I received scholarships for baseball and basketball from SUNY Geneseo. I was an MVP my junior and senior years. I became an All-American, and was inducted into the Geneseo Sports Hall of Fame my senior year. I studied history. Dr. Kemp and Dr. Beck were great teachers - they were always close to the students. I smile when I think of all the friends I made at Geneseo.
I'll never forget the people that took care of me - so many people there that were very good to me. Coach Robert Riedel brought me to Geneseo, and Dr. Jim Allen nominated me into the hall of fame. I met my wife at Geneseo. We got married right after I graduated, and we've been married for 52 years. It was a terrific four years - very enjoyable. After graduation, I taught history and coached high school basketball in Western New York. I was a good teacher because of the way I was taught at Geneseo. I then coached college basketball at the Naval Academy, Kansas State University, the University of Virginia, Western Kentucky University, and the University of Georgia.
I was the head coach or associate head coach of 15 championship teams, and 23 teams that played in the NCAA post season. I had the privilege of coaching one of the greatest basketball players ever, David Robinson, during my time at the Naval Academy. He was the college player of the year with Navy and went on to win three NBA championships with the San Antonio Spurs. We had six straight championship teams at Western Kentucky, and our team went to the finals twice during my time at the University of Virginia. I coached basketball for 48 years - it was a great career. I was only able to coach all those years in a row because of my wife.
Sharon taught math everywhere we went. She was a great math student, and a great Geneseo graduate. Every time I would leave a coaching job, she'd have to leave with me - that made my career possible. I couldn't be more proud of the way things went after leaving school. I am very proud to be a Blue Knight.