Southern Illinois Coaches Association names Ian Reith to All-South Team

Posted April 08, 2020 1:00 am

By Jim Beers Contributing writer

Chester High School senior Ian Reith has been named to the 2020 Southern Illinois Coaches Association (SICA) All-South Team for basketball.

His coach, Brad Norman, is not surprised, calling Reith an outstanding player.

"Ian Reith has always been a great all-around player," Norman said. Moreover, "He always encourages his teammates, he has great character and he will always have a special place in Chester High School history."

Reith started the 2019-20 season by earning a position on the 2019 Murphysboro-Trico Tournament All-Tournament Team, where he helped lead the Yellow Jackets to a 4-1 record to begin the season.

Reith was also named to the Pinckneyville Duster Thomas Hoops Classic All-Tournament Team. The Jackets went 2-2 at the tournament, beating Greenville and Meridian and losing close games to Jerseyville and Benton.

At Duster Thomas, Reith scored 86 points. Against Meridian on Dec. 28, Reith scored the 1,000th point of his high school career. He was honored with a special award and recognition Saturday, Jan. 18, just prior to the championship game of the Chester Invitational Tournament.

Reith had a huge Chester Invitational Tournament, where the Jackets were undefeated against Shawnee, Saxony Lutheran and Waterloo. He was named the captain of the 2020 CIT All-Tournament Team.

The Jackets placed second in the Black Diamond Conference with a 9-3 conference record. For his efforts in the Black Diamond Conference West Division, Reith was named to the 2020 BDC West Division All-Conference Team, his third year in a row to earn that honor. In addition, Reith was named the captain of the BDC All-Conference Team.

For the 2019-20 season, Reith helped his team to a 20-12 record, with an average of 16.4 points per game. He made 198 of 359 shots from the field (52.2%) and 18 of 66 three-pointers (27.3%). He hit 180 two-point baskets on 293 attempts, (61.4%); and hit 111 of 157 free throws (70.7%).

Reith led the team on the boards with a total of 279 rebounds and an average of 8.7 rebounds per game. He was also a very unselfish player, averaging two assists per game or 58 total.

Finally, Reith placed second on the team with 43 steals; he led the team with 38 blocks; and he drew one charge. He further earned the award for "most points scored" on the team with a total of 525 for 2019-2020. For his career, Reith scored 1,263 points which is third best in CHS history.