8 / 16
7
B
etween football’s Super Bowl 50 on February 7 and
baseball’s Opening Day April 4, sports fans rapidly
moved indoors for the basketball season.
NCAA basketball, a fast and furious sport, finished with
a flash when 2016 March Madness was put to bed by the
Villanova Wildcats’ squeaking by the North Carolina Tar
Heels 77 to 74.
Ironically, this year April 4 was the last day of NCAA
basketball and the first day of MLB baseball. What is it
about the 57 days of basketball this year that so intrigue
Plenco sports fans?
Several employees helped explain it.
Chonon Ramos
(BMC) in his
PlastiScope21
article, says, “The answer is right
there in the question: It’s the madness of it all.”
Steve Paluchniak
(Engineering) describes the impact
basketball has had on his family and how the tradition has
resulted in great friendships and academic success for his
children.
“Pistol Pete” Maravich, the all-time leading NCAA
Division I scorer, and his local “look-alike” Mickey Crowe
are the focus of a fascinating story from
Steve Meyer
(Accounting).
Some interesting history about the famed Sheboygan
Red Skins who played professional basketball at the
Sheboygan Auditorium and Armory, a Sheboygan
landmark that will be demolished soon, in the 1940s and
50’s, offers memories for older Plenco employees and an
insight into the past for our younger generation.
That Rough Spot between the End of Football
And the Beginning of Baseball
A
fter watching the finish to the 2016 NCAA
tournament championship game between Villanova
and North Carolina April 4, it’s hard to imagine
anything more historic at this moment. However, back in
my high school basketball playing days, I did encounter
something momentous.
When you are playing for a small high school
like Cedar Grove-Belgium, you don’t expect to
run into this magnitude of history. My alma
mater is part of the old Central Lakeshore
Conference. In the early 1970s, a new high
school in St. Nazianz named JFK Prep
joined the conference.
JFK Prep had a player, Mickey Crowe,
who reminded me of “Pistol Pete” Maravich,
the all-time leading NCAA Division I scorer
who was cited by the Basketball Hall of Fame as
“perhaps the greatest creative offensive talent in
history.” Maravich wore droopy socks, kept his hair
long and was a scoring machine when he played for
LSU (and later in the NBA).
Mickey Crowe exactly matched Pete Maravich in
all three of these characteristics.
Never before had I come up against a player where you
played a special defense to stop him. We tried
but didn’t succeed, nor did anyone else in the
conference.
Crowe scored more than 70 points against us one
night! It didn’t matter where he shot the ball from;
he was smooth as silk.
Playing most of his four years on varsity, Crowe
became the state leader in boys’ basketball for
most points scored. He had done this before
there was a three-point shot.
Many years later, Anthony Pieper from
Wausaukee would surpass him in point total.
However, when Crowe’s shot selection and
range were broken down statistically, it
became clear that Pieper never would’ve
caught him had the three-point shot
existed when he played.
So, even though I was no basketball
star, it was fun watching someone with
the talent of Crowe play “so close to
home” in my conference.
I was able to witness history first hand!
Witnessing History First Hand!
2016 NCAA Tournament Reminiscent Of ‘Pistol Pete’
Maravich and His Look-Alike Who Played Closer to Home
By Steve Meyer
(Accounting)
What is it about…Basketball?
‘Pistol Pete’ Maravich.