Massie brothers reach officials' pinnacle with induction to IBCA Hall of Fame

Blame it all on retired Jacobs boys basketball coach Jim Hinkle.

It was Hinkle back in the early 1980s who noticed a brother combination toiling away as teenage basketball officials during Dundee Township Park District youth games and gave them a professional nudge forward.

"He said we had potential and should sign up with the IHSA to do high school games."

That anecdote was recalled by longtime area boys basketball official Scott Massie, who along with his younger brother, Steve, have reached the pinnacle of Illinois high-school basketball three-plus decades after having been "discovered."

The Massie brothers will be enshrined into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2017. The Hall of Fame banquet and induction ceremony takes place May 6 at Redbird Arena in Normal on the campus of Illinois State University.

"It's an absolute thrill," said Scott Massie, a 1982 graduate of Dundee High School. "It's something we never expected and it's quite an honor considering the guys who already are in there."

Steve Massie, who was part of the final graduating class at Dundee High, added: "If Jim Hinkle didn't ask us that, it probably would have never crossed our minds. Who knows?"

Scott Massie, who is a year older than his brother, started doing underclass basketball games in 1986 and by his estimation believes he and his brother have each done more than 900 games in their careers.

The brothers have worked almost exclusively on the boys' side of the game throughout their careers.

"We wanted to be good high-school refs," Scott Massie said. "We weren't interested in doing anything more. We've been asked to do college but we never interested. We chose to be really good high-school refs. You can't be pulled in different directions and be really good at something."

The brothers also had a distinct goal mapped out for themselves when they started officiating at the high-school level.

"We had a goal to work Downstate and to work Downstate together," Steve Massie said.

Downstate meaning the IHSA boys basketball state finals. Those goals both were achieved with each brother working three state finals, including the 2007 version together.

Scott Massie, who lives in Lake in the Hills, worked the 2004 and 2005 Class AA tournament in Peoria, including the 2005 title game between Glenbrook North and Carbondale. Steve Massie worked the 2008 and 2012 tournaments, including the 2012 Class 4A final with Zion-Benton and Richards.

The brothers, together with Scott Scholten, worked a 2007 Class AA quarterfinal with Stevenson and Rockford Boylan and then saw Stevenson again in the third-place tilt against Chicago Marshall (2007 was the last year of the two-class system and that tournament also featured an officiating appearance by longtime area coach and teacher Jim Dinkheller). They are the only brother pair to work the Class AA state tournament together - a distinction they will forever hold together due to Illinois expanding to four classes in basketball.

"It was the best time of my life," Scott Massie said of working the 2007 tournament with his brother. "It was the best experience being with him down there. We were in a timeout during the third-place game toward the end of it and we looked at each other and said, 'Do you believe this?' We worked so hard to get there and we got there together."

Steve Massie noted he dealt with an injured heel that held him back from advancing through the postseason ranks for a time.

"I had a hard time running there for a while and that looks bad if a referee can't hustle," he said. "I need to hustle. The kids are playing hard and the ref needs to be going at it hard no matter who is playing. These kids practice hard all week and they look forward to games. They expect the refs to work hard and hustle. And the coaches are the same way. They are coaching hard. Refs have to be able to do their jobs."

While the brothers worked almost exclusively together earlier in their careers, in recent times their time together has been trimmed down somewhat due to Steve's job transfer to the Rockford area. During the day Scott Massie, 52, is a quality assurance manager for a large manufacturing company, while Steve Massie, 51, is a production manager for a digital imaging company.

Steve Massie said the brothers' travels take them all around the Chicagoland area and that's fine by them. "We might get three or four games in a conference," he said. "There are a lot of good officials who deserve games. Does a coach want to see the same referees five or six times a year? That doesn't look right. We're happy and appreciate the games we get, especially if coaches ask for us."

You might think working the 2007 state-title game was the brothers' favorite contest of their careers. That's not the case.

"The best game we were ever involved with was a sectional final at Larkin between Glenbard North and Wheaton North," Scott Massie revealed. "This was around 2000 or 2001. It was the best game we worked in terms of excitement."

Scott Massie said not much has changed in the sport since he started, with one major exception. "The kids today are in such great shape," he said. "As long as I can keep up with the players I will be here. The only people on the court in high-school basketball who get older are the refs. If I can't keep up with them, I will get out. It's not fair to the kids or the game."

Steve Massie, a Carpentersville resident, marvels how far he and his brother have come in the sport.

"When we first started we were doing freshman boys' and girls' A and B games," he said. "We even did middle-school games. We paid our dues. We love the game and we love the kids and the coaches. It's been awesome. We set a goal and we achieved it. Our goal never was to be in the hall of game. We wanted to be the best high school officials and hopefully one day get a chance to work in the state tournament. We got there three times."

The Massies aren't the only locals headed into the Hall. Former Elgin High standout Jesse Henderson and Larkin alum Blaine Royer are entering the players wing in May.

And also of local note is former Crystal Lake Central standout Bill Heppner, who went on to play at DePaul and is also part of the Class of 2017. This writer witnessed, as a spectator, Heppner, who played in the 1980s, break two glass backboards on slam dunks, one during a game at McHenry West Campus and another during a tournament at Hampshire that necessitated the game being moved to the middle school after glass was strewed about the high-school playing surface.

Mike Miazga has been writing about Fox Valley sports for more than two decades. Email him at mjm890@gmail.com.