PIASA - Senior Hank Bouillon, a two-sport athlete at Southwestern High School, plays basketball and baseball. His coaches have nothing but good things to say about him.
“That’s what he’s all about. He’s a hometown kid. He’s Southwestern through and through. He’s a true Piasa Bird,” head basketball coach Jason Darr said of Hank.
Coach Darr said this after his team won the 104th Annual Macoupin County Tournament last Friday.
With 0.8 seconds on the clock and the game tied at 36, all Hank had to do was make one to pretty much secure the win. He made both and his team went on to win the championship game in back-to-back seasons.
After his clutch performance, Hank is an Altonized Community Federal Credit Union Athlete of the Month for Southwestern.
"I knew I just had to get one to fall. I wanted the first one to go down and that happened. I knew the team trusted me, we worked hard all week. It was a fun time and I'm just glad I could sink those free throws," Hank said postgame.
He finished the game with 12 points - a season-high for him.
"Hank is a player that you will get his very best every day when he comes to practice and games," coach Darr said.
"Hank's relentless passion to help the team is a key attribute that he carries with him. He is willing to do whatever it takes for his team to win, no matter what. He is a “glue guy” - one of the players on our team that makes everyone else better. We greatly appreciate his dedication to our basketball program here at Southwestern," Darr said.
Hank's coach added that he usually guards the opposing team's best player and while he might not be Piasa's leading scorer, Darr said he probably keeps 15-20 points off the board from their opponents.
Hank is a team leader on both the basketball team and baseball where he's the starting catcher. He's also one of their best bats with the second-highest batting average last season at .375. He had 33 hits last season good for 24 RBIs.
Post Southwestern graduation he will be attending Illinois State University and plans to major in Construction Management.
