Garza signs

[Northside Hawk]

It does suck, though. Not necessarily the skill because that's off the charts, but the product in general.

In the last golden age which was late 80s through the mid nineties it was a ridiculously exciting thing to watch. You had heroes and villains that you could root for and hate. It was a physical game that had larger than life personalities and it was definitely not a bunch of 133-119 three point contests. It was almost like pro basketball meets WWF with all of the huge personalities and story lines

There was a time when you had Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Shaq, Scottie Pippen, Bill Laimbeer, Isaiah Thomas, Karl Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon, Manute Bol, Spud Webb, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone, Clyde Drexler, David Robinson, John Stockton, and James Worthy all in the league and sometimes playing on the same night. It was fucking glorious and it was actually fun to watch. Today's NBA is made up of a bunch of whiny divas Like James and Westbrook more worried about how many rest days they get than mixing it up in the paint.

Again, it's not the skill level when people say the product is shit. I personally don't give a F if Steph Curry can make 47 threes in a row or James Harden can travel backwards 8 feet and hit his fadeaways. That's what the Harlem Globetrotters are for.

What I want to see is Bill Laimbeer and Larry Bird in a death match and Jordan kicking everyone's ass while he's almost dead from the flu, or Dennis Rodman getting booed by the visiting crowds when he blocks Isaiah Thomas with cheetah spotted hair and a nose ring. Today's game has no storylines other than diva shit between players on twitter, and there's zero physicality in the sense of what we used to have. Anyone who watched NBA Finals during that period and still thinks today's game is exciting is either dumb or lying.

So yeah, the NBA sucks shit to watch.

My NBA sweet spot was Kareem, Cedric Maxwell,, George Gervin, Bernard King, Alex English, Artis Gilmore, Julius Erving, Purvis Short, Adrian Dantley, Scott Wedman, Elvin Hayes, David Thompson, Sidney Moncrief, Mark Aguirre, Jack Sikma, young Bird and Magic.

Many on that list played what is now an extinct position. Small forward. You needed a baseline jumper to make it in the league back at that position then. And a mid range game. And a quick release.

The quick release is almost a lost art today because of the three point bomber mentality. Gervin, Short, English and Aguirre had that lightning quick release. But the quickest was Bernard King.

Before he destroyed his knee in mid-season 1984 King was the best offensive weapon in the game. There was a three or four year period where he was downright unstoppable (partially because small forwards were frequently the weakest defenders on the floor)

Portland famously passed on Jordan because they already had Clyde Drexler (having Ralph Sampson didn't prevent Houston from passing on Hakeem Olajuwon but that's a different story). Bobby Knight, who was coaching Jordan on the 1984 Olympic team, was friends with their GM and was begging them to draft Michael, even if it meant playing him at center. Portland passed. The center they did draft was Sam Bowie who had a history of foot and leg issues in college that miraculously managed to manifest in the NBA as well.

Michael Jordan on the other hand......?

 

[Fryowa]

Hell, I can be there in two and a half hours. But I'm a Bulls fan, which also isn't too far away. I was a Sixers fan in my (long ago) youth.

Might be at the United Center for basketball this winter, but not to watch the Bulls. Cuba City might be playing East Dubuque there this winter, pending everything being cleared by the athletic directors and school superintendents.

Derailing slightly here, but your town has the coolest name ever. How the hell does it get to be named Cuba City in the first place?

I know very well you have encyclopedic knowledge on the topic, so I'll hang up and listen...

 

[Northside Hawk]

Derailing slightly here, but your town has the coolest name ever. How the hell does it get to be named Cuba City in the first place?

I know very well you have encyclopedic knowledge on the topic, so I'll hang up and listen...

Fun fact. I actually live 10 miles west of Cuba City in Dickeyville which may be an even more interesting name.....

But that's not why you called. The town was initially incorporated as Yuba City in the 1840's, but the California gold rush would soon draw attention to another town called Yuba City so the Wisconsin town changed the name.

The school nickname is, of course, the Cubans. To this point the nickname nazis have stayed at bay, despite the fact that many Hispanic families work on the farms and in the cheese factories. Rival schools try to mock us by wearing Sombrero hats and chanting "Smoke The Cubans!"

School colors are very familiar, black and gold.

School is known for basketball. Big time. And news will be made sometime this winter as boys coach Jerry Petitgoue closes in on 1,000 wins, something that will never be accomplished on the high school level again. (Girls coach Jeff Pustina recently retired with a record of 662-139 and nine state championships). And all this has been done in a pit of a gym and perhaps the worst indoor facilities in the conference.

"Coach P" currently sits at 983 wins. To get 1,000 at the UC would be cool as hell. Making it even more special is that I have a player on the team, and have watched these junior and senior classes grow up from second grade on.

Petitgoue likes to play at warp speed tempo and frequently scores into the 90's and beyond. When they played on an odd Saturday afternoon in 2020 just before Covid shut them down we counted players from ten rival schools in the bleachers., including all three Dubuque high schools.. Well worth checking out for anyone living in NE Iowa.. Final note: Recent grad Brayden Dailey will now play for UW Green Bay.

