Northwestern St

Jon Teitel's "Forgotten Legends": Northwestern State's John McConathy

Jon Teitel — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 21:24:02 -0700

In the most recent installment in his "Forgoteen Legends" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with Northwestern State great John McConathy. The McConathy family has become synonomous with Northwestern State over the year, and John was the one who got things rolling. McConathy is one of three All-American players in the history of the program, averaging 21.6 points per game in 1951.

Jon Teitel: After you hitchhiked 50 miles to the Northwestern State campus to try and join the team Coach Lee Prather said that he did not have a spot for you, but you hung around campus for a few days and eventually were given a scholarship on a day-to-day basis. Why was it so important for you to make the team, and were your parents worried when you did not return home that first night?

John McConathy: They were not worried because they knew I was going to campus to try and get into the school. My older brother was there on scholarship so I needed financial help as well. I was only 5-11, 165 pounds; I was a late-developer. They had offered a scholarship to someone else, but after the guy did not show up Coach Prather said he would give me an opportunity one day at a time due to my persistence. I did not play at all as a freshman but grew to 6-5, 200 pounds as a sophomore. I finally got to start halfway through my junior year and became all-conference as a senior. Coach Prather retired after my junior year and became the school's president.

JT: You played basketball and ran track in college. Which sport did you enjoy the most, and which one were you better at?

JM: I was a high-jumper who could get up to about 6-4, which was not too bad, but I enjoyed basketball the most.

JT: In 1951 you averaged 21.6 ppg and were named All-American. What did it mean to you to win such an outstanding individual honor?

JM: It was fantastic and a tremendous honor. I was only the second All-American in school history. I even got to play for Coach Adolph Rupp at the College All-Star game in Chicago.

JT: In 1951 you were drafted fifth overall by Syracuse. Did you see that as a validation of your college career, or the realization of a lifelong dream of reaching the NBA, or other?

JM: It was a dream come true. I was the only small-college player to get drafted that year. The money was not real great back then because the NBA had only been around for a few years at that point. I got around $6,000, while George Mikan made $25,000 and Bob Cousy made $15,000. I got to room with Hall of Famer Dolph Schayes at Syracuse.

JT: You only played 11 games in the NBA because you had to return home to National Guard meetings. What is your favorite memory from your time in the NBA?

JM: The Korean War was going on and my mother called me up and told me that I was AWOL! People would applaud when you dunked back then but now it seems like they dunk on every shot. My greatest thrill was when we played against Minneapolis with Mikan, Hall of Famer Jim Pollard, etc. Teams would put on pre-game exhibitions for the crowd, but I was a nervous rookie so I just dunked the ball several times.

JT: In 1960 as head coach at Bossier (Louisiana) High you set a state record with 41 wins, the last of which was a five-point win over De La Salle in the state title game. How big a deal was it to beat the three-time defending state champions, and what did it mean to you to win the title?

JM: De La Salle had won it several times: the New Orleans schools always had the best athletes. I was fortunate to coach there for six years as well as be the assistant principal. We had a fantastic team and good talent. It was a real shot in the arm for this area. They still write about it even today!

JT: Your son Mike was an All-American player at Louisiana Tech who scored over 2,000 career points and is the current coach at Northwestern State. What made him such a great scorer, and why did he decide to go into coaching?

JM: My two other boys also played basketball but Mike was a tremendous competitor. I will take a little credit for all three of them. I told them to devote the time it takes to become a good player. Mike had decided to go to Louisiana Tech and was later drafted by Chicago. I retired because Mike wanted to become a coach and I did not think it was fair for him to get a job while I was in the administration. He works with his kids to be the best they can on the court but also graduate and make a living. I have spent the past 25 years as chairman of a bank.

JT: Your brothers George and Leslie and grandchildren Michael and Logan also played at Northwestern State. How much is your family revered on campus, and do you hope the next generation follows in all of your footsteps?

JM: My older brother was the one who helped me get started there and George was a great all-conference player as well. It means a lot to us that Mike is there as coach. He has a lot of people pulling for him. My grandchildren were smaller point guards but were very knowledgeable. Logan ended up buying the house behind us so I get to see him every day.

JT: Your #14 jersey hangs in the rafters of the Prather Coliseum. Where does that rank among the highlights of your career?

JM: We have only had three All-Americans in school history so there were not a lot to pick from! I am proud of it.

JT: When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most?

JM: I was less than forthright but gave the best I had. I really paid a price to get to play and Coach Prather was extremely pleased with the way I developed.

John is also on Jon's list of best pro players in Southland history.

Central Arkansas: Scottie Pippen (1988)
Lamar: Clarence Kea (1981)
McNeese State: Joe Dumars (1986)
Nicholls State: Gerard King (1999)
Northwestern State: John McConathy (1952)
SE Louisiana: NO ALUMNI IN ABA/NBA
Sam Houston State: Frank Gates (1950)
Stephen F. Austin: James Silas (1973)
Texas A&M C.C.: NO ALUMNI IN ABA/NBA
Texas State: Jeff Foster (2000)
UT Arlington: NO ALUMNI IN ABA/NBA
UTSA: Devin Brown (2003)

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Southland?

