Sangamon Sun

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) is cheering on Lincoln High coach Neil Alexander after the legendary hoops coach recently netted his 900th career victory.

“The legend nets win #900,” Butler posted on Facebook. “Congratulations Coach Alexander. Go Railers.”

Alexander, who also serves as the school’s athletic director, now ranks second in state history for wins, trailing only the late Gene Pingatore of Westchester St. Joseph, who bagged 1,035.

Already a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, Alexander notched win No. 900 with a 40-35 win over Mattoon, raising his 47-year career record to 901-410.

“It just means I’ve been around for a long time with good coaches, players and families,” Alexander told the Herald & Review. “Everyone involved has been a vital part of it. You can’t do it by yourself. You have to have people committed.”

After stops at Joy Westmer, Monmouth Yorkwood and Bushnell-Prairie City, Alexander arrived at Lincoln in 1990 and since then his ball press defenses have become legendary. Over his three-plus decades at the school his teams have had five 30-plus winning seasons, 16 seasons with 20 wins, reached the Sweet 16 five times, the Elite Eight four times and has a second place state tournament finish.

“It’s a good place to coach,” said Alexander, who has had two sons play for Lincoln, with one of them having returned to be an assistant coach. “I’ve got a commitment from the kids and families.”

Alexander was recently named one of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association’s most impactful people in Illinois in men's and women's basketball during the last 50 years. In 2020, he was the recipient of the Chuck Rolinski Lifetime Achievement Award.

Even with his Railers off to a 7-0 start in the Apollo League this season, Alexander said he has no plans of trying to chase down Pingatore’s state record.

“I don’t even know what it is, and I really don’t care,” he said. “It will come to a point where I’ll say they don’t need me anymore. When it comes to be that time, I’ll go do something else.”