Quincy Pride - Medsker to JuCo

The Western Big Six Player of the Year
is staying put in Quincy for college next year.

By Frank Rusnak
Ask most grade school boys coming up in Quincy what they want to do with their future and you'll almost assuredly receive the same response from all. Graduating senior Marcus Medsker, a 6'6" shooting guard, was no different with his response as a youngster.

One would think that many kids would jump ahead to their post-teen days and say something to the tune of playing in the NBA. But the NBA isn't the object of desires in Quincy, a town situated due west of Springfield and almost six hours from Chicago.

"Coming from Quincy it's like every kid dreams to be a Blue Devil."

Marcus Medsker
Quincy High School

"Coming from Quincy it's like every kid dreams to be a Blue Devil," said Medsker. "The demands at Quincy are pretty high. If you're on the team, then that's the No. 1 thing. But we get so much stuff and so much hype in Quincy. It's like no where else with how they love their basketball."

Alright, so you're saying Mr. Medsker apparently doesn't get out much, living to be a Blue Devil, and to think that basketball is such a beloved thing in his town that it rates as high there as anywhere in the state? OK, you obviously have never been to Quincy for a game.

The lights get dimmed, the crowd begins to increase the decibel level, and then here comes Zach Sharnhoarst, the Quincy student selected at tryouts before the season to be "The Blue Devil." Holding his pitchfork high, with kerosene at the top so the fire burns strong, he runs around the court with his royal blue devils outfit on. The players feed off the electricity in the gymnasium that is ricocheting off the walls by the sold out crowd. Then it's game time for the Blue Devils -- what all of the townspeople, little kids, alumni, students and parents have been waiting for.

"Before the games, it's like an NBA starting lineup," proudly states Medsker, who is a rarity at Quincy as a four-year varsity player. "They turn off the lights and a little devil runs around with a flame. Our pre-game and the locker room are like no other."

Oh yeah, there are the 20-plus cushioned chairs in the luxurious locker room, with wooden lockers, cushioned couches and a large TV. But the lockers are only the beginning of how a Blue Devil is treated in Quincy.

Loved by adults, idolized by kids and given "preferential" treatment are just a few of the perks when you're on the Quincy basketball team.

"You're looked at as the stars of the town and role models to the kids and it's a real big honor, so we have to watch what we do too," said Medsker. "But it helps us too, because it helps us work harder."

Asked why Quincy loves its basketball the way they do, Medsker points to the past, the glorious tradition that paved the way for him and the many other Blue Devils.

Possessing the fourth most wins for a basketball team in the nation, states the team's official website, Quincy has made 30 state appearances while bringing back the big trophy as state rulers twice, in 1934 and '81.

On that '81 team was possibly the most famous Blue Devil of them all, Bruce Douglas. After helping Quincy to the state title, he went on to be Big Ten Player of the Year at the University of Illinois and then spent time in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings.

While Medsker is modest to point backwards at the tradition, he has also left his own mark at the school.

Coming into high school, many of the Blue Devil fans were already familiar with Medsker, as they followed him and his Quincy Junior High team who won second place in the state. They lost once in midseason and again in the championship game to a Springfield Washington team led by current Springfield Lanphier star Richard McBride.

"When I was coming out of junior high I was still looking at the Blue Devils as they are big and everything," said Medsker. "They had some real good players, so I was a little timid at first."

Playing on the sophomore team his first year, it wasn't unusual for Medsker to torch the nets for 20 points by halftime. But whatever he finished with at the half, was usually his final tally.

While he saw action sparingly, he finished his rookie year with a high of eight points on the Quincy varsity.

His sophomore year is when he started making a name for himself around the Western Big Six, Quincy's conference. Averaging 13 points and six rebounds he was a full-time starter and looked to as more of a leader.

While his presence was beginning to be known around the area and WB6, the rest of the state hadn't quite caught a grasp of what Medsker was all about until the fall going into his junior year.

Heading for his first time to Chicago, Medsker participated in the High School Elite Junior Showcase, featuring the Illinois' best 50 players from the graduating class of 2003.

"I was making a lot of shots and things just fell," explained Medsker of his hot hand that day. "I played pretty good there. That was really when I first started to get a name for myself with the best players in the state."

Taking the steam from the fall into his junior year, he finished the year with averages of 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists while receiving all-conference and all-state mention.

He followed that up his senior year as a unanimous choice for the Western Big Six Player of the Year, while averaging 22 points and seven rebounds for a 22-8 ball club. The Blue Devils eventually fell to Troy Triad in the sectionals after a long, tiresome season, which the team dealt with all sorts of adversity.

Quincy head coach Loren Wallace along with bench contributor and Pittsfield-transfer Brooks Allen both missed three-fourths of the season due to an IHSA suspension. Initially, the IHSA’s ruling was that Wallace would be out the whole season for alleged recruiting violations with Allen. And Allen, a 6’1” junior, would miss all his junior and senior years of all sports – he also plays baseball. While it is still left as a mystery to Quincy fans and players, Wallace and Allen were abruptly allowed back towards the tail end of the season. Ironically, prior to their admittance back Wallace made an announcement that he was going to retire after the season, which some feel was part of the reason he was let back.

“It was totally different without our leader,” said Medsker, of the team’s time without Wallace. “Everybody acts and played different, they slacked off in practice."

Quincy’s troubles weren't over, however. As the Blue Devils were boarding the bus to take on Troy Triad, they found out they would be without the services of their starting center Nate Sparrow who averaged eight rebounds a game. Sparrow participated in a weekend 3-on-3 tournament locally during the season and when Wallace found out, he decided to not play him for fear of the IHSA ruling against the Blue Devils again.

“Losing eight rebounds a game in Nate really hurt us,” Medsker said. “And I don’t understand how [the IHSA is] going to send Coach Wallace out three-fourths of the year then say everything was OK all of a sudden.”

When his high school career finally came to a close, Medsker hit the recruiting trail. Receiving interest from Utah, Wisconsin, Miami (FL), Wisconsin, Southern Illinois, Northern Illinois, Eastern Illinois and Bradley, he didn’t have any solid offers after his season came to an end.

“I planned on going to Utah,” said Medsker, who both visited the Utah campus and had coach Rick Majerus come in for a home visit. “They said they were going to offer this year, but then they got a commitment from a 6’10” European guy. They said they’d offer next year if I went to prep school for one year.”

Growing up in Quincy all his life, Medsker didn’t feel safe about leaving far away from home to go to a prep school for a year. So, he decided to stay in Quincy and sign with John Wood, a Division II Junior College, passing up offers from Indian Hills and Southeastern Junior Colleges. Signing late last week along with Medsker was his Blue Devil teammate Bryce Bushmeyer.

“This is what I think is best for me,” Medsker said. “Basically it came down to me doing what I wanted to do rather than listening to what everyone else wanted me to do. And being so late I didn’t really have that many options. I want to go to Missouri, Iowa or Illinois, but if I can’t I’ll just go to a mid-major around the area. I know I could play over there especially after one year [at John Wood]. I could see if I go there and just sit there, but it’s going to pay off because I’m going to work.

With the pride of Quincy cheering him on, it’s a good bet it will indeed pay off.