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:25:58 -0800

Southland Basketball Preview: 08-09

CHN — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:17:58 -0800

Conference Rank: 21st

10 year average: 27th

Southland Conference Page

All-Southland Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Devin Gibson	Texas-SA	So
G	Josh Alexander	SFA	Sr
G	Kenny Dawkins	Lamar	Sr
F	Anthony Vereen	Texas-Arlington	Sr
F	Matt Kingsley	SFA	Sr
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
Mid-Major All-Americans Josh Alexander Devin Gibson		Points: Josh Alexander 16.0 Rebounds: Brandon Bush (Tex St) 7.2 Assists: Eric Bell (SFA) 5.7

Southland Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

84	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	1	NCAA
133	Lamar	Southland	2
150	Texas Arlington**	Southland	3
187	Sam Houston St	Southland	4
230	McNeese State	Southland	5
242	Northwestern St	Southland	6
250	Texas San Anton	Southland	7
257	SE Louisiana	Southland	8
272	TAMU CC	Southland	9
277	Texas State	Southland	10
294	Nicholls State	Southland	11
312	Central Arkansas	Southland	12

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

** returning conference champion

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the Southland? (soon)

Other SLC Content

Conference Media/Coaches Poll

Other

Rise & Fall: Southland

State of 08: Texas

State of '08: Louisiana

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:17:35 -0700

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

Up today: Louisiana. For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

LOUISIANA

LSU - There's not much to say here, because LSU is by far and away the top program in the state. The Tigers made the Final Four in 2006, though have quickly descended since then.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE - The Ragin' Cajuns were one of the best mid-majors from 2000 to 2005, which included 3 NCAA Tournament trips and 2 NITs. In 2007, the program was cited for rule violations, and the past three seasons haven't been up to the former standards. Last year's crew did show some promise though with an 11-7 Sun Belt record.

NORTHWESTERN STATE - Mike McConathy has done a great job in a decade at Northwestern State. In 2001 & 2006, the Demons made the Big Dance, and you might remember their epic 2006 win over Iowa in the First Round. Even last year when the team seemed to struggle, NSU still managed to upset SFA to make the Southland Championship game.

TULANE - The Wave haven't made a dent on the national scene since 2000, when they won 20 games and knocked off 6 Top 100 teams. To put that in perspective, in the last five seasons, Tulane has only beaten 6 Top 100 teams. Last year the Wave did knock off big-name programs like Georgia, Auburn, and LSU, something that most schools in the state couldn't accomplish.

LOUISIANA TECH - Last year's Bulldogs were extremely inexperienced and struggled to a brutal 6-24 record. This year's group should show substantial improvement, and will push for .500 in league play. Last year aside, La Tech has had decent success over the last decade, with scattered Top 150 and Top 100 finishes. The program's 7th NCAA Tourney trip will have to wait a couple more years.

6. NEW ORLEANS - Joe Pasternack did a nice job in his first season, leading UNO to upset road wins over BCS teams like NC State and Colorado, and finishing 8-10 in league play. This was the program's best season since making a surprise run to the Sun Belt finals in 2004.

7. SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA - SELU made its lone NCAA Tournament in 2005. In the past three seasons though, the Lions have merely hovered around .500 in SLC play. They did knock off in-state SLC rivals McNeese & Nicholls State all four times last year.

8. SOUTHERN - Since 2003, Southern has finished .500 or better every season in the SWAC. In 2006, Rob Spivery led the Jags to the NCAA Tournament in his first season at the helm.

9. MCNEESE STATE - In 2001 & 2002, McNeese enjoyed back to back postseason trips, reaching the NIT and then the NCAAs. Once 2004 got underway, there's been little success and not even one season above 200th in the RPI. This year should be similar to last with a middle of the road Southland record expected. The Cowboys did have a nice road upset of Lousiana-Lafayette last season.

10. LOUISIANA-MONROE - The Warhawks (nee Indians) haven't had much success on the basketball court in about 25 years. Outside of a surprising 2002 campaign (98 RPI), ULM hasn't sniffed the postseason in the past decade. Moving to the Sun Belt Conference a couple years ago has yet to reap any major rewards.

11. NICHOLLS STATE - From 2002 to 2005, Nicholls somehow managed to only average 2 D1 wins a year. The past couple years have been better, but nothing to write home about.

12. CENTENARY - In 2005 & 2006, Centenary was easily one of the worst programs in the country. They won a combined 5 D1 combines in that span. Last year was somewhat of an improvement with an RPI of 283, and this year's team might creep up into the 250 range.

13. GRAMBLING STATE - After an embarrassing 2000 campaign in which the Tigers went winless, Grambling has hovered around .500 in SWAC play for most of the decade. Then again, the SWAC is the country's worst conference, so .500 in league play isn't a big accomplishment. Grambling hasn't won a non-conference game against a D1 team since 2005.

Last: Kentucky - Next: Maryland

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Daily Poll: Who Will Win the Southland Conference?

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 07:52:38 -0700

SLC Player of the Week

Press Release — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0800

FRISCO, Texas - Senior guard Luke Rogers of Northwestern State has been voted the Aeropostale/Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week. Rogers helped the Demons to a 2-0 week by averaging 22.5 points and 4.5 assists on his way to picking up his first award. Following is a look at his week along with others named to the honorable mention list.

LUKE ROGERS, Northwestern State, Sr., G, 6-3, Chicago, Ill. -- Rogers matched a career scoring high with 26 points vs. Southeastern Louisiana Saturday as the Demons stretched their winning streak to five straight and posted a 1 1/2 game lead in the SLC East Division as they reached the middle of the 16-game league race. The Demons went 2-0, winning 98-88 at Nicholls State and 98-91 over Southeastern Louisiana, while Rogers averaged 22.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.0 steals and just 1.0 turnovers. He shot 65.0 (13-20) percent on his field goals, including 66.7 (6-9) on 3-point attempts and 86.7 percent (13-15) from the free-throw line.

Player of the Week Honorable-Mention Selections

Isaiah Allen, UTSA -- Allen averaged 21.0 points per game last week as the Roadrunners split games with in-state rivals Texas-Arlington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. In the 72-64 victory over UTA on Monday, Allen drained 6-of-8 3-pointers en route to a season-high 25 points. He followed that with three more treys in pouring in 17 points in the loss to the Islanders on Saturday. The Portland, Ore., native was perfect from the line (9-9) and shot 60 percent (9-of-15) from downtown and 50 percent (12-24) from the floor for the week.

Stefan Blaszczynski, NICH -- Blaszczynski was the leading scorer, or tied to
be the leading scorer in the Colonels conference games this week. On the
week, Blaszczynski averaged 21.5 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in losses
to two-time reigning league champion Northwestern State and conference
newcomer Central Arkansas.

John Ford, McN -- Ford scored 12 of McNeese's last 18 points in a 68-60 come
from behind victory over Lamar on Sunday. In that stretch he made six of six
free throws and two straight three point shots. Ford finished with a game
high 18 points and had five rebounds and a game high five assists. He also
had two steals in the only game McNeese played during week

Quennell Green, SLU -- Green set a pair of season-highs in scoring in
helping Southeastern split its two-game road trip at Central Arkansas and
Northwestern State. He scored 23 points, the most since scoring 21 against
Cal Poly and Jackson State, in the Lions' comeback win at Central Arkansas
on Thursday. Green added a team-high 25 points, including a season-high six
3-pointers, in the Lions' 98-91 loss at SLC East leader Northwestern State
in the highest scoring contest between the schools since 1969.

Antuane Miller, SFA -- Miller averaged 20 points in a pair of wins over
Texas State (82-62) and Texas-Arlington (65-54). He scored a season-high 23
points against Texas State and poured in 17 against UTA. Miller shot 81.0
percent from the field and added six rebounds.

Northwestern State 88 - Utah State 71

Press Release — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 21:35:04 -0800

NATCHITOCHES, La. - Jermaine Spencer and Trey Gilder each scored 14 points to lead Northwestern State to an 88-71 win against Utah State in the first game of the season for both teams. With the win, the Demons extended its home winning streak to 15 games which is the sixth-longest in the country, while Utah State's loss snapped a 12-game winning streak in season-openers.

Jaycee Carroll led all scorers with 19 points for Utah State and became the 32nd player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Nick Hammer also scored in double-figures for USU with a career-high 12, while Chris Session tied his career-high with nine points, to go along with a game-high seven rebounds.

Despite committing 13 first-half turnovers, Utah State trailed by just three at the half, 42-39, as it shot 58.3 percent from the field as compared to a 42.1 percent shooting effort for Northwestern State. Carroll scored 13 of his points in the first-half, despite spraining his right ankle early in the game.

Utah State cut the lead to one on a lay-up by Carroll with 16:49 remaining in the second-half before Northwestern State scored six straight points to open the lead to seven. USU got no closer than five points from that point on and trailed by as many as 20 points before losing by 17. In the second-half the Demons shot 65.4 percent from the field, while USU shot just 40.7 percent.

After trailing 8-4 early, Utah State went on a 15-4 run mid-way through the first-half to open its biggest lead of the game at 19-12 with 10:40 remaining. Northwestern State than went on a 20-4 run over the next six minutes to take a nine-point advantage at 36-27 with 4:51 remaining.

Overall, Utah State shot 49.0 percent from the field and just 22.2 percent from three-point range (4-18), while Northwestern State shot 51.6 percent from the field and 46.2 percent from three-point range (6-13). The Demons also out-rebounded USU 36-28 and forced the Aggies into 21 turnovers.

- From USU Media Relations