EHT Preview: Never Gets Old
Jesus Christ, Family and Basketball.
There is nothing that means more to Massac County High School boys' basketball head Coach Joe Hosman than those three things.
When you combine them, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone more passionate than Hosman, displaying that passion on the court with his fiery personality trademark whistle and a stare that can cut like a knife.
For Hosman, The Eldorado Holiday Tournament is a combination of all three and its something the former Eldorado head coach and now 30-year Patriots head coach looks forward too each and every year.
Hosman coached the Eagles for seven seasons, from 1979 to 1985, where he compiled a 113-84 record and one EHT title.
In the 1986-87 season, he became the head boys' basketball coach at Massac County High School, just the third head coach the school has ever had and has spent the last 30 years leading the Patriots to a 566-276 record with a winning percentage of .672.
Hosman has 10 Class A Regional titles, to go along with a sectional and super sectional trophy.
In Class 2A Hosman has a pair of regional championships, as well as a sectional and super sectional title that pairs nicely with a second place finish in the Class 2A State Tournament in 2008.
2008 was the last time Eldorado had the No 1 seed at the EHT. The Patriots had to rally in the fourth quarter to beat an upset-minded Carrier Mills-Stonefort team 59-47 in the title game.
Looking back with fondness, Hosman sat down with The Daily Register to talk about what the EHT means to him, his best memory, and what if any comparisons there are to the 2008 team.
Daily Register: What does the EHT mean to you?
Joe Hosman: It's the best tournament in southern Illinois and I think it always has the best atmosphere and fans that just love the game of basketball. There are people that come back for years and years just because of that tournament. It's a pleasure and a privilege to be a part of the history of that tournament. When I was at Eldorado, we were part of first Eldorado teams to win the EHT in years with (then senior and later former head coach, Greg Goodley) We've been pretty successful in it here at Massac County over the years. Had some great wins and some tough losses in it, but that's just all part of the tradition that goes along with that tournament.
It's just the process. One of the big things that we do, if we're in the final day, I'll stay and watch the games and the kids all go and eat at Ponderosa and then we'll go over to my mother- and father-in-laws house and just sit there and have a good time. Just being able to do that with them every year is fun.
DR: What is your best memory of the EHT?
JH: In 1984 when Greg Goodley was a senior and McLeansboro was ranked to win the tournament. I think we might have come in as an 4th or 5th seed and we beat them and it was the first time Eldorado had won the tournament in years and years (EHS knocked off McLeansboro 46-42 for their sixth overall EHT title). Getting to coach my boys in it (Zach and Andrew) is something that will always be special to me. We won the championship, but also just being a part of some of the great games. I don't think there is just one memory. When you get to be my age, it's hard to pick just one thing.
DR: How much do you look forward to the tournament?
JH: Other than the Christmas part of it, I can't find anything I don't look forward to more. It's the Eldorado Holiday Tournament, it's right after Christmas. You get to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and then you get ready to go play something else that you love. Like I've said, I think it's the best tournament in southern Illinois and one of the best in the state. It's one of the highlights of our year, every year.
DR: Thinking about the year that your (Eldorado) team beat McLeansboro, does the tournament have that March Madness feel to it, where it's not David vs. Goliath, but that the upsets are what makes it so much fun?
JH: There are upsets in this thing, it seems like almost every year. I think coach (Randy) Smithpeters, how many years did they win it? Three or four? Anytime you can do that is just tremendous. He had a great run with it because I know he had not won it for a few years and then to come back and win it four years in a row is a pretty awesome feat. So, there is always going to be someone that is going to get upset, I just don't ever want it to be the Patriots.
DR: 2008 was the last time Massac County won the EHT and was the last time you guys were the No. 1 seed. Any similarities between this year's team and the 2008 team?
JH: (Laughs) Oh gosh no! We've got one starter back this year. We have a group of kids that just play tremendously hard and they play unselfish, like that 2008 team, but this team doesn't have a 6-foot-5 Bryon Bailey (EHT MVP that season), we don't have the quickness of the Jarrelle Johnson and the Corey Ayala. We don't just have the knock down shooter like Dustin Korte or the physical presence with my son-in-law Zach Kester. We don't have that type of team "physically". We have the same kind of heart and determination to win. This team that I am coaching right now is one of the hardest playing teams I have coached.
DR: When the EHT tips off, what are you most looking forward to?
JH: The process, the preparation, and that's one of the things I like coaching more than anything else, is the process of getting your team prepared to play.
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.