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Even before he became the head boys basketball coach at Centralia High School, Lee Bennett knew the special place the sport holds in the community.
“I was at the laundromat washing uniforms,” he said, speaking of his time at Alton HS when the Redbirds played in the Centralia Holiday Tournament. “People would come over and wanted to talk about basketball so I knew there was certainly some passion there.”
A year or two later, Bennett was back in Centralia but this time as head coach of the Orphans, the winningest high school team in America, and helping carry on that tradition.
Since taking the position in the 2007-08 season, Bennett — through the first two weeks of the 2022-2023 campaign — had guided the Orphans to a 341-108 mark and is being recognized as a 2022 inductee to the Centralia Sports Hall of Fame.
“It’s gone well,” said Bennett who has 11 teams get 20 or more wins in his 15 seasons at CHS. “Any time you take on something new you never know for sure.
“In reflecting back on it, it was a difficult decision and I was fortunate in that (assistant coach) Brad (Goewey) agreed to come with me. People think it’s easy but it’s not. Every year you’re starting over and you’ve got to remember every other town also has a bunch that’s working to be good at basketball and they want to beat you.”
Bennett had already logged 242 career wins coaching when he came to Centralia, including a 100-27 mark in four years at Alton. Among those wins were Holiday Tournament championships in 2004 and 2006 with a runner-up finish in between.
And he had been here before, accompanied by his father, Dave, an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and a state championship coach at Pittsfield High.
“When my brother (Layne) was an assistant coach at Alton and I was coaching in Northern Illinois, we stopped through and watched a game or two in the old Trout Gym,” said Bennett. “I never thought much more about Orphans basketball until I was at Alton (as head coach) and the tournament was very good to us.”
In his first season at Centralia, the Orphans logged 18 wins and quickly followed that with back-to-back 25 victory campaigns.
“I remember that first year,” said Bennett. “When you take a new job, you leave a few wins on the table when you’re trying to get guys to understand what you want them to do.
“In the CHT we played a close game to Memphis Manassas and lost, but the gratitude the crowd showed to the guys as they came off the court stuck with me because they were out there playing hard and competing against a team that was gifted. They came up short but the fans appreciated the effort they put forth, and that team grew as the year went along.”
The next season was the runner-up finish of 2011 and an overtime loss to Rock Island in the championship game, the first time the Orphans had played for a state title since 1963.
That club finished with a 30-5 mark and following an 18-win season in 2012, Centralia ran off six more seasons of 20 wins or more, and last season, compiled a 28-4 mark.
“We’ve blessed for being able to put young men out there who will meet the standards of playing hard and playing smart,” said Bennett. “You’re also asking them to commit to improving themselves over the summer. But I’ve had freshmen coaches who were willing to start below square one and teach kids about basketball. That certainly makes a difference.”
As part of his career win total of over 500, Bennett’s 341 victories at Centralia are second only to Arthur Trout’s 810.
“Human nature and competitive spirit being what they are, you always think you could have done a little better, but when you add reality to it, you realize things could have gone a lot worse,” said Bennett. “I’ve been very fortunate to have young men who were willing to do whatever it took to get the job done, an administration that’s been very supportive, great assistant coaches and a community that backs us.
“One thing we try to teach, even more than Xs and Os or skill sets, is that working hard and taking care of business is what it takes to be successful.”
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