 

[ChosenChildren]

When your father was a young man women and blacks weren't allowed to vote and being gay was a crime. Now, I'm not singling your pops out because I'm sure he was a good dude, but if you think I'm going to use his generation's customary practices as a moral lighthouse, you're wrong. No pixels on a screen or spoken soundwaves have ever hurt you and these won't either, maybe waste less energy being offended and spend more of it laughing.

Well, I’m having a good laugh so thank you for that.

You write good content. Lots of good analysis People read it. Young people read it. Think about it.

 

[Fryowa]

Well, I’m having a good laugh so thank you for that.

You write good content. Lots of good analysis People read it. Young people read it. Think about it.

Thanks for the kind words, but I don’t think anyone impressionable is reading my stuff.

 

[Fryowa]

Fun fact. I actually live 10 miles west of Cuba City in Dickeyville which may be an even more interesting name.....

But that's not why you called. The town was initially incorporated as Yuba City in the 1840's, but the California gold rush would soon draw attention to another town called Yuba City so the Wisconsin town changed the name.

The school nickname is, of course, the Cubans. To this point the nickname nazis have stayed at bay, despite the fact that many Hispanic families work on the farms and in the cheese factories. Rival schools try to mock us by wearing Sombrero hats and chanting "Smoke The Cubans!"

School colors are very familiar, black and gold.

School is known for basketball. Big time. And news will be made sometime this winter as boys coach Jerry Petitgoue closes in on 1,000 wins, something that will never be accomplished on the high school level again. (Girls coach Jeff Pustina recently retired with a record of 662-139 and nine state championships). And all this has been done in a pit of a gym and perhaps the worst indoor facilities in the conference.

"Coach P" currently sits at 983 wins. To get 1,000 at the UC would be cool as hell. Making it even more special is that I have a player on the team, and have watched these junior and senior classes grow up from second grade on.

Petitgoue likes to play at warp speed tempo and frequently scores into the 90's and beyond. When they played on an odd Saturday afternoon in 2020 just before Covid shut them down we counted players from ten rival schools in the bleachers., including all three Dubuque high schools.. Well worth checking out for anyone living in NE Iowa.. Final note: Recent grad Brayden Dailey will now play for UW Green Bay.

I lead a pretty boring lifestyle, and last night I went down a fairly deep YouTube rabbit hole on that guy. I coach high school (not basketball), and I cannot fathom doing it for 50+ years. That takes a level of dedication that I don’t think exists anymore. Was he a teacher during most of that or was he doing it on top of a day job?

 

[Northside Hawk]

I lead a pretty boring lifestyle, and last night I went down a fairly deep YouTube rabbit hole on that guy. I coach high school (not basketball), and I cannot fathom doing it for 50+ years. That takes a level of dedication that I don’t think exists anymore. Was he a teacher during most of that or was he doing it on top of a day job?

He retired from teaching, and athletic director duties, about twenty years ago. He taught history and in the summer was a host for Tri State Tours and those ten day bus trips that retired folks love to do. My wife was in one of history classes is the mid 80's.

But even in the summer, his activities never interfered with his basketball camps, or guesting at other people's camps and that included big time college coaches. He is like that baseball lifer that hangs around in the game into his eighties and is willing to travel from Bremerton Washington to Fort Myers Florida and anywhere in between to impose what he has learned in a lifetime in the game to anyone who will listen.

And they do listen, and inspire, kids a quarter their age. That's the appeal of lifers, and there will always be room in the game for these people even in an age where Ivy League sabremetrics savants have infiltrated.

Petitgoue knows everyone. We were at a summer league tournament at Milwaukee's AL McGuire Center in June and between games I was walking the concourse looking at the displays, which were of course a shrine to Al. Jerry walked by and I asked him if he knew McGuire personally. He rattles off stories not only about Al, but about his Marquette assistants Hank Raymonds and Rick Majerus as well.

I hope he gets the Grandy this season and somehow wins one more state title. It would be a great way to go out. He has won three but lost chances in the 1970's and 80's when Dickeyville's Burbach Brothers and others won them for Dubuque Wahlert instead, and in the 2010's when Whifish Bay Dominican (Diamond Stone) was allowed to participate in Division 4 as a small private school who was recruiting inner city Milwaukee kids. He would have won again two years ago had covid not shut things down (and lead to a tear jerker of a post season banquet).

It would be a fitting end to a great career. He has been around long enough to have coached the grandparents of some of the current players. There will never be another one like him.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

He retired from teaching, and athletic director duties, about twenty years ago. He taught history and in the summer was a host for Tri State Tours and those ten day bus trips that retired folks love to do. My wife was in one of history classes is the mid 80's.

But even in the summer, his activities never interfered with his basketball camps, or guesting at other people's camps and that included big time college coaches. He is like that baseball lifer that hangs around in the game into his eighties and is willing to travel from Bremerton Washington to Fort Myers Florida and anywhere in between to impose what he has learned in a lifetime in the game to anyone who will listen.

