Former Roseville High School and Monmouth College basketball standout, Mark Sandstrom hosts the annual MDS High School Boys Basketball Shootout this weekend at Monmouth College’s Huff Athletic Center. Sandstrom, a 1994 Roseville High School and 1998 Monmouth College graduate, is currently the boys basketball head coach at Columbia High School. He went over the 400-win coaching mark this past January in a win over East Alton. Sandstrom’s 411 career coaching wins include 327 victories at Columbia and 84 wins at Abingdon High School. His most recent run of success at Columbia has seen the Eagles win 75 total games in the last 3 seasons. Sandstrom’s ballclubs have captured 6 regional titles in his 17 years at Columbia. After a playing career at Roseville High School and Monmouth College, he began his head coaching career at Abingdon High School in 2001 and spent four years prowling the sidelines for the Commandoes. In his stint at Abingdon, his teams won two regional tournaments and one sectional title in 2003. Columbia’s team this winter will most likely start with the Eagles in the top-5 of the preseason class 2A AP poll. Sandstrom will return all five starters from a (24-9) campaign this past winter.
Nearly thirty high school boys basketball teams from around the state off Illinois will converge on the Huff Center on the Monmouth College campus for the highly anticipated 2-day shootout starting on Saturday. Sandstrom has been involved in all 19 shootouts. He gave the details on what’s happening at the Huff Athletic Center this weekend on the Wednesday WRAM Morning Show.
For the entire interview with Sandstrom, click HERE
For the MDS Boys Basketball Shootout schedule, click HERE