Your Best Game Ever???

Posted by Dan Jensen

I think it would be great reading for our old warhorses to tell us what they thought their best game ever was.  It may be an obvious choice or the question may cause you to put on the old thinking cap, roll back the years, and stroll through the dusty old archives of your mind.

Don't worry about shining the spotlight on yourself.  If you played for us, you are a special person and we want to hear about your most special game.  It's too bad that too many have stopped checking the blog, so I will be sending out e-mails about this thread and hope to get a good response.

You guys helped build a basketball program that is very special and it is something that not many schools have.  I would like to share a recent example of the value of tradition.  A Class A Oklahoma team that has won several state championships did not have a vintage team this year but did reach last week's state tournament.  It fell behind, 20-0, to start the game.  I have never heard of such.  But, lo and behold, the team fought back and won the game in the last four seconds!  One of the players commented after the game, "There's just something about that name on the front of our jerseys."

Comments

[Dan Jensen]

I want to bring this thread up to the top so it will be easier to see.

I have just sent e-mails to our old warhorses. Of course, there are several that I never got e-mail addresses for and maybe some that I do have are not current. Anyway, I am hopeful of a good response.

[Dan Jensen]

Not a single response yet from our old warhorses. That's hard to understand and I guess the death knell for his blog is sounding. But, I guess it has been for a while and I am just hard of hearing.

[buddy carlisle]

My memory that sticks out the most, if you have to choose one game, actually was a loss.

In 1970, my senior year, we played Wheatley in the regional semi-finals at Hofeinz Pavilion. The place was packed with 10,000 screaming fans at 10 am. In those days you played the semis in the morning and the finals that night.

Wheatley was on the way to a 102-2 record from 1968-70 and 3 state championships-the last two in UIL and the first in '68 in the old Prairie View League.

Creek was 104-8 over that same span but we couldn't make it to state because of Wheatley the last two years. We were beaten by Conroe 49-44 when I was a soph in the regional finals to spoil a 35-1 season.

Anyway, Wheatley led us 40-39 going into the 4th quarter before their press finally took its toll and they won 65-54. To show you how dominant they were, they beat Carrollton Turner 108-80 in the state title game. So the real state championship game was their win over us.

So there it is, probably the only person who will report a loss as their most memorable game.

[Dan Jensen]

Buddy, that's an interesting story and one that I had not heard. You have a great recall of detail. I do remember Wheatley beating us, 100-80 in the Houston Jaycee tournament. I think it was the first meeting between the two teams.

I wish more bloggers would recite their most memorable game as well as their best individual game. Buddy, what was yours?

I know you had no better finish to one than your two free throws that snatched victory from a Galveston Ball team in the waning seconds after it had come from way behind to take the lead.

[Dan Jensen]

How sad is this? I send a special e-mail to many of our heroes with a simple request. Not a single one responded. Not none, as I remember Coach jokingly saying in days of yore.

Well Buddy did but I did not contact him. He has done a lot for this blog and I truly appreciate him.

But, I think I will throw in the towel and stagger away to devote my time to other things. This could have been a plumb loverly site, but...

[buddy carlisle]

My best individual memory would be the game you described-it was 1969, my junior year and the last one played in what is now butler Gym, or the girls gym.

It was packed by 4:30 after we got out of school at 4. We had a pep rally and took up all the seats so Galveston Ball had virtually nowhere to sit when they arrived.

We led them by 17 at one time and we had to win to win our 17th straight title. They took the lead and were holding the ball when we doubled them out front and I happened to tip a pass and recovered it, taking it to the hole.

They fouled me on the shot, preventing the basket, and I was fortunate enough to make both free throws and we won 67-66.

Maybe March Madness will bring out a few of the George Carlisle era guys to blog on. I have really enjoyed sharing my stuff the last couple of years.

[Pat Jensen]

I have been working feverishly to think of my best game ever, but so far I haven't succeeded. I'm not sure you realize what a difficult task that is for some of us. I even asked some of the guys I played with for their recollection of my best game. They said I didn't have one. They also said your thread should have been asking for the worst game, in which case they could have come up with quite a few.

[Mark Cook]

My most memorable game as a member of varsity is real easy. Our victory over Lake in 1978-79 season. Creek had not beaten Lake since 1972 - the first meeting of the school (I attended that game as a wide-eyed 11 year old kid.) I still remember being mobbed by the fans...and the cheerleaders after that game. Great memory.

The best game I ever played was probably either j.v. when I scored 29 against South Houston...although Coach would be quick to point out that probably every one of those points was scored on a lay-up. My best varsity game was coming off the bench against Dobie when our center got in bad foul tropuble early. I was able to hold my own against their back line of 6'9", 6'10" and 7'0" to help us control the boards and beat them at our place with relative ease. I also had a nice fade-away jumper over their 6'10" forward (I was all of 6'3"). Probably the best game I ever played on varsity. Not a lot of points, but I don't think I ever got than many defensive rebounds.

What do you say Coach?

[bcarlisle]

Great to read the Mark Cook recollection of best games ever. I will never forget the win over Lake that he described in 1979 and the fist pump Mark gave as he headed back downcourt after making a bucket and it was obvious that we were going to win.

It meant so much to guys like Mark who had been beaten by Lake so much in the 70's. That was the beginning of us being very competitive with them from then on. There were a few years when they swept us but most of the time we either split with them or won them both-especially in the '90's.

Now for current news re/ Wildcat bball. The first year coach, Danny Randall, has been told that his contract will not be renewed for next year.

The reasons are numerous but it reached a head whn he tried to reassign Greg Eanes, the JV coach and varsity assistant, to the freshman B level if he wouldn't get out of coaching all together.

He cited philosophical differences as the reason and I was very disappointed to hear he had made that decision. Many parents were also not happy with the way things were going as well as the coaching staff, and I think it was a combination of things that led to the decision.

It will not be official until the school board meeting next Monday night, so things could change. I will keep you informed about the search for a replacement if it does occur, but just wanted to let everyone know what is going on currently.

Hoping for UCLA, Ohio State, North Carolina and Florida to get in the Final 4 with OSU winning it. There have been some great games so far and it is just a great time of year for basketball fans and former coaches!

[Dan Jensen]

Buddy, as you no doubt could tell, I never was comfortable with Randall. Surely we can do better than getting someone with his kind of resume.

But, I still question if we will do the right thing and get a really good one. Do we consider just those who apply or do we seek out the very best?

The athletic director is a football guy, right? I have not trusted those kind of guys since the days of Paul Gips.

I'm glad that Randall is gone but I still don't feel good about continuing our proud basketball tradition.

[Ed Davis]

My most memorable game was in my junior year - not because of anything great I did individually but because of the nature of the win. When we beat Milby in our gym in the 57/58 season, it was an exciting adventure to see our little school whip up on the big guys from Houston. I remember vividly standing under the basket at times and seeing Chuck Trcka's shots come ripping through the nets.

As I recall (hard to do these days), we were leading by one point with a few seconds to play and I had the ball on our side of half-court when several Buffalo players converged on me. Thinking that a steal and a bucket by one of them would turn victory into defeat, I did the only thing I could think of at the time. I tossed the ball high into the air and by the time it came down the game was over.

By the way, my future wife was at that game in the Milby cheer squad. I met her a couple of years later at Baylor and we have been together for the past 45 years. That makes for a great memory as well.

[Arthur Landriault]

Creek sports fans,
I read in the Galveston Daily News that Danny Randall has been relieved of the head basketball coaching job at Creek. There was no reason given for his resignation posted. His stay was't for very long.

[Mark Cook]

we never should have hired a coach from Santa Fe in the first place. Sort of like UCLA hiring the head coach of Slippery Rock. Maybe we can convice a certain former coach to come back to lead the troops!

[Pat Jensen]

Maybe we could invite someone to give us information on the selection process, including who will be involved in it and how they were selected. Maybe the Superintendant or Principal, the Athletic Director, or the person who will be leading the search can enlighten us. Perhaps Buddy could ask someone to post such information on our site or tell us who to invite and give us his e-mail address.

[bcarlisle]

Anyone interested in the head coaching job can email [email protected]
[email protected]. director
[email protected] principal at Creek just named in last couple of weeks.

There are supposedly lots of applicants so far.

[Bubba Mathis]

I just heard about Creek's separation with Danny Randall. I'm dumbfounded that this happened. It's not so much they let him go, but more that our Administration would ever have made such a questionable decision to begin with. Why take an unproven coach from a hapless 4-A school? Were they simply filling the position with a body?

I think all of us who've played along with the many fans and supporters deserve better from our Admin. Clear Creek is one of the elite HS basketball programs in Texas. If we're serious about continuing the long tradition, our Administration needs to seek higher quality candidates.

I think Dan earlier questioned whether we sought someone, or simply took applications. You hit that one on the head. If they're serious, they gotta go after the person vs. hoping for somebody to just apply.

I'm hopeful they do a better job this time around. There's been too many that have given blood, sweat and yes, even some tears over the last half century for us to settle for just "anyone" to lead our basketball program...

[Dan Jensen]

Bubba, you ought to forward those thoughts along to the three persons that Buddy mentioned. All of us ought to do so. I wonder how close they are to making a decision?

[Terry Mathis]

My best game ever was not at Clear Creek but at Paris Junior College. I was a Freshman in 1968, and we were playing in Jacksonville, Texas against Lon Morris Junior College. I was very fortunate to make 17 of 17 free throws. At the end of the first half I sank a 50' shot which gave us a 50-49 lead at half time. But the most unbelievable thing happened again at the end of the game when I hit almost from the same identical spot to give us a 100-99 win. After the game Assistant Coach Bob Williams from Sam Houston State, who was at the game recruiting Willie Adamson our 6'6" center, offered me a full scholarship. I ended the game with 39 points which were the most points I ever scored. And by the way Soph. Willie Adamson from Durant, Oklahoma, Soph. Jackie Hopkins 6'6" from Mount Vernon, Texas (home of Dandy Don Meredith), and myself from Clear Creek all accepted scholarships to Sam Houston.
How about Coach Ronnie Arrow as the new Head Coach of Texas A&M. I played against Ronnie in College when he played at SWT, and he was a fierce competitor, just as he is a coach now. All he needs is a chance and the Aggies will never miss Gillispie. I have never been a Aggie fan, but that may turn me into one.

[Pat Jensen]

With the success Arrow had at San Jac, it's puzzling that it has taken so long for him to get a major college coaching job.

[Dan Jensen]

Did y'all know that Ronnie Arrow almost became the coach at Clear Creek? Keith Mathis will have to refresh me on the details but he once told me that Arrow was headed our way until San Jac or somebody intervened with an offer. Where is Arrow now? The last I knew I think he was coaching at some Alabama college.

[Terry Mathis]

Ronnie coached at South Alabama, and led them to the NCAA playoffs. He then went to Texas A&M @ Corpus Cristi a Southland Conference member where this year their first, they won the conference and the conference tournament and went on to play Wisconsin in the NCAA tourney and had a 18 point lead in the first half and let Wisconsin come back and win. The Southland Conference would be happy for him to go to the Big 12 Conference.

[Dan Jensen]

Has anyone e-mailed any of the three that Buddy mentioned?

I exchanged some messages with athletic director Bill Daws. I first understood him to say that only applicants were considered but he later clarified and said that they pursued some candidates and asked them to submit resumes.

He says he has 60 plus applicants. I got the feeling that they may be making a decision sometime next week.

He seems to think that things are going well athletically in the entire district. A new principal is on the selection committee and he was once the head basketball coach at Friendswood.

Time will tell, I guess. Unless they hire a .500 coach from Santa Fe. Anybody with any sense at all would question that.

[Dan Jensen]

I may have misled you about a decision being made next week.

Here is his quote: "...we will be talking about this process
next week. We hope to have someone on board soon so they can meet the staff
and start working with the kids."

[Dan Jensen]

Athletic Director Bill Daws says 60 of the 81 applicants are head coaches.

[Pat Jensen]

Just reading between the lines and surmising. Applicants were limited for the last vacancy because few wanted to follow Buddy. Now that the next coach will be following Randall, many are throwing their names in the hat. I'm not sure that's the kind of coach we need.

[Dan Jensen]

I e-mailed the athletic director last night asking how close they were to hiring a new basketball coach.

I just received a very detailed response: "Soon."

[Dan Jensen]

I got the above response from Daws three weeks ago. Today, I contacted him again and he responded: "We hired Chris Romine from Georgetown. He is a up and rising star and endorsed by Bill Farney, Director of UIL."

That was all the information and I certainly wanted more. And, I would have preferred an established star rather than one who is rising.

But "rising" is better than last year's hire from Santa Fe.

[Terry Mathis]

From Google, Chris Romine coached @ Georgetown 8 years, and prior to that 5 years at South Houston. On another note, former Clear Creek Coach, Jack Worthington passed away on May 19th.

[Dan Jensen]

He must not have been the head coach at Georgetown until recently according to remarks by Daws, "His overall record at Georgetown this year was not reflective of the final results of the season. He and the coach before him turned that program around. He has coached for 10+ years. When the committee was finished interviewing, we all had a great feeling for this young man."

[Dan Jensen]

Ed Davis has just authored a thread, seeking information on the new coach.

I don't know very much about it either although I have exchanged several e-mails with the athletic director. He briefly answers a direct question and thinks that suffices. He is plumb wrong but I am not going to continue the exchanges.

I want to bring this up to the top again. Ed apparently has not read it before and some others may not have either. Of course, we could probably count the number of "others" on one hand. It's sad. I hope the latest coaching hire doesn't turn out that way.

[Keith Carson]

I just came across this site the other day and was really amazed at all of the information. I was on the 70/71 team and distinctly remember losing to Wheatley in the Houston Jaycee tournament 100-80. We sprinted out to a 10-0 lead only to get outscored thereafter 100-70. I also remember the year before when we played Wheatley in the playoffs and Krueger tried to slow the tempo but to no avail. My fondest memories are of playing on the JV in 69/70 and going undefeated (33-0), beating the likes of Memorial and Wheatley. Quite a year.

[Ed Davis]

Keith,

Welcome to our blog. Most all of the information on this blog comes at the hands of Dan Jensen, an older gentleman and graduate of Webster HS, who has been quite the historian for Webster and CCHS sports for a number of years. And, he is a great writer as well. Some other people have contributed interesting info and stats as well.

So, hope you enjoy reading all the posts and comments on the blog and will continue to come and post your comments when you can.