Maroon banners with the white jersey numbers of Argo basketball greats of the past hanging from the rafters in one corner.
A balcony with bleachers that surrounds the entire floor and creates a truly intimidating homecourt advantage.
Everything a coach, player and fan could want in a high-school arena can be found in Argo’s Swanson Gym, which opened in 1953. And that’s why it is among the 126 gyms across the state of Illinois highlighted in the forthcoming book by professional photographer Vincent D. Johnson.
The book is titled “Illustrious: The Best High School Basketball Gyms in Illinois.” Johnson expects it to be released by this fall.
In the book, Johnson has photos of area schools such as Argo, but also of schools as far away as a proverbial stone’s throw from the Illinois-Kentucky border.
But there’s something about the gym located on the southwest corner of 63rd Street and 73rd Avenue in Summit that attracted Johnson and made the home of the Argonauts a must for inclusion.
“The first thing that everybody asked me is what makes a gym cool,” Johnson said. “I’ve always said the short answer is balconies. If you’ve got a balcony, chances are it’s a cool gym. The little bit longer explanation is permanent seating.
“(It’s) hen you have a gym that is made for spectators and it’s not made for multiple uses. It’s not made to host a pancake breakfast one day and a prom the next and a volleyball game after that. The more permanent you get to that you are there only for basketball. …
“It has that pit feel. It’s just a cool look. … The balconies and the permanent seating definitely help. That kind of gladiator-pit feel seals the deal.”
While Johnson provides an objective perspective as to the greatness of Argo’s gym, Dan McCarthy gives more of a subjective viewpoint. McCarthy is the head coach of the Argonauts’ girls basketball program and has been coaching at Argo for over 20 years. He won his 300th game in 2022.
“What makes our gym so unique is the permanent seating, the circular seating covering the entire court and the pit,” McCarthy said. “Most high-school gyms in the Chicagoland suburbs look the same with the high bleachers on both sides of the court.
“Few gyms have seating behind the baskets. Opponents shooting free throws at times have dealt with a student section waving their arms much like you would see in college and the NBA. And of course, the pit-like view where spectators are always watching the game below them, like in a pit or cage match.”
Does all of that provide a homecourt advantage for Argo’s basketball teams? McCarthy says it certainly does.
“I think it impacts nonconference opponents more than conference opponents,” McCarthy said. “If you are stepping on the court for the first time, you can be awestruck by the surroundings.
“However, we won a close game against a conference opponent (Reavis) this season where late in the game our student section could be overtly seen and heard behind our opponent’s basket, especially in free-throw situations. We felt it was a difference-maker in a great rivalry win.”
Any other games in the venerable facility particularly stand out?
“Alumni night 2020,” McCarthy said. “We had a boys/girls doubleheader and we had a full house versus Oak Lawn.
“We played one of the best first halves I can remember back then and the 1,500-plus spectators were going nuts. To see and hear the gym so rowdy was a moment I will never forget.”
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