Woodstock’s all-time leading basketball scorer knows about the journey, and its heartbreak and happiness along the way.

Friday night, Dan Hill drove 2½ hours from his residence in Moline to Woodstock to remind the current players at his high school alma mater to keep their heads up and, as expected from a sharpshooter, to keep their eyes on the target.

Few players in McHenry County history have been better at hitting the target on the court than Hill, a bomber who dropped 51 points against host Crystal Lake South in a Class AA postseason game in 1987. Hill’s 1,791 career points – achieved before the IHSA introduced the 3-point arc in the 1987-88 season – still place him No. 1 on Woodstock’s record board.

Before Woodstock’s bus headed to Marengo, Hill addressed the team after a short film session.

The Blue Streaks headed into the new year with a 10-3 record, but started 2026 with four losses in a row and five in six games.

In the mid-1980s, Coach Gordie Tebo’s Streaks won three regional titles in a row before falling short against Crystal Lake South in Hill’s senior year, despite his epic shooting performance that night. He averaged 29.6 points a game in his final season (1986-87) for the Streaks.

Hill, who played collegiately at Morningside in Iowa and North Park in Chicago, reminisced about those glory and not-so-glory days when giving his pregame speech Friday. He then cheered on the Streaks as they squeaked past Marengo 58-57 for their fourth win in a row.

“It was a great speech,” said Streaks junior guard Max Beard, who scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season and has his sights set on breaking Hill’s school scoring record next season. “He talked about how they picked it up the second half of his [senior] season, too. He talked about how there’s struggles, there’s dips, there’s highs, there’s lows, and then he talked about holding the regional plaque.”

JJ Stokes’ clutch 3-pointer down the stretch and Beard’s 16-of-21 shooting performance from the foul line helped the Streaks edge Marengo. Afterward, Stokes was all smiles talking about Hill.

“He talked basically about how many points he scored without the 3-point [arc],” Stokes said. “He was originally going to talk to us when we had that little losing streak a couple weeks ago.”

Woodstock (15-9) looks to start a new winning streak Wednesday night at home against Richmond-Burton after losing to host Belvidere 55-53 on Saturday.

Marengo freshman continues to flash: Marengo point guard Caden Bezik, Burlington Central forward Declan Wilson and Jacobs guard Malachi Bell have stood out as the area’s top freshmen this season.

The 5-foot-9 Bezik scored 23 points against Woodstock on Friday night. His 6-of-13 shooting performance included two 3-pointers and a dazzling spin move in the lane where he tossed in a seemingly blind shot.

“He’s a freaking dog,” Marengo junior forward Sam Vandello said. “He works so hard with basketball. Every day he’s doing something different. I couldn’t be more proud of him. He’s got all the ball-handling.”

Bezik scored 25 points against Indian Creek earlier this season and has been a consistent double-digit scorer on a young team that starts only one senior (Myles Aukes).

“There’s a lot of pressure being a point guard on the varsity level as a freshman, and he’s done nothing but exceed our expectations,” Indians coach Jeremy Burke said of Bezik. “He just keeps getting better and better. Our players see it. They know it. They feed off it.”

Bezik has impressed his coach with his knowledge of the game and court vision.

“He sees the floor so well for a freshman,” Burke said. “He might be one of the best players I’ve ever coached who sees the floor that well. If you’re open on the floor, you better be ready for the ball, because he’s going to let it fly. And then when he drives to the hoop, you got to expect [a pass] because he’ll find you.”

Rockets rollin’: The longest winning streak in the area belongs to Burlington Central.

The Rockets (15-7) won their ninth straight Friday night, 65-46 over host Crystal Lake Central, as freshman forward Declan Wilson scored a season-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds.

Central, which hosts Crystal Lake South on Tuesday night, hasn’t lost since being blown out by Cary-Grove 67-37 on Jan. 7. The loss dropped the Rockets to 6-7, prompting coach Brett Porto to say, “We haven’t been under .500 in over a decade, at any point.”