And they do listen, and inspire, kids a quarter their age. That's the appeal of lifers, and there will always be room in the game for these people even in an age where Ivy League sabremetrics savants have infiltrated.

Petitgoue knows everyone. We were at a summer league tournament at Milwaukee's AL McGuire Center in June and between games I was walking the concourse looking at the displays, which were of course a shrine to Al. Jerry walked by and I asked him if he knew McGuire personally. He rattles off stories not only about Al, but about his Marquette assistants Hank Raymonds and Rick Majerus as well.

I hope he gets the Grandy this season and somehow wins one more state title. It would be a great way to go out. He has won three but lost chances in the 1970's and 80's when Dickeyville's Burbach Brothers and others won them for Dubuque Wahlert instead, and in the 2010's when Whifish Bay Dominican (Diamond Stone) was allowed to participate in Division 4 as a small private school who was recruiting inner city Milwaukee kids. He would have won again two years ago had covid not shut things down (and lead to a tear jerker of a post season banquet).

It would be a fitting end to a great career. He has been around long enough to have coached the grandparents of some of the current players. There will never be another one like him.

I really enjoy HS sports history, especially of those legendary coaches. Thru our boys' youth sports, I've had the luxury of meeting Larry Niemeyer. His grandson plays on many of our boys sports teams. His daughter is good friends with my wife now. Larry leads the nation in HS softball wins........see below. He's also 3rd on Iowa's all-time list for girls basketball with 871 wins.

These kinds of coaches often times have the same kind of traits, pleasant, humble and patient. This what I get from Larry the times I've gotten to converse with him.

Iowa
Larry Niemeyer, Jefferson (Cedar Rapids)
The nation's all-time winningest coach in a single sport, Niemeyer had a record of 2,089-429 with state titles in 1983, 1997 and 1998 while at Jefferson. He also won a fall state championship while at Adel in 1970.

Basktball

Larry Niemeyer

871

352

44

1960

No

Yes

C.R. Jefferson, Adel

 

[kicker22]

Fun fact. I actually live 10 miles west of Cuba City in Dickeyville which may be an even more interesting name.....

But that's not why you called. The town was initially incorporated as Yuba City in the 1840's, but the California gold rush would soon draw attention to another town called Yuba City so the Wisconsin town changed the name.

The school nickname is, of course, the Cubans. To this point the nickname nazis have stayed at bay, despite the fact that many Hispanic families work on the farms and in the cheese factories. Rival schools try to mock us by wearing Sombrero hats and chanting "Smoke The Cubans!"

School colors are very familiar, black and gold.

School is known for basketball. Big time. And news will be made sometime this winter as boys coach Jerry Petitgoue closes in on 1,000 wins, something that will never be accomplished on the high school level again. (Girls coach Jeff Pustina recently retired with a record of 662-139 and nine state championships). And all this has been done in a pit of a gym and perhaps the worst indoor facilities in the conference.

"Coach P" currently sits at 983 wins. To get 1,000 at the UC would be cool as hell. Making it even more special is that I have a player on the team, and have watched these junior and senior classes grow up from second grade on.

Petitgoue likes to play at warp speed tempo and frequently scores into the 90's and beyond. When they played on an odd Saturday afternoon in 2020 just before Covid shut them down we counted players from ten rival schools in the bleachers., including all three Dubuque high schools.. Well worth checking out for anyone living in NE Iowa.. Final note: Recent grad Brayden Dailey will now play for UW Green Bay.

You had me at Dickeyville lol. Cuba City and Dickeyville...what's not to envy.

 

[Northside Hawk]

You had me at Dickeyville lol. Cuba City and Dickeyville...what's not to envy.

Well there's an old mining town nearby called New Diggins....

If your ever in a state like Colorado mining towns are the coolest. The backdrops are straight out of John Wayne movies. The history.

And of course the saloons. You can get an authentic saspirilla at a mining town saloon.

 

[Knight78]

I really enjoy HS sports history, especially of those legendary coaches. Thru our boys' youth sports, I've had the luxury of meeting Larry Niemeyer. His grandson plays on many of our boys sports teams. His daughter is good friends with my wife now. Larry leads the nation in HS softball wins........see below. He's also 3rd on Iowa's all-time list for girls basketball with 871 wins.

These kinds of coaches often times have the same kind of traits, pleasant, humble and patient. This what I get from Larry the times I've gotten to converse with him.

Iowa
Larry Niemeyer, Jefferson (Cedar Rapids)
The nation's all-time winningest coach in a single sport, Niemeyer had a record of 2,089-429 with state titles in 1983, 1997 and 1998 while at Jefferson. He also won a fall state championship while at Adel in 1970.

Basktball

Larry Niemeyer

871

352

44

1960

No

Yes

C.R. Jefferson, Adel

My wife went to Dexfield HS (Dexter and Redfield) and they had some really good teams when she was there. But they always lost to Niemeyer and Adel in the tournament. That was back when Iowa girls played 6 on 6.