Here’s a look at the 25 all-time top scoring leaders for Illinois Valley schools past and present, including all schools in the BCR coverage area. DePue great Ron Zagar, who played for the Little Giants from 1953-57, is the all-time leader with 2,515 career points. The list includes nine 2,000-point scorers
| Name (years) | School | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Ron Zagar (1953-57) | DePue | 2,515 |
| 2) Paxton Giertz (2021-25) | Seneca | 2,506 |
| 3) Jim Kinney (1957) | Magnolia Swaney | 2,301 |
| 4) Charlie Moretz (1953-56) | Buda | 2,224 |
| 5) Parker Neuhalfen (2011-15) | Bureau Valley | 2,208 |
| 6) Brad Bickett (1982-86) | Ohio | 2,177 |
| 7) Don Hamel (1965-69) | Mendota | 2,158 |
| 8) Brian Piper (1987-91) | Ohio | 2,132 |
| 9) Carlton Fay (2003-07) | Putnam County | 2,129 |
| 10) Lance Harris (1982-86) | Ohio | 1,936 |
| 11) J.J. Cravetta (2008-12) | Streator | 1,930 |
| 12) Lee Piccinelli (2004-08) | Henry | 1,907 |
| 13) Tom Schertz (1979-83) | Tiskilwa | 1,891 |
| 14) Shane Phillips (1989-93) | Ohio | 1,865 |
| 15) Seth Evans (2005-09) | Seneca | 1,847 |
| 16) Christian Benning (2021-24) | Streator | 1,832 |
| 17) Shawn Jeppson (1994-98) | Hall | 1,829 |
| 18) Paul Hart (2018-20, 21-22) | St. Bede | 1,811 |
| 19) Roger Cannon (1962-66) | Neponset | 1,809 |
| 20) Roger Weller (1951-55) | LaMoille | 1,785 |
| 21) Reuben Slock (1997-01) | Bureau Valley | 1,771 |
| 22) Ron Marroquin (1980-83) | DePue | 1,767 |
| 22 tie) Gary Langham (1987-90) | LaSalle-Peru | 1,767 |
| 24) Owen Landwehr (2015-18) | Mineral (Annawan) | 1,751 |
| 25) Jerry Zielenski (1964-68) | Hennepin/Putnam County | 1,736 |
Notes on players:
Ron Zagar scored 1,014 points as a senior, averaging 37.6 ppg. Was at Iowa four years (played three).
Brad Bickett played at Eureka College and before launching a Hall of Fame coaching career with stops at Western, Bureau Valley and Rock Falls.
Don Hamel played at Northern Illinois and had a long, successful coaching career in Texas.
Carlton Fay played at Southern Illinois.
Shawn Jeppson was the 1998 AP Class A Player of the Year. He also scored more than a 1,000 points at ISU.
Paul Hart played his junior season in Arkansas during COVID.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/DMITDCPBSVGSRDM2BIW3EFQ7OA.jpg)
:quality(70)/author-service-images-prod-us-east-1.publishing.aws.arc.pub/shawmedia/9f52a36c-1098-48b5-9e2e-235383b4c2ac.png)