An ex-Galesburg Silver Streak boys basketball player has been named the new Peoria Central varsity boys basketball coach. Ryan McElmurry, a 2011 GHS graduate nicknamed Bucket during his high school playing days, had been named the interim-head coach at Peoria Central on February 3rd after previous head coach Daniel Ruffin was arrested for indecent solicitation.
Known for his toughness on the court at Galesburg, he took that intensity to the collegiate ranks where he played his first of two years of junior college ball at Illinois Central. McElmurry then transferred to Black Hawk College for his sophomore year. He would end his playing career with two years at Eureka College, eventually graduating with a degree in business administration.
McElmurry remained in the Peoria-area to begin his coaching career, as he was hired as a varsity assistant in 2020 at Peoria Central. He’ll take over a Lion’s team that’s coming off a (27-5) season that saw them in the AP Rankings for much of the winter. All five starters were named to the Big 12 Conference All-Conference team, with just one of those players graduating this spring.
