Great stuff from NBA.com:
"... (D)uring his freshman year at Newport Catholic High School, Cowens had a conflict with his coach and quit the team. He turned to swimming and track and field, and it looked as though the young Cowens, a modest 6-1 at the time, would never return to the basketball court. If it wasn't for a five-inch growth spurt between his sophomore and junior years, Cowens' name might have never been known beyond his hometown of Newport, Ky.
"At the start of his junior year Cowens stood 6-6, and the junior varsity team had a new coach. At the end of his second junior varsity game, Cowens remained in uniform, played three quarters for the varsity squad, and never looked back. During his senior year, Newport took its 29-3 record to the state tournament. That year Cowens averaged 13 points and 20 rebounds -- stats that predicted his future prowess close to the hoop.
"Although he was sought by nearly every college in the Ohio Valley Conference, Cowens was not actively pursued by Kentucky's Adolph Rupp. Feeling snubbed, Cowens went against the advice of his father, who wanted him to stay in Kentucky, and chose Florida State University, a school not known for producing NBA-level talent. Also, FSU's basketball program was on probation at the time for recruiting violations, raising more doubts about Cowens' decision.
"But Cowens liked Florida State's coach, Hugh Durham ..."
Today's game:
Ninth Region, at Northern Kentucky University--Newport Central Catholic vs. Edgewood Dixie Heights
*Some of these tournaments (all idle today) are to next play semifinals; some, finals:
First Region, at Murray State
Second Region, at Hopkinsville
Third Region, at Meade County
Fourth Region, at Western Kentucky University
Fifth Region, at Green County High School
Sixth Region, at Bellarmine University
Seventh Region, at Bellarmine University
Eighth Region, at Henry County High School
10th Region, at Mason County High School
11th Region, at Eastern Kentucky University
12th Region, at Lincoln County High School
13th Region, at Corbin
14th Region, at Hazard
15th Region, at Pikeville
16th Region, at Morehead State University
Here are the last 10 winners of the 9th Region:
ReplyDelete2010: Newport
2009: Cov. Holmes (STATE CHAMPS)
2008: Cov. Holmes (state finalist)
2007: Cov. Holmes
2006: Cov. Catholic
2005: Cov. Holmes
2004: Erlanger St. Henry
2003: Ryle
2002: Ft. Thomas Highlands
2001: Ryle
Wikipedia reports that Dixie Heights High School, which is in Kenton County, was built by the Works Progress Administration -- like our own Heath High School. It opened for 1936 -- an election year -- which is probably why it was dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt. The school sits on U.S. Highway 25, which was also known as the "Dixie Highway."
ReplyDeleteRyan Suckow tweets that Dixie Heights leads Newport Central Catholic 17-12 after one quarter.
ReplyDeleteThe folks in Norther Kentucky, by the way, refer to these teams as "Dixie" and "NCC."
James Weber tweets that Dixie leads NCC 24-22 at the half.
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a pretty awful second quarter.
Dixie leads 40-31 after three quarters.
ReplyDeleteNCC battles back and ties Dixie 51-51 at the end of regulation. Overtime!
ReplyDeleteAfter the first OT, Dixie and NCC are still tied at 53. Double overtime!
ReplyDeleteNCC scores late in double OT to tie Dixie at 57. TRIPLE OVERTIME!!!
ReplyDeleteAfter two low-scoring overtimes in a row, Dixie and NCC take a more aggressive approach in the third overtime. But they cancel each other out. After three overtimes, the teams are tied at 68.
ReplyDeleteQUADRUPLE OVERTIME!!!!
Four overtimes. I just can't get over it. The Kentucky High School Basketball Tournament is just tremendous.
ReplyDeleteNewport Central Catholic's web page states that "Our mission in all our activities is to embrace the Gospel message of Jesus Christ, and seek to form men and women for Christian service, leadership, and evangelization in the Church and in the community."
ReplyDeleteWikipedia gives their motto as "To succeed you must believe, and we believe."
Newport Central Catholic resulted from the merger of two institutions: the all-boys Newport Catholic High School and the all-girls Our Lady of Providence High School. NCC is now a co-ed school.
As Eric previously indicated, their most famous alumnus is Dave Cowens, who graduated from Newport Catholic (the boys' school) in 1966.
Dixie Heights finally prevails over Newport Central Catholic, 79-76 in quadruple overtime. For the first time since 1957, the Colonels will be heading to the state tournament. They are the first team to qualify this year.
ReplyDeleteOh, man, we had a birthday party to attend this afternoon ... so sorry I missed this game on the iHigh.com broadcast.
ReplyDelete