[1] Herrin defeated Elgin in the quarter-finals, Quincy Notre Dame in the semi-finals, and Collinsville in the championship game.

[1] The 1957 state championship was considered a great feat because Herrin was a relatively small city, and Illinois had only one class in basketball.

Tidwell managed to excel in basketball game despite what the Chicago Daily Tribune described as "the handicap of a short and twisted left arm.

"[3] Tidwell sustained the injury while playing quarterback for the freshman football team while in high school in 1953.

Tidwell later recalled how the injury had affected his jump shot:"I never could get full range of motion back.

Tidwell was matched up against University of Pittsburgh All-American Don Hennon and scored 22 points in his debut.

"[5] After his first seven games, sports writer Jerry Green called Tidwell "the most exciting cager to arrive at Michigan in years.

"[4] Green noted that Tidwell "floats quietly around the court, shooting sure-handedly, making deft passes, piling up points.

"[4] In December 1958, the Chicago Daily Tribune reported, "One of the big ones from Illinois got away last year -- and turned up on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan.

[8] Two days later, on March 6, 1961, Tidwell scored 24 points against Illinois in his final home game for Michigan.