What's Your Favorite Non-Basketball WIU Basketball Moment

[beauspencer]

I meant for the title to be confusing, but also because it's exactly what I am looking for. Let me explain further. What is your favorite moment, story, event, or experience from a WIU basketball game (or even something that involved a WIU basketball player/coach)?

I'll start with a story from Fargo, North Dakota.

As many know Coach Mo loved his long walks to reflect, especially after games. During the 2011-12 season after a big win at North Dakota State, coach Mo went out to enjoy a celebratory cigar after the game. A winter storm approached and coach Mo began his walk back to the hotel. The problem was he had meandered three miles from the downtown hotel. He didn't have a hat, so he pulled his coat up above his ears. He shared this story the next day at the airport saying it's the coldest he's ever been. An old beat-up pickup truck pulled over and asked coach if he needed a ride, to which Mo eagerly accepted.

[sealhall74]

Not a favorite but certainly a memorable one happened in my first year at WIU (74-75). Don't even remember what game it was (might have been EIU because there was a very good crowd) but after game as we were leaving through north exits of Western Hall, we look up and see a pretty damn good blaze shooting out of a few windows on the 17th floor in Thompson Hall. Totally unrelated to basketball but still interesting, that very same year a bad wind storm caused some of the exterior walls of Thompson to separate and forced a temporary evacuation to the union. I am sure it is very nice after the recent renovation, but back then Thompson was fondly called "Shake and Bake".

Too bad we did not have cell phones to take pictures with back in the good ol' days. Not many specific things about players and coaches come to mind. I would try stick my head in Western Hall pretty frequently to watch practices when Jack Margenthaler was coach. I loved to watch Jack's free throw drills which always took place near end of practice when players were already somewhat fatigued. He would get everyone at one basket and each player would take his turn. If a player missed, EVERYONE then went to the baseline for a "suicide" sprint and then they would immediately return for more of the same. With that approach, it is no surprise that Jack's team were usually near 80% in FTs.

I do remember Western Hall being packed all the way to the rafters for a few games in late 70s/early 80s. One sign hanging from those rafters still sticks in my mind to this very day: "We've Got That Ol' Jack Magic". Who could argue with the likes of Dysktra, Lilly, and Banks lighting it up? A couple of times I remember looking up at the scoreboard at the 5 minute mark and seeing 25+ points on the board and this was well before the 3-PT shot was introduced. For me, that 5 minute mark glance up to the scoreboard became a habit and a useful "barometer" for how the rest of the game would go.

At one point, I considered trying to become a student manager for Jack. I did have a class or two with Brad Dunn who was the student manager during my later years at WIU. Brad seemed to be a bit of "character" and would probably be a good guy to contact for interesting stuff about players and coaches back then. He went on to become an assistant for Nolan Richardson at Tulsa and Arkansas. Now, I think he is general manager for HawgsIllustrated if LinkedIn is correct.

BTW and also unrelated to basketball, I am 99.44% sure that I had a political science class with Western's most famous alumnus:
http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-weste ... /reference

Funny how you forget where you left your car keys 10 minutes ago but still remember a girl named Mary sitting one row left and one seat up from you 40 years ago.

[beauspencer]

That's great stuff sealhall74. I love the first-hand accounts of Leathernecks basketball during the Margenthaler era.