The Bobcat Nation

Trivia Question for you old timers.

There was a good ballplayer from San Angelo, Texas playing for the Cats in the late 70's. I have been trying to come up with his name but can't. Anyone remember.

On that same note. I can't find historical bobcat infromation for the basketball program on the internet either........anyone have any links?

Thanks

Vike

Arnold McDowell...?

Definitely Arnold McDowell. The first guy I can remember dunking a basketball. He was a guard-but jumped center (no alternate possession in those days). One of my all time favorite Bobcats.

He had some tryouts with NBA teams, but didn't quite catch on.

I remember someone saying he had passed away. Anybody know whatever happened to him.

vike_king wrote:I can't find historical bobcat infromation for the basketball program on the internet either........anyone have any links?

Thanks

Vike

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KK ... tate&hl=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Go to google news and type in keyword "Arnold McDowell" go to the archives. This can be really fun (if you're a big nerd like me). Most of the archived articles are out of Spokane or Utah, but it's really fun reading.

I could almost swear that Arnold was drafted by the Kansas City Kings of the NBA. No?

Griznationalist wrote:I could almost swear that Arnold was drafted by the Kansas City Kings of the NBA. No?

Yep.

1980: http://statsheet.com/mcb/drafts/nba_tea ... City-Kings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

BelgradeBobcat wrote:Definitely Arnold McDowell. The first guy I can remember dunking a basketball. He was a guard-but jumped center (no alternate possession in those days). One of my all time favorite Bobcats.

He had some tryouts with NBA teams, but didn't quite catch on.

I remember someone saying he had passed away. Anybody know whatever happened to him.

Actually, didn't he mostly play at the 3 position? I thought Durham and Finberg were our starting guards during Arnold's junior year, and then Durham and Harry Heineken (sp?) when he was a senior? But you're right....he was really fun to watch. In fact Haroldson's teams were always very entertaining back in those days. Do you remember how they used to do a real razzle dazzle pre-game warmup before every home game, to Kool and the Gang's "Celebrate"? I hate to say this, but MSU basketball (and BSC hoops in general, for that matter) seems sorta boring these days, compared to that era.

Does anyone know what happened to Arnold Mcdowell? I had heard he passed away 2003?

Harry Heineken did not arrive until the fall of 1979, after Mick Durham and Craig Finberg had graduated.

duelalumnicat wrote:Harry Heineken did not arrive until the fall of 1979, after Mick Durham and Craig Finberg had graduated.

Durham played with Heineken during the 1979-80 season. He started out in the same class as Finberg, but he was injured and missed the entire 1977-78 season, so he played one more year after Finberg was done. He got his undergrad degree in 1979, and then played his last year of hoops in 1979-80 and got his Masters in 1980.

John K, you are right and I'm wrong. I started at MSU in the fall of 1979. I forgot that Mick was still playing. I remember that the crowds were so small at the the games that we used to bring our books and studied while we watched the Cats, more often than not, lose. I also have this vague recollection that while Harry Heineken was good, he was not the superstar that he was hyped to be. And it might not have been his fault because the I don't recall the Cats being that great that time.

duelalumnicat wrote:John K, you are right and I'm wrong. I started at MSU in the fall of 1979. I forgot that Mick was still playing. I remember that the crowds were so small at the the games that we used to bring our books and studied while we watched the Cats, more often than not, lose. I also have this vague recollection that while Harry Heineken was good, he was not the superstar that he was hyped to be. And it might not have been his fault because the I don't recall the Cats being that great that time.

Actually, MSU had a very good team in 1980-81 (which was my senior year), with Heineken, Doug Hashley, and John Macklin. They went 11-3 in conference, and tied for 2nd with UM, but then lost to them in the semi-finals of the BSC tourney. They also made the tourney in the 1979-80 season (only the top 4 teams got into the tourney back then), but lost to regular season champ WSU in the semi-finals that year. Maybe the MBB program didn't exactly dominate the conference back in those days, but it was better than it is now.

It was the years just before Haroldson took over that the place was a morgue. The Rick Juarez era. Haroldson came in and brought in guys like Arnold McDowell and suddenly the program had some life.

BelgradeBobcat wrote:It was the years just before Haroldson took over that the place was a morgue. The Rick Juarez era. Haroldson came in and brought in guys like Arnold McDowell and suddenly the program had some life.

That's the way I remember it also. I started at MSU in the fall of 1977, which was Juarez's last year, and basketball was completely irrelevant (you know...sort of like it is now). But then when Haroldson arrived for the 1978-79 season, he really rejuvenated the program. In fact, I seem to recall that MSU had the largest attendance increase in the nation between the 1977-78 and 1978-79 seasons.