Panthers get royal send-off to state championships in Peoria

The drum line pounded out an infectious beat, as the crowd outside Pinckneyville Community High School swelled and then cheered. The bus containing the Pinckneyville boys basketball team rolled slowly past the scrum of students and staff, the players hanging out of the decorated bus windows to soak up the cheers and wave.

And so, at 8 a.m. Thursday, the Panthers headed for Peoria, and destiny.

Classes are canceled Friday at Pinckneyville Community High School. Hundreds of fans, maybe more, are expected to make the trip to Peoria, to see the Panthers go for their first boys state basketball championship since 2001, and what would be the fourth championship in school history.

To school officials, though, just making the Class 2A Final Four is reason enough to call the team champions. A Welcome Home rally will be held at 1:30 p.m. Sunday to celebrate, no matter whether the Panthers finish first or fourth. Everyone in Pinckneyville is invited.

"I am so proud of these kids," said English teacher Lisa Wisniewski, clapping and cheering as the bus rolled by.

What impresses Superintendent Keith Hagene goes beyond the Panthers' 31-3 record and the fact that the team is much deeper than just its starting five.

He is impressed with the character of this team, and how these young men have embraced being role models for children and in the community. He is impressed with the work ethic they demonstrate.

"This is a great group of guys," Hagene said. "They work hard, from the top of the roster on down."

"It's the culture and tradition here," he added, speaking about of Pinckneyville Community High School, and noting that many adults in the community - himself included - grew up here and now are sending second and third generations through the schools.

The boys on the team, he said, visit the grade schools to talk with children. And they weren't above playing one on one with the little kids who came to watch their shootaround before the sectional contest.

The block of 600 tickets that PCHS received to sell, is gone - to students and student-athletes, to Panther season ticket holders, and finally to the general public. But Carver Area in Peoria holds around 12,000, and PCHS officials are confident that anyone from Pinckneyville who wants to watch the game will be able to get in.