years and all have made at least one appearance in the state tournament.

In this four-part series, each coach partakes in a Question & Answer session that looks back on his career, his reasoning for coaching, the best player he coached against and what he has in common with the other coaches.

<b>Q. Did coaching basketball choose you or did you choose to coach basketball?</b>

Randy Smithpeters: I think that was a 50-50. Of course, the love for basketball was always there as a kid growing up. I did have other career options which would have taken me away from basketball. I did that some, but still kind of stayed connected with basketball, and then I came back completely. I think it is a little bit of both, but I think it is what I should have done the whole time.

<b>Q: What similarities or traits do you think you share with the other coaches?</b>

RS: For sure, the love of the game. Competitiveness. The will to prepare. The will to commit time. The will to sacrifice for your opportunities. A love of the team concept, helping kids, being with people who have the same values that you have and want to compete and do what it takes to be good.

<b>Q: What made you want to get into coaching and is the reason now the same as it was then?</b>

RS: I think the love of the game is what got me into coaching. But since then, I think it is just the opportunity to help people. I still love the game, but I use it to connect with people or help people. Things have changed a lot.

Back when I started coaching, a coach would draw a line in the sand and expected everybody who wanted to play to step up to it. That's not true in 2018. Now our job is to find a way to get that kid to step up to that line and do what is expected. That's the job now of coaching and teaching. That's the job of dealing with youth now. It's changed drastically, but the complication is still the same.

<b>Q: How has basketball changed during your time coaching?</b>

RS: People are better, players are better. I go back to my day and a guy that could dunk was rare and now you have three or four on a team ordinarily who can dunk. Athletes are better. The game is far more physical than it used to be. It's quicker than it used to be. Then there's the people difference like I talked about, the attitudes have changed.

<b>Q: What do you think is the reason you have stayed at your respective schools as long as you have?</b>

RS: Well, I'm at a good place for one thing. First of all, good athletes provide the opportunity to be successful. We've had a lot of good groups here; I don't think you survive anywhere without that. It's a sports-minded community.

<b>Q: Did you ever consider leaving?</b>

RS: Sure.

<b>Q: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever gotten?</b>

RS: That's a tough one. I go back to David Lee, who hired me as a freshman coach. He gave me the opportunity. It wasn't a good situation for him or me, but he said, 'No, I want you to do this. It will be fine.' That got me into freshman basketball and I never really left basketball after that. He and Curt Reed were together - a perfect pair to mentor somebody like me. David was more of a defensive guy and Curt was more of an offensive guy ... the perfect pair who went to state twice and I got to be with them. I learned a lot from them.

Something that I think is important now, is David told me when he got out that he wished he would've been a little more flexible with players. He felt like he ran a lot of good players off because of something that kind of didn't matter, a behavior issue or something like that. But in 2018 now, that's what you deal with all of the time. I've always remembered that.

<b>Q: Who is your coaching idol?</b>

RS: You can throw Jerry Sloan in with those guys because they were kind of bouncing off of him. Plus, from 1982 to 1984 Jerry was at McLeansboro. He was in our practices most of the time and at all of our games when Brian (Sloan) was playing and (they) had the opportunity to pick his brain on how to do this and do that. Our practices right now to this day are made up of things that he brought in and a philosophy on how to set up a practice - the conditioning side, the basketball side, the recreation side.

Brian played for McLeansboro in '83 and '84. They got third in state in '83 and were undefeated champions in '84. Jerry had just gotten fired at Chicago the season before, so that's when they moved to McLeansboro and Brian came down here to play. With Curt Reed, he's a people person and he developed great relationships with his players and it's what you have to do today.

<b>Q: What is your best memory as a head coach?</b>

RS: There are a lot of things. The state championship (2012-13) is way up there, but I also think of a lot. Here's our definition of fun - beating people who are as good or better than us. Some of the big things that I look back on are the games we won that we should not have. Even with some of the groups that were overachievers. That was really fun.

<b>Q: Who is the best player you have coached against?</b>

RS: Coaching as a freshman coach, Mike Duff (Eldorado) was a really good player. At Mcleansboro, we played them, and we couldn't beat them. We tried everything in the world. Here was one of my ideas for Mike Duff...free throw line, he shoots, he turns and sprints and we put a guy behind him to try and pick up the foul. That's how desperate we were, trying to find something to come up with.

Myers Leonard from Robinson. We'd go play him, Kyle would go with me to Vandalia to scout. Kyle is a better judge of that kind of talent - far better than I am. We'd watch for about a quarter and he'd say, 'He's a pro.' I didn't see that at all, but Kyle sees that.

Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois Local Media News Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.

Randy Smithpeters: Harrisburg High School

478 career wins coming into the 2018-19 season

14 REGIONALS

6 SECTIONALS

2 SUPER-SECTIONALS

2 STATE TOURNAMENT APPERANCES

14 20-WIN SEASONS