OT: Jerry Petitgoue

[Northside Hawk]

Wisconsin high school hoops legend grabbed career victory #999 last night, goes for the grand Saturday afternoon.

There may be active high school coaches out there who are nearing this milestone but those who are starting out will never get there again. He has been patrolling Cuba City's sideline through the administrations of ten US presidents.

It won't be easy. He schedules a Milwaukee inner city school every year and he chose a doozy in Milwaukee Carmen.

If not tomorrow, the next chance will be at a school he has tormented for decades, Southwestern of Hazel Green (just five miles down the road)

That would actually be cooler if he got it in there. Our volleyball coach recently got her career win #500 in that same gym.

You ask why this is important for this forum? Well he coaches my kid!

He has coached a lot of people's kids, some for three generations.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

I've known about him. You may have brought him up some time ago. He sounds to be a great individual who really connects with kids decades younger than him. A rare breed. Excellent and congrats to him!

 

[Northside Hawk]

I've known about him. You may have brought him up some time ago. He sounds to be a great individual who really connects with kids decades younger than him. A rare breed. Excellent and congrats to him!

He likes you if you can shoot. But this is one of the better defensive teams he's had in over a decade.

You know it's wierd. The entire Dubuque area lost a ton of players to graduation from last year and that includes southwest Wisconsin. But we've already beat the team from Racine that knocked us out in sectionals last year.

As for relating to kids decades younger that is true to an extent. He retired from teaching two decades ago which allows him to focus full time on basketball. He is a true old time hoops junkie, the type that Dick Vitale (who he knows personally) used to talk about when he described hanging out in Jersey shore diners with other coaches until the wee hours of the morning talking hoops and drawing plays on napkins.

That's Jerry. He knows just about everyone in the game, including some big time D 1 coaches.

 

[Northside Hawk]

Sad news to report. Jerry passed away yesterday at age 83.

Leaves behind a record of 1,027-249 (mostly as Cuba City Wisconsin head coach from 1971-2023) 12 state tournament trips, three state championships, and was the prohibitive favorite for a fourth with an unbeaten team in 2020 when covid cut postseason short. Also leaves behind a stellar academic career as history teacher, tour guide for summer bus trips, and the usual husband/family man cliches.

Jerry knew everyone in the game from Bobby Knight to Al McGuire to Dick Vitale to Bo Ryan, Tom Izzo, Tom Davis, everyone. He was a huge influence on Creighton coach Doug McDermott who grew up less than hour away in Cascade. Gary Dolphin (also from Cascade) has more Jerry Petitgoue stories than he has hairs out of place in his toupees..In a day and age where varsity head coaches seldom last a decade he coached three generations of some families.

He loved offense, pushing tempo, and he loved taking on big schools and giving them a run for their money. Mostly he loved basketball. A true hoops junkie.