By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twenty-seven Shawnee County teams have won boys state basketball championships, dating all the way back to 1932, but only two have completed perfect 25-0 seasons.
Hayden's 1982-1983 boys basketball team posted a perfect 25-0 record en route to a second straight Class 4A state title. [Submitted photo]
Highland Park's 2006-2007 boys basketball team posted a perfect 25-0 record en route to the Class 5A state title. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
And after a panel of sports media professionals with more than 120 years of combined experience was unable to come up with a clearcut decision, Hayden's 1982-1983 team and Highland Park's 2006-2007 squad share the No.1 spot on TopSports.news' Best of the Best Top 10 list.
Ben Meseke's '83 Wildcats won their second straight Class 4A state title while becoming the first Shawnee County boys team to record a 25-0 season while Ken Darting's Scots repeated the 25-0 fete in '07 on the way to the 5A championship.
Top players for Hayden's '83 team included Mark Turgeon, who went on to a distinguised playing career at Kansas and a long NCAA Division I coaching career, and Tom Meier and Rob Reilly, who helped lead Washburn University to the 1987 NAIA national championship.
All five of Highland Park's starters on the '07 team earned All-State or All-5A recognition, led by Kyle Weems, who went on to become the Missouri Valley Player of the Year at Missoui State and a long and ongoing professional career, and Lamont Austin, who played in the NCAA Tournament for Morehead State.
Highland Park garnered the Class 4A boys state title and the Grand State championship in 1976. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
A third team that received support for the top spot on the Best of the Best Top 10 was Randy Springs' '76 Highland Park team, which won the only Grand State championship in state history after the James Patrick-led Scots captured the 4A title.
The '76 Scots were tapped for the No. 3 position on the Best of the Best list while Washburn Rural's 25-1 1960 team and Hayden's '08 25-1 team round out the top five.
Washburn Rural won the Class A state championship in 1960, led by the late Delvy Lewis and Ron Paradis. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Ted Schuler's 2008 team rolled to a 24-1 record on the way to the Class 4A state championship. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
A pair of Topeka basketball legends, the late Delvy Lewis and the late Ron Paradis, led Bryce Stallard's Junior Blues to the '60 Class A state championship while Ted Schuler's Wildcats rolled to the 4A championship in '08.
Ken Darting coached Silver Lake to the Eagles' lone boys state basketball championship in 1981. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
The late Willie Nicklin led Topeka High to the Class 6A boys state basketball championship in 1986. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Washburn Rural, coached by Larry Longhofer, went 23-1 and won the Class 5A state title in 1982. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team won the 2002 Class 5A state title, the T-Birds' second championship in three seasons. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Highland Park garnered the second of its three straight Class 5A boys state titles in 2008. [Submitted photo to KSHSAA.org]
Darting's '81 Silver Lake team, which won the lone boys state basketball title in school histoy, is listed No. 6 on the Top 10, followed by the late Willie Nicklin's '86 Topeka High team, Larry Longhofer's '82 Washburn Rural squad, Craig Cox's '02 Shawnee Heights team and Highland Park's '08 squad.
Hayden's '08 team received the most votes in Reader's Choice balloting, followed by Hayden's '83 team, Seaman's '22 5A championship team and Heights' '02 and '17 championship teams to round out the top five.
Highland Park's '76 team earned the No. 6 spot on the Reader's Choice Top 10, followed by Hi Park's '07 team, Rual's '60 squad, Silver Lake's '81 team and Topeka High's '86 squad.
Here's a look at the Top 10 and Reader's Choice Awards:
TSN TOP 10 BEST OF THE BEST BOYS BASKETBALL TEAMS
1. (tie) Hayden (1983) -- Ben Meseke's 1982-1983 Wildcats won their second straight Class 4A state championship while becoming the first Shawnee County boys team to record an undefeated 25-0 season. Top players included Mark Turgeon, who went on to a distinguised playing career at Kansas and a long NCAA Division I coaching career, and Tom Meier and Rob Reilly, who helped lead Washburn University to the 1987 NAIA national championship. Both Meier and Turgeon are members of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Famer.
1. (tie) Highland Park (2007) -- Ken Darting's Scots only had two single-digit games in the 2006-2007 season while becoming the second city boys team to achieve a perfect 25-0 season. The Scots capped their season with a win over McPherson in the Class 5A state final. All five of Highland Park's starters earned All-State or All-5A honors, led by Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Famer Kyle Weems, who went on to become the Missouri Valley Player of the Year and a long and ongoing professional career, and Lamont Austin, who played in the NCAA Tournament for Morehead State.
3. Highland Park (1976) -- Randy Springs coached Highland Park to a 23-1 record and the first of two straight Class 4A state championships before the Scots went on to win the championship in the only KSHSAA Grand State Tournament ever contested. Highland Park was led by James Patrick, a member of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.
4. Washburn Rural (1960) -- Two of the biggest names in Shawnee County basketball -- the late Delvy Lewis and the late Ron Paradis -- led Bryce Stallard's Junior Blues to a 25-1 record and the 1960 Class A state championship. Lewis went on to earn All-Big 8 recognition at Kansas while Paradis played at Kansas State. Both Lewis and Paradis are members of the Topeka Shawnee County Sports Hall of Fame.
5. Hayden (2008) -- Ted Schuler's Wildcats posted a 25-1 record over the '07-'08 season on the way to winning the Class 4A state title, capped by a win over Girard in the championship game. Top players for the Wildcats included Jeff Reid, who averaged 17.3 points, and Steve Feighny, who averaged 14.7 points.
6. Silver Lake (1981) -- Ken Darting notched the first of his five state basketball titles (six championships overall), leading Silver Lake to a 24-1 record and the Eagles' only boys Class 3A state boys basketball crown.
7. Topeka High (1986) -- The late Willie Nicklin, a local coaching legend and member of multiple halls of fame, led the Trojans to the Class 6A state championship, with High registering a 21-3 record in the '85-'86 campaign.Top players included All-Stater Teaser Broadnax and David Proctor, who was a first-round selection in the Major League Baseball draft.
8. Washburn Rural (1982) -- Larry Longhofer's Junior Blues compiled a 23-1 record over the '81-'82 campaign on the way to winning the Class 5A state championship, which was Rural's second state championship. Top players for the Junior Blues included John Hughes, Ron Ediger, Danny Piles and Lyndall Yarnell.
9. Shawnee Heights (2002) -- The Gary Woodland-led T-Birds won their second Class 5A state championship in three seasons, finishing the season with a 20-5 record. Woodland went on to become a standout on the PGA Tour, winning the championship in the 2019 U.S. Open.
10. Highland Park (2008) -- Ken Darting's Highland Park '08 team won the second straight of what would become a Class 5A three-peat. Top players for the Scots were Adrian Herrera, Ty Modupe and Rico Richardson.
READER'S CHOICE BOYS BASKETBALL AWARDS
1. Hayden (2008) -- No. 5 in TSN Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
2. Hayden (1983) -- No. 1 tie in TSN Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
3. Seaman (2022) -- The Vikings were 7-7 past the halfway point in the season before winning their final 11 games to capture Seaman's first-ever boys state basketball title. Craig Cox's team posted three straight double-digit wins at state.
4. Shawnee Heights (2002) -- No. 9 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
5. Shawnee Heights (2017) -- Steve Wallace's T-Birds went 22-3 on the season to capture Shawnee Heights' fifth Class 5A boys state title.
6. Highland Park (1976) -- No. 3 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
7. Highland Park (2007) -- No. 1 tie in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
8. Washburn Rural (1960) -- No. 4 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
9. Silver Lake (1981) -- No. 6 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
10. Topeka High (1986) -- No. 7 in Best of the Best Top 10 (see capsule above).
Next up: Girls/boys bowling Best of the Best Top 10 teams and Reader's Choice awards.
