Lincoln, Illinois is a basketball-crazy town with about 15,000 people in it. It's located in central Illinois only about 30 miles south of Bloomington-Normal. Some people like to exaggerate and say that the whole entire town shows up at each home game, selling out the gym if there's a big game that night. The program is top notch with a great tradition of winning and playing basketball in a different style than most high school teams. A large portion of the community comes together each game to cheer on the Railsplitters very loudly and passionately. Many of the season ticket holders haven't even missed a game since the time they first went to a Railer game. The page takes a look at how far back this tradition goes and what started the exciting style of basketball that they play each year.

Schedules

Lincoln plays in the one of the toughest conferences in all of Illinois basketball. They play teams from the Springfield Area that usually have a much bigger school population than them. This sure doesn't hold the Railers back from keeping on the rich tradition of winning that each fan loves to witness in person as they crowd the stands on Friday and Saturday nights. One of the biggest games every single year would be the rivalry game in which they play Chatham Glenwood. These games are always the most exciting as each team fights until the very last second of the game in hopes of winning bragging rights until the next showdown. Other than the Central State 8 teams, Lincoln schedules the best competition that they can find. Coach Neil Alexander looks around and searches for teams that people think would be able to blow the Railers out of the gym. Its a very competitive program that looks to play non-conference teams all over the state of Illinois. The schedules and rosters from the past years can be found on the team's websitehttp://www.railerbasketball.com/

History

The history of Lincoln Railer basketball is based around a tradition of winning. They compete on a very famous court located in the center of the very old Roy S. Anderson Gymnasium. In past years, Lincoln has been all the way to the Elite 8 about nine times in the course of the program's history. They also have the most conference championships out of anyone in the Central State 8. The tradition of winning dates back all the way to the very early 1900's. 

Lincoln Legends

Lincoln's program has produced some very talented basketball players over the years and they continue to do so. This shocks most people because Lincoln is mainly just a run-down little farm town that has only one average sized High School. Brian Cook, Joe Cook, Dan Duff, Gavin Block, Max Cook, Gregg Alexander, and Chuck Verderber are only a few names that come to mind when thinking of players that are considered to be legends around the town of Lincoln. These players all took their teams very far into the post-season and some to the State Championship. This gave the community something to cheer about and watch as each of these players finished up their high school careers and went on to play at the next level. 

Culture

The town of Lincoln may be decreasing in population, but they are not decreasing in the love for high school basketball. Town people can recall going to games in the past and not being allowed in due to a sell out of the tickets and seating. Even little children look up to the players and hope to be them someday. Every summer there are two camps held by Coach Neil Alexander. One is strictly about learning how to shoot using proper form. The other camp teaches other basketball skills, such as dribbling, passing, and defensive skills. Both of these camps are just the beginning of a long and exciting journey as a Lincoln Railer basketball player.