When You Figure Out You're Not So Hot

I read an article in Saturday's Columbus Dispatch regarding the now retired Hall of Fame basketball coach Norm Stewart, from the University of Missouri. The good folks in Mizzou land erected a statue in his honor located outside their gymnasium.

His picture brought back a memory from high school and not a good one. I played basketball at Boone High School in Central Iowa. At the time our conference was considered the best in he state.

We did okay; made it to the state tournament our junior year and was one game shy of the same as seniors. Looking back we weren't all that special but 1964 seems so long ago it's difficult to recall.

Newton High School, in our league, was the power and won two state championships while I was playing.

In my senior year I happened to lead the league in scoring. People across the state took notice. There was a reason for my prolific scoring. I shot more than any players on every team in the state---combined
In reality I wasn't that good. As I look back now I was quite average. I couldn't jump high. I was slow. I had small hands and I was white. Baseball was my game but when you're 18 and people tell you otherwise your head can be turned the wrong way. Mine was spinning like Linda Blair's in the movie, The Exorcist.

One particular Saturday morning in April of 1964 I received a phone call from the secretary of Coach Stewart. She said the coach wanted me to make a visit to the University of Northern Iowa. Stewart coached there before he went to Missouri.

Excitedly, the next week, I drove the two hours to Cedar Falls, Iowa and went directly to the athletic offices. Hell's fire, I even had a special pen to sign my commit forms.

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum(forgive me for that one). When I informed the secretary who I was she apologized then told me, "Coach Stewart is on a recruiting trip".

And the moral of the story is, reality bites.