New Book "Illustrious" Celebrates Illinois' Best High School Basketball Gyms

CHICAGO - Jan. 13, 2026 - PRLog -- Get ready for a slam-dunk celebration of history, heart, and hardwood. A new book, Illustrious: The Best High School Basketball Gyms in Illinois, is hitting the court as one of the most exciting tributes to Illinois high school sports and culture.

Illustrious goes beyond basketball — it's a visual and storytelling journey through Illinois gyms, from small towns to big cities. It highlights the unique styles, decorations, and history of the gyms, the schools, and the people who helped shape them.

Featuring over 400 original photographs by award-winning photojournalist Vincent D. Johnson, Illustrious captures the spirit, quirks, and stories behind these gathering places. Over four years, Johnson talked with coaches, players, sports writers, and fans while visiting or researching each of Illinois' 800+ high school gyms. In the end, 126 gyms from 120 schools made the cut for the book.

"High school sports has, and will always be, one of my favorite things to photograph. This project is a love letter to every person who ever picked up a newspaper to read about high school sports. That has allowed me to have a 30-year career where I get to be as close to the action as possible as our state's best young men and women put on a show for us. This project is the least I could do as a thank you," said Johnson.

Some highlights include:

• The first high school basketball team: In 1892, Chicago's Morgan Park Academy became the first high school anywhere to play outside opponents.
• The origin of "March Madness": Coined by Illinois High School Association (IHSA) official H.V. Porter in a 1939 essay describing the state's high school playoffs, the phrase caught on in the Midwest. CBS sportscaster Brent Musburger, who worked in Chicago for years, is often credited with bringing the term to the NCAA Tournament.
• Basketball legends: Two of the top three NCAA men's basketball coaches and three of the top eight NBA winningest coaches are Illinois high school graduates.

Illustrious also honors the personal stories, from high school gyms named for legendary coaches and administrators to those commemorating student-athletes lost too soon or everyday hometown heroes, including one graduate who devoted more than 50 years to his school in countless roles.

Part art book, part encyclopedia, and part history book, Illustrious is as much a documentary of the architecture of these great halls - - built by communities to showcase their next generation of adults - -  as it is a celebration of Americana, capturing the everyday struggles and triumphs of small towns, suburbs, and cities alike.

Illustrious Gyms - https://illustriousgyms.com/
Personal/Photojournalism - https://visualpreservationist.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vincentdjohnson/