Altmix leads, mentors on and off the court
Published 1:43 pm Friday, June 5, 2026
By ALLAN BROWN
Special to the Herald-Whig
QUINCY – Greg Altmix’s resume as a head basketball coach is indisputable. It details accomplishments that would impress any athletic director, prospective player or sports fan.
But had the QND head boys’ basketball coach pursued his original college major that resume would look much different.
Lucky for Tri-State athletes, Altmix decided against a career in engineering, and, instead, followed his heart and pursued his passion for sports.
He’s a proven winner and a leader who inspires all the players he’s ever coached and also mentored over the years.
For leading the Raiders to a state runner-up finish at the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 2A Boys’ Basketball tournament as well as a one-loss regular season and an extraordinary overall 32-2 record, Altmix has been named The Quincy Herald-Whig’s 2025-26 Boys’ Basketball Coach of the Year.
Coming off arguably the best season in Raiders boys’ basketball history, Greg Altmix and his extraordinary roster of players have nothing to prove. But that doesn’t stop the coach – or his players – from aiming even higher, and more importantly, for keeping the message he has instilled in his athletes for more than two decades now at the forefront of all he does.
Admitting that he doesn’t adhere to one particular quote when teaching his athletes, Altmix does come up with a term that pretty much sums up his coaching philosophy – and it’s one this 2025-26 Raiders squad certainly bought into.
“Depending on the stage of season and what is happening with the players that will change,” Altmix told The Herald-Whig, adding that an acronym, INAM, is something he can point to as being inspiring to him and his team.
“It’s not about me. You have to have a team first attitude. It’s not about them as an individual. If you put a focus on yourself, you’re never going to reach your goal of success as a team,” Altmix said.
And that mental attitude worked for the Quincy native as a coach and the team as a whole during what can simply be seen as a season for the ages for the Raiders this year.
To that end, the head coach’s latest award is not only one that he more than deserves, but it’s also a testament to the years of hard work that Altmix, the assistant QND coaches and, of course, the players on this very special team have worked many years to achieve.
And, it’s an honor that the leader doesn’t take lightly and is one that comes from a proven track record of success and overachievement.
Leading the Raiders to an unblemished 8-0 Conference record en route to the state championship finals tells only part of Altmix’s story. His years of accomplishments complete the picture. In five years leading the Highland High School boys’ team in Ewing, MO, the coach posted a 101-41 record. At Liberty High School, he was 148-131 in 10 seasons with the Eagles and took that squad to the state championship game in 2022. In two seasons with QND, he stands at 49-13 overall, including this year that saw the Raiders win the most games in their history and certainly rivaled the best teams QND has ever had.
The impressive resume Altmix has accumulated during his coaching years might be the envy of many area coaches, but the QND leader keeps his accomplishments in their proper perspective. Naturally, he is proud of his teams and what they have been able to achieve over the years, but he prefers to look at his accomplishments with a mix of reflection – and with more than a mix of humility – as he reflects on both this season for the ages and the journey that led him to where he is today.
Altmix’s ties to the Gem City run deep. A native of Quincy, he attended St. Dominic grade school. What was sure to be a standout high school basketball career, however, was derailed for health reasons.
“I went to Quincy High School and then on to the University of Illinois. I graduated with a B.S. in English Education,” Altmix said, explaining that “I didn’t play sports my freshmen year of high school as I was out recovering from surgery from bone cancer in my leg. I played basketball my sophomore year and then stopped due to knee problems. I played baseball my sophomore and junior years and stopped for the same reason.”
Those health issues may have eventually stopped him from playing, but it did not change his love for the sport and his desire to continue to be involved with it long after he graduated from high school and UI.
“I had a strong math/science background when I went to the University of Illinois, so I originally decided to get my degree in engineering,” the head coach said, noting, though that his love for sports eventually pulled him in the direction of coaching.
It’s a decision he has never regretted.
“I played intramurals at U of I, and realized I can’t do coaching part-time so I switched over to education. I’d grown up playing every sport, that’s what I loved doing more than anything.”
Soon realizing that his love for sports outweighed any desire he had to pursue a career in engineering, Altmix said “This is silly.” I’m not going to make a ton of money, I know that, but am going to do what I love to do.
The rest is history, or so they say.
That choice also allowed him to stay in his hometown and to pursue a family life outside of his basketball duties.
“My wife, Chris, is also from Quincy and a Quincy High and Quincy College graduate. She teaches at QND.
My sons Alex and Jordan are both on my staff at QND. They both live and work in Quincy and both are married,” the head coach said, adding that in his free time “my wife and I love spending time with our family.”
Altmix also enjoys traveling with his family, golfing when he can find the time and watching sporting events live and on television.
As for what has proven to be a correct career choice for Altmix, while the resume he brought to QND two years ago was indeed, impressive, he realized long ago that in sports you’re often only as good as your last win and without forming a cohesive team, the Raiders would never have been able to achieve what they did since he took over.
While Altmix is too humble to take the credit for the Raiders’ roundball success he will humbly admit that he helped lay the groundwork for it. Instead, he credits the players for doing all of the heavy lifting for what turned into a magical year for QND boys’ basketball.
Admitting that the biggest challenge he faced when taking over this team was “to get everybody to buy into the program,” Altmix said that his style of play is not just to get up and down the court, but to also focus on defense.
“They bought more into (that) this season,” as the squad gave up five fewer points per game this year when compared to the 2024-25 squad.
“The success is obviously owed to the players because they bought into that,” Altmix said. He added that this squad certainly was on a mission this year. The only way to accomplish the goal was to come together as a team. The success they had wouldn’t have happened had the athletes not bought into that.
“They weren’t happy with losing the regional championship last year, so there was a total buy-in to whatever we wanted to do. Selfless play and playing together is what allowed these guys to reach their potential,” the head coach said.
As for the experience they all had as a team, Altmix said that “getting to state is always an incredible moment, this is something these guys are going to remember the rest of their lives.”
And, so will their coach, who admits that while much has changed since he started leading basketball teams, much is still the same.
“My basic philosophy has pretty much stayed the same, but over the course of time, personalities from one team to another are different so as a coach you need to know how” to respond to that and deal with the different personas.
“Every year I vary my approach a little but only due to the players’ and team’s personality.”
Having come so close to hoisting the state championship trophy will surely inspire next year’s squad, but the climb back to the top will be arduous to say the least. However, it’s not a goal if it isn’t lofty, now, is it?
“It’s going to be hard to replace nine seniors,” Altmix readily admitted, adding that “these (senior) guys showed our underclassmen what it takes. The younger guys understand what they need to do if they want to have any chance of success like that.”
As for being successful as a coach, while some may equate that to wins or losses, Altmix doesn’t look at it quite that way.
Instead of looking solely at a winning percentage on the court, Altmix sees his most success from “helping turn boys into men. I feel that I’m successful as a coach when I see my players 10 years down the road.”
Seeing former players achieving in their chosen professions is what really matters to Altmix and “hoping that some of the work ethic and traits they learned from playing basketball helped them in life. It’s always bigger than basketball.”
As for Altmix, while he will one day retire from his day job of teaching and his role as online learning program at Quincy Jr. High School, that eventual decision will no way mean that he will stop coaching. It’s his passion, it’s what he knows and what he loves doing.
“Even when I retire from coaching, I’m going to continue coaching,” he said.
Coaching, and helping mold winners in athletics and in life will continue to be Altmix’s trademark, proving that he made the right choice when he decided to forgo a possibly lucrative engineering career for the way more fulfilling job of leading young men to success both on and off the basketball court.
