3 generations of one family have El Paso-Gridley basketball among the best in Illinois

EUREKA — Two more generations of the Meiss family have joined the El Paso-Gridley boys basketball program.

Nathaniel Meiss already is the head coach. He is joined on the staff by his father, Tim Meiss. His son Micah Meiss plays for the Titans, who are ranked No. 10 in Class 2A. EP-G (14-2, 5-0) moved into sole possession of first place in the Heart of Illinois Conference following Friday’s 55-46 win over Eureka.

And playing the game at Eureka was extra special, especially for Tim Meiss. The eldest Meiss retired from coaching the Hornets last spring following a 36-year Illinois Basketball Coaches Association hall of fame career, which included 658 victories and a 1994 Class A runner-up finish.

He called the homecoming a positive experience, getting an ovation from the crowd following an introduction from longtime PA announcer Craig Gerdes.

One thing is for sure: Despite spending nearly four decades on the Eureka bench, Tim Meiss was making his debut out of the visitors’ locker room.

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“Have you ever been in this locker room, Coach?” one of the El Paso-Gridley players asked.

“Oh, one time maybe to look for an air pump,” he responded.

‘On the same bench as me’

Soon after retiring, Tim approached Nathaniel about coming to watch open gyms and practices at El Paso, located 15 minutes east of Eureka. This would allow the father-son duo to finally share input after years of going head-to-head.

Or maybe the request came a bit sooner.

“I don’t know if his retirement letter was cold before he asked me about it,” Nathaniel said. “I had to do some thinking.”

Nathaniel’s son (and Tim’s grandson), Micah, would be coming into high school and had shown the ability to potentially join varsity as a freshman.

Very quickly, it was evident that Micah would be playing for his dad.

Things then began to evolve. Tim went from observing, to helping the players, to the point in November when it was agreed he would be on the bench as a volunteer assistant.

“I never dreamed that those two would be on the same bench as me,” Micah said. “Now that it’s a reality, it’s just super cool and awesome. It’s a dream come true. I watched (my dad) coach my whole life. He’s a great coach and I love playing for him.”

Volunteering for El Paso-Gridley also means donning their colors. Purple wasn’t exactly a staple in Tim’s wardrobe after wearing nearly all green for his entire tenure.

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Nothing a little shopping by his wife, Susan, couldn’t handle.

“Zero,” Tim said with a laugh when asked how much purple clothing he owned, noting he did, in fact, have a purple tie from his daughter, Lena Dohner’s wedding.

Making the jump

Micah starts with four seniors, showing incredible poise as a first-year player where he handles the ball and doesn’t force a lot of shots. The 6-foot-3 guard is coachable, listens and his gaining confidence as the season progresses, according to his dad.

His corner 3-pointer with 3:03 left in the game helped add to EP-G’s lead.

“That’s the kind of things he can do for us to help us out,” Nathaniel said of his son who finished with eight points and seven rebounds.

Count Tim as very impressed at the smooth transition Micah has made from junior high to high school’s highest level.

“It’s a tremendous leap,” Tim said. “People quite don’t understand that. We try to talk as a coaching staff that there’s a chance there can always be a dip and he can become a freshman again. He hasn’t showed that in all of our games so far, so we’re hoping that he won’t, but it is an unbelievable jump.”

Just being dad … and grandpa

Once the game ends, though, Nathaniel tries his best to be just a father and not a 24/7 coach. He admits to having "a big mouth," but has been able to take any basketball talk with Micah in a positive way.

Adding Tim to the mix has made for a great dynamic between his son and grandson.

“Dad has been the gap between Micah and I that we need,” Nathaniel said. “I’m more fiery, and Grandpa can be the calm one and speak wisdom to him and he’ll listen. It’s been great. I’ve been blessed to have him around.”

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Tim has had years of experience in coaching his sons. First, it was Nathaniel, the Journal Star player of the year on that 1994 team. Zach was a standout during Eureka’s 25-1 season in 2000.

Now, Tim acts as an intermediary of sorts.

“When you coach your own son, and I coached two of mine,” Tim said, “sometimes the player can’t understand the coach and the dad and that there’s a differential. So being the grandpa, I’m able to kind of intervene in there and maybe explain it or soften it.”

‘Somebody’s going to win’

Aaron Dohner made his debut Friday night as the Eureka head coach in the El Paso-Gridley series. The Hornets (12-4, 4-1), who received votes in the latest 2A poll, are coming off winning the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament for the first time in program history.

Dohner is also part of the family, having married Tim’s daughter, Lena. He then took over for his father-in-law last May after acting as a longtime assistant.

“It’s fun to go against those guys,” Dohner said of facing his brother-in-law and nephew, plus his predecessor. “Well, I don’t know if (Friday) was much fun.”

There won’t, however, be much bragging at the next family event. Everything is kept in a pretty professional manner, according to Dohner.

Both coaches are focused on getting their teams ready to play, playing against each other and talking about it later.

“We both want well for the other,” he said. “Unfortunately, we have to play each other once or twice a year. Somebody’s going to win those games and somebody’s going to lose those games. We’re just trying to do the best we can with our teams to do as well as we can.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA basketball: Meiss family leads El Paso-Gridley, Eureka basketball