(Photo By Flickr User Brett Moore)
River City Coaching Legend Wayne McClain, will be inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame on second Saturday in April.
A 1972 graduate of Peoria Manual High School and 1977 Bradley University graduate, McClain enjoyed a nationally-recognized basketball coaching career at both the prep and collegiate levels. Following 18 seasons as an assistant for Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Famer Dick Van Scyoc, culminating with the 1994 IHSA AA state championship, McClain succeeded Van Scyoc for the next seven seasons and led the Rams to the final three state titles in 1995, 1996, and 1997 during their unprecedented state championship four-peat.
The 1997 USA Today National High School Boys Basketball Coach of the Year, McClain’s Rams were USA Today’s No. 1 ranked boys basketball team in the nation in 1996-97. The three-time (1995-96-97) Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year, McClain led Manual to five straight Mid-State Conference championships from 1995 through 1999 and his teams advanced to the at least the Sweet 16 in the IHSA AA state tournament in each of his first five years. McClain joined the University of Illinois coaching staff in 2001 and helped the Illini to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the 2005 National Championship Game in St. Louis, MO.
Following one year as the director of student-athlete development for men’s basketball at Kansas State University, McClain returned to high school basketball as the head coach at Champaign Central in 2013. He guided the Maroons to a 13-win improvement in his lone season on the bench before his untimely death in 2014.
GPSHOF Induction banquet information:
Date: Saturday, April 9, 2016
Time: 5pm social hour, 6pm banquet and induction ceremony at the Peoria Civic Center.
Tickets: $35 before March 30th; $40 if purchased March 31st-April 5th. Tickets will not be available at the door. Tickets may be ordered via phone (309-691-3553) or email ([email protected]). To pay by credit card, go to gpshof.com and click the appropriate link on the home page.
