OT: How many of you are/were players/coaches? | Page 3 | The Boneyard

OT: How many of you are/were players/coaches?

Classic back to the basket 5 man at 5'9" in 6th grade. Scored my only basket on a lucky free throw. The next year the other kids got tall. Consoled myself with football, skiing, tennis and golf.

Palatine - Also, played on a team that won the UConn Hartford Branch Flag football league. Everyone but me on my touch team had played college sports.
 
Way too uncoordinated to be good at basketball. Actually learned what I do know following UConn over the decades.
 
Played HS basketball at small CT HS. Coached Varsity Basketball 7 years at a Private Day School in Fairfield County. Had one player play for Perno at UConn early 1980"s.
 
Played soccer, basketball and baseball in HS. Basketball was my best sport, averaged 10-15 per game as a puny guard. Never met a shot I didn't like. I've also coached all three sports at the youth level, soccer and basketball in junior high school. I played in the intramural league at UConn, when our biggest star got promoted to the varsity team, Lee Otis Wilson, a/k/a "The Mad Bomber". Lee Otis was routinely averaging 40 ppg in the intramural league. I don't recall ever having to play his team, luckily for us. I would remember if we did. He averaged almost 14 ppg in his one year on the varsity. Alas, he became academically ineligible during his senior year, may have even flunked out of school. Our intramural league was TOUGH back in those days! LOL
 
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I played back in the day when being under 6'0 you could still play forward. I was mainly a playground baller and had some nice MVP trophies against some great talent. That was when they had leagues outside on the playgrounds and all the girls showed up. Summer weather, lights on at night, crowds all around courtside and people just hanging out. Oh the memories . . . . . . .

Anyway played some HS basketball, starting at guard but focused more on football in my upper class years. Later just played pickup games no more leagues.
 
the Q said:
If we’re doing this I’m claiming best rebounder. Not only beastly box out a but I knew all the tricks to keep someone from getting away from it (stepping on their foot so they couldn’t jump over me, wrapping with one arm holding my other up high to get the refs attention etc).
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I'm claiming best fouler. I can foul in any situation, but my favorite is the back out for a rebounding turnover.
 
Played for a good D3 program (2007 sweet 16 baby). Multiple years as a bball camp instructor and AAU coach. Always had a passion for the backboard slap layup and the pullup 3.
 
Ant3411 said:
Played for a good D3 program (2007 sweet 16 baby). Multiple years as a bball camp instructor and AAU coach. Always had a passion for the backboard slap layup and the pullup 3.
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Isn't slapping the backboard after a layup on purpose a tech or something? I seem to remember phil nolan gettin called for that, but I may be crazy
 
played soccer (4yrs) and baseball (2yrs) in HS
because of my size I was limited but worked hard
should have continued playing college soccer but after 1 yr let the "good times" roll
coached soccer for almost 30 yrs up to and including ODP - camps with Lenny T, Coach Joe M, Coach Nevers and others
coached Little League and umpired (worse job ever - damned parents)
 
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Maxed out my talents when I was 15th man on a 15 player JV team in high school. I refereed for four years in college. Coached my four kids in grade school and then high school rec leagues. My last kid goes to college next fall (BC and Cincinnati are possibilities, it pains me to write that). Might start coaching a travel team next year. I play hoops twice a week.
 
I won a (albeit lower division) National Championship with the Ithaca Warriors in the mid 30's and well on my way to a second when the best kid that ever played for me (Tough, stubborn, and willful) presumably questioned my 4-pass-before-you-shoot rule.

"It's been a number of years and it still kind of goes around in my head. I...I slow it down. Sometimes I really think that I can stop my fist from hitting that boy's jaw. One second and everything I'd worked for was just all finished."

Anyhow...the NCAA banned me for life as did the New York High School Athletic Association. So two years later, I enlisted in the Navy just after they bombed Pearl and in 10 years at sea, I work my way up to chief petty officer.

Then during the height of the Korean Conflict. I get this phone call from an old classmate who I graduated with from the Buffalo State Teachers College in 1931, who (whudentchunoit) is a principal at some high school somewhere in middle America. It was hard to hear, with him being in the Indiana sticks half a world away and all, but because he owed me something fierce and offered to drag my old bones back to the States and a way back into coaching.

My time ebbed at first (to say the least) but once I got the best player to come through in 40 years out from under the wing of some shrew (or so I thought at first), it flowed. I hired an alcoholic assistant coach (who had a basketball encyclopedia for a brain and looked 20 years old than he was) and we had all pistons were firing over my last 10 games and into the State playoffs.

Long story short, I now have two championships under my belt...oh and I got the girl too.

So there. Good enough for you?
 
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August_West said:
I coaxed UConn to multiple national title runs on EA Sports March Madness 2005
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NCAA 2010.

Holy Cross lost 3 games including to Kentucky in the Final Four in 2009-2010. I've since run off 120 straight and 3 titles. We're moving out of the Hart Center next season.
 
My freshman year I was the last guy on the bench. Coach sends me in the game with the opponent at the free throw line. We had a fast break play that we ran after a made free throw. Coach tells me to run the play. Opponent misses the free throw and I grab the ball and take it out of bounds(we always made the free throw in practice) and pass it in. Refs are too stunned to blow the whistle. So I'm hustling down court and I see my whole team and my coach laughing hysterically and I know they're laughing at me but I don't know why. Highlight of my short career. I have no idea why I tried out sophomore year.
 
I was elbowed in the head by John Pinone once. And watched Michael Adams zip a no-look pass off my roommate's face on a fast break at the Hartford Y another time. Those are my two brushes with greatness.
 
