Hoop dreams revisted

The 99-year-old center circle from the former Creston High School gymnasium floor served as a metaphor for the speakers at Saturday’s celebration of area basketball history at Anson’s Bar and Grill.

The public reveal of the new display of historical photos and lists of all-state players in Anson’s east dining room, organized by local historian John Walters, was enjoyed by a crowd of more than 60 as several speakers shared their memories. The focal point of the display is the center circle from the gym floor preserved by local businessman and Panther sports booster Jack Davis.

Larry Goodrich, 1962 Creston graduate and the oldest living Panther all-state basketball player, pointed to the old, wooden circle as he spoke of his memories of playing on three Hawkeye Eight championship teams under coach Maury Geist. He and fellow all-stater Ron Jessen were a standout pair in the realm of all-staters Kyle McCann and Ben Gerleman from the Creston 1997 state championship team.

And, two of Goodrich’s former Creston teammates, Joe Wilson and Davis, were present for Saturday’s ceremony. Goodrich went on to play at State Teachers College of Iowa (now University of Northern Iowa) with Jessen and Jerry Waugh of Mount Ayr. They were part of the 1963-64 team that went 20-2 with a deep run in the NCAA postseason tournament. That team was inducted into the UNI Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022.

Goodrich, now residing in Cherokee, coached high school basketball for 31 years.

“This spot,” Goodrich said, pointing to the old high school’s center circle, “is where it all began. When we closed the Pit (in 1989) Ron Jessen was there. He told me he was ill and that’s the last time I saw him. He was one of the greatest all-time all-around athletes Creston ever had.”

Panther pride

Decades later, Goodrich said the memories and team camaraderie are still ingrained. Today’s players are part of that Panther tradition he still treasures.

“Wearing that Creston jersey, does it get any better than that?” Goodrich said. “There’s something about wearing that jersey with the word Creston imprinted on it. It meant something far bigger than you. It represented the community and the pride in our town. It represented the people before you, and after you.”

Goodrich expressed his gratitude for being asked to share in the memory of Panther basketball, which he said was such a special time in his life.

“All of this is like a circle,” he said. “I was at that circle waiting for the official to throw up the ball for the tip when we played, and now I’m back here with Jack Davis and Joe Wilson 62 years later. Thank you, Jack for saving that circle, and thank you John Walters for everything you’ve done. This is truly a special day for me.”

Both Goodrich and Davis spoke of some of the greats that came before them, such as standout athlete Tom Hertz, who became a football All-American at the University of Missouri. Davis also mentioned the 1939 Creston state championship team that included his father-in-law, Joe Healey. Goodrich said his father Dale Goodrich was an all-state football player in 1935 and played basketball with one of Creston’s all-time greats, Jay Cox.

That kind of rich history is why Davis purchased the piece of the playing floor from the demolition contractor for $100 when the high school building was taken down in 1996. He had planned to display it at his local business, M&M Motors, but it was still in his garage when he approached Walters about finding a home for the memento last fall. Walters had just been part of a group that dedicated a portion of the old high school building at the Union County Historical Village in McKinley Park.

Girls tradition grew

Davis began a 47-year run as “the voice of the Panthers” as public address announcer at Creston football and basketball games in 1972, the same year girls basketball began as a high school sport here.

The late Eldon Gammell had just arrived in Creston and began a long coaching career in multiple sports. He led one volleyball team (1987) and two girls basketball teams (1977 and 1978) to state tournaments. His wife, Margy Gammell, spoke about some of those memories Saturday.

“Coach Gammell was an excellent teacher of shooting, which was evident in many of the teams shooting in the high 80 percentiles from the free throw line,” Gammell said. “Mike Gerleman came along as assistant coach and coached the defense. My husband always taught those young ladies to be kind, be strong and to care about their teammates.”

Two of those players from the outstanding teams of the 1970s, Robbie (Noecker) Tanner and Roxanne (Sammons) Lamb, were introduced by Walters after Gammell spoke. Lamb expressed her appreciation for the event, especially that the list of all-staters in booklets compiled by Walters included her mother, Norma Jean Linthicum, an honorable mention all-state player from Zion in 1952.

Former Creston all-staters Brad Baker (1985) and Scott Driskell (1990), who are now school administrators in Chariton and Creston, respectively, spoke fondly of their memories of playing in the Panther Pit. Driskell finished his career at the current high school during his senior season.

Robbie (Noecker) Tanner is Baker’s older sister, and he said his first memories of basketball in Creston were watching her teams play. After several coaching changes in the boys program, he said the combination of Vic Belger and Mike Gerleman as Creston coaches restored a strong tradition that included the 1997 state championship, when Gerleman was head coach, assisted by Belger and former Panther star Matt Somers. Baker and Somers had been teammates.

“Vic Belger came in my sophomore year and I think he changed basketball in Creston in my time frame, along with Mike Gerleman,” Baker said. “They changed the culture. If you played hard, they didn’t care what your name was, or what grade you were in, you were going to play. I don’t remember playing in one game that I didn’t think we could win. The Pit was a special place, with the balcony and the pillars along the sidelines. I remember the live music every game, with the pep band under Dave Rissler and the National Anthem Singers directed by Dennis Kuyper. It was a special environment.”

Driskell said his family moved to Creston when he was in elementary school in 1977 and he looked up to Baker and other special athletes like Joel Christy, Casey Bryant, Mike Lamb and Matt Somers. He couldn’t wait until he was old enough to play in that environment.

“Our locker room was upstairs, and I’ll never forget the feeling you had up there just before you took the floor,” Driskell said. “It was really loud, and they always had the pep band playing. Everybody was there. That place was a sixth man for us.”

Nodaway Valley dynasty

Walters said as he began researching all-staters from Creston during the Panther Pit era, and expanded the list to more recent honorees along with those from area high schools, the deep basketball traditions of places like Diagonal and Nodaway Valley stood out. Darrell Burmeister was a five-time state cross country champion coach for Nodaway Valley and had a run of basketball teams in the mid-2000s that placed second, first and third in the state tournament.

Burmeister won 99 games as Bridgewater-Fontanelle coach before directing 504 victories at Nodaway Valley. His teams had Pride of Iowa Conference winning streaks of 71 and 58 games.

During Saturday’s program, Burmeister spoke of the 2004 team that played one of the greatest substate games he ever saw in an overtime loss at Southwestern Community College to Prairie City-Monroe, which included Iowa Hawkeye football recruit Brandon Myers, who went on to play in the NFL.

The following year the Wolverines beat Clarinda in the substate and lost in the state finals to Unity Christian, 62-54, in the final year of high school basketball at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Burmeister, who now coaches distance runners at Waukee High School, has a vivid memory of that somber bus ride home and what happened late that night after arriving in Greenfield.

“Without asking, those boys went into the gym, got the basketballs out, and played basketball until 2 a.m. when I finally said, ‘boys,’ it’s time to go home.’ The next year, this happened,” he said, pointing to the 2006 state championship photo near the speaker’s podium at Anson’s.

The following year Nodaway Valley lost in the state semifinals to Western Christian before routing Tri-Center by 29