Wes Unseld playing high school basketball in color

I cant decide who is better….Wes Unseld or Steven Van Treese?

Wes Unseld was a moving block of concrete. With talent. But my 1964 Male High team had his team beaten, beaten I tell’s ya, in overtime in the finals of the 7th Region at Freedom Hall. We were up a point; the buzzer went off ending the game and a kid named Jesse Kirk hurled a frantic jumper from way deep. It banked and went in and an official named Humzie Yessin, whose sister taught at Male, called the shot good. Jesse told me later that summer that the only reason he shot was that he heard the buzzer. No kidding. And all along press row people were saying it was a good second or two late.

In the tape of that game, you can see Seneca’s coach throwing his clipboard to the floor as the game ended. Then, tweeet. IT’s GOOD. And Male High’s season came to an end.

It’s been more than four decades and I still can’t get the pain of it all out of my mind. But Westley Unseld is a nice man and was a terrific basketball player. No doubt about that.