1985-86 Ohio Boys Basketball BASKETBALL TEAM
SUBMITTED PHOTO
By Andy Tavegia
T
o tell the story of the 1985-86 Ohio Bulldogs, you have to go back a few years to 1979-80. That’s when a fellow by the name of Brad Bickett moved into town. Known as a diverse and multi-talented athlete, he joined a group of Bulldogs that already had been playing together for a few years. Bickett provided the final piece to a difficult yet tiny puzzle that few teams across the state could solve in the mid 1980s. For three seasons, Ohio High School – with an enrollment less than 70 -- won 79 of 88 games and climbed all the way to the state championship game. This wasn’t a team of head toppers; the tallest player only was 6-foot-2 in. But it was a group of players where everybody knew his role to provide a suffocating defense with a strong full-court press and an offense so fundamental it wound up with two players scoring more than 2,000 points. And ask the players of that team, that’s what made it so difficult to stop. “It was probably the most unselfish team I have ever played on,” said Lance Harris, an all-stater and one of those two 2,000-point scorers along with Bickett. “From Tim (Farraher), to the Doran boys (Dan, Dave and Doug), to Darren (Schultz), everybody played a role at a different time. Where Brad and I got a lot of the press and all-state honors and everything, none of that would have been reachable or obtainable for us or the team if it wasn’t for all the unselfish dirty work that the other players were willing to put in. It was on the press, in the offense setting screens for Brad and I,
WHERE are they NOW
38 September 29, 2021 | Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame | A NewsTribune Publication
Accomplishments • Coached by legendary coach Lloyd Johnson, the Bulldogs went 29-3 and finished second in the 1986 IHSA Class A State Tournament • The school remains the smallest school enrollment (69 students) to ever play for a state title in any sport • At the state tournament, the Bulldogs beat Decatur St. Teresa (73-50) and Frankfurt (45-43) before falling to Teutopolis (82-45) in the state title game • Seniors Brad Bickett and Lance Harris were named to the five-person AllTournament Team
