Quincy H.S. Blue Devil Gym

The Quincy High School band plays in front of a giant video wall at the Blue Devil gym inside Baldwin Elementary School, in Quincy, on Feb 5, 2022.(Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)

Quincy’s pre-game show is legendary and everything that has been added to the gym is why it’s one of the best in the state.

*The Quincy Blue Devils boys basketball team enters the gym from their center court locker room entrance before a game, in Quincy, on Feb 5, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)*

If you look at this photo above, it looks very similar to many high school basketball games, but if you were to do a full 360 and then wait for the lights to go down, you could almost get the feeling you were at a professional basketball game.

If you had to pick a mid-point between Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City & Des Moines, that point would land pretty close to Quincy, Illinois. Meaning no matter which direction the 40,000 people that live there travel, their major entertainment options are farther than just about anyone else in the midwest. So, it’s no surprise that on a weekend night this gym is packed for high school hoops and it’s also no surprise they’ve make it into one hell of a show!

It also doesn’t hurt the the school is third on the all-time winningest team list for Illinois with just under 2,100, so the product on the floor is worth going to see, even after they turn the lights back on.

When the lights go out

Oh. What’s this business about the lights going out? Yeah, kinda forgot to mention that. That’s when the Devil show up. One of the can’t miss things that go on anywhere in the state when it comes to high school basketball is the pre-game show at Quincy. I could do a whole post on just the 5 minutes before tipoff, so it’s probably easier if you just watch the video below. If you really can’t wait for the fire show, skip to 2:40.

The gym itself is a traditional two-tier gym with a double set of retraceable bleachers on each side. It’s a copy of so many of the larger-school gyms in the state, that without all the added effects would probably not have made the list, but on a personal ranking, it makes my Top 20.

What Makes It Great

Fan-O-meter
Video wall
VW horn as the in-game buzzer
Baseline balcony with the band
Accolades & Art-work on the wall
And oh that Flame carrying Blue Devil

*Quincy’s Blue Devils Gym might be the only high school gym in the state that has a working Fan-O-meter, in Quincy, on Feb 5, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)*

*Cheerleaders, poms, dance and little kids line the court before the beginning of the varsity basketball game at Blue Devils Gym, in Quincy, on Feb 5, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)*

*Blue Devils Gym, home of Quincy High School, in Quincy, on Feb 5, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)*

*Radio play-by-play of Blue Devil games from WTAD, in Quincy, on Feb 5, 2022. (Photo copyright of Vincent D. Johnson)*

The Quincy is like a few other schools in the state and play their home games in a grade school. But don’t worry if you are showing up to play the Blue Devils for the first time and end up at the high school. Just wander over to Baldwin Elementary, which on the same campus, but west of the high school.