I was a great basketball player who stopped growing by 7th grade and I enjoyed partying more so did not play high school basketball. Still have moments at the park where the legend returns.

My claim to fame is playing 2 on 2 vs. Ajou and Justin Brown when they used to come to my high school to get tutoring by one of my math teachers. I was able to back down Ajou pretty easily so I had a feeling things would not work out so well. This teacher was UConn's go to guy for SAT tutoring for a while to get players in. Ashmeade, Sam Funches, Souley, Ajou, Justin, Robert Swain, and some others I cannot remember would be around.

I come from a coaching family with my brother being a long time high school coach and my dad coaching all of us for most of our youth. And I believe, without question, that Ollie's offense blows.
 
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I went to a few of my HS team’s games. Go Morgan Huskies!
Our claim to fame was our stringbean center Gary Kowalski. He went to BC, lifted weights, became an offensive lineman and played a bit for the LA Rams.
 
swami7774 said:
I went to a few of my HS team’s games. Go Morgan Huskies!
Our claim to fame was our stringbean center Gary Kowalski. He went to BC, lifted weights, became an offensive lineman and played a bit for the LA Rams.
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Gary Kowalski I remember him, what years was he at BC swam? Did he play a little TE too there?
 
mauconnfan said:
Gary Kowalski I remember him, what years was he at BC swam? Did he play a little TE too there?
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He would have been there from ‘78-‘82 or thereabouts.
I didn’t see him in person from high school until maybe ‘83. The next time I saw him was in the parking lot of (what was then) Caldor’s in Old Saybrook. He looked like the Incredible Hulk.
He may have played TE at BC but in the pros he was strictly OL. Played for San Diego too, protecting Dan Fouts’ flank.
 
swami7774 said:
He would have been there from ‘78-‘82 or thereabouts.
I didn’t see him in person from high school until maybe ‘83. The next time I saw him was in the parking lot of (what was then) Caldor’s in Old Saybrook. He looked like the Incredible Hulk.
He may have played TE at BC but in the pros he was strictly OL. Played for San Diego too, protecting Dan Fouts’ flank.
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Yeah I met him a few times when I was up there visiting my buddy Robert Biestek who was a fullback from 78-82, captain of Fluties jr year team. Gary was a big boy, I believe pretty good friends with another shoreline kid from Branford Scotty Niziolek WR there. All good friends with the UConn QB from Clinton too who's name escapes me, family was full of "garbage", another great guy.
 
mauconnfan said:
Yeah I met him a few times when I was up there visiting my buddy Robert Biestek who was a fullback from 78-82, captain of Fluties jr year team. Gary was a big boy, I believe pretty good friends with another shoreline kid from Branford Scotty Niziolek WR there. All good friends with the UConn QB from Clinton too who's name escapes me, family was full of "garbage", another great guy.
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Do you remember Jim Bell, the RB from Madison(Hand) who excelled at BC during that time frame?
 
swami7774 said:
Do you remember Jim Bell, the RB from Madison(Hand) who excelled at BC during that time frame?
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Yes him too.

Kenny Sweitzer was the shoreline kid who I met later, great dude met him through my buddy Biestek even ran some hoop with him pretty good player. Tough SOB.
 
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My first trip to California with two UConn buds in early 80s; one guy was on an Auditing trip and had a nice hotel suite. We went to Manhattan Beach to play hoop. Full court games near the beach. And in the course of play ... the auditor Dave H. rebounds awkwardly & swings to save our ball ... fires the ball hard at the crotch of a player on the other team. It was Howie Long. And that big Boston dude could not have been nicer to fellow New Englanders from that point forward. Turns out my girlfriend knew his (whom he married - I missed that wedding) ... from NJ HS ... and we went for drinks.

We kept possession.
 
I was amazing growing up playing HORSE on Mildred Rd. in W. Hartford. Had the corner shot from behind the bushes down pat. :)

Also I played a lot at Wolcott Park with my future brother in law who held the single season scoring record at the US Coast Guard Academy...His team beat Trinity College when they were ranked #1 in New England. But he got his ass kicked by Patrick Ewing in high school. :)
 
Grew up at Farnam House. Went to high school with Earl Kelley. Going on 35 years of Ultimate Frisbee (including with Zagoria, playing at Nationals, playing at Worlds) and played indoor Ultimate at SUNY Purchase where Patrick Ewing complimented my game. Bona Fide!
 
Mazhude said:
Grew up at Farnam House. Went to high school with Earl Kelley. Going on 35 years of Ultimate Frisbee (including with Zagoria, playing at Nationals, playing at Worlds) and played indoor Ultimate at SUNY Purchase where Patrick Ewing complimented my game. Bona Fide!
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Was Earl leaping from one roof to another in those days?
 
I got cut from my High School team for not reporting a broken thumb I received in practice. Played intramurals in college and the Marine Corps and was known for my dead-eye shooting as well as my mediocre handle and total lack of defense. Scored 36 in the Insurance League in Hartford against Travelers who had some ex UConn players. Played full court ball every lunch time while at Quantico against quality opposition. My late brother was a long time HS and Div III coach.
 
bpear1600 said:
I got cut from my High School team for not reporting a broken thumb I received in practice. Played intramurals in college and the Marine Corps and was known for my dead-eye shooting as well as my mediocre handle and total lack of defense. Scored 36 in the Insurance League in Hartford against Travelers who had some ex UConn players. Played full court ball every lunch time while at Quantico against quality opposition. My late brother was a long time HS and Div III coach.
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Semper fi.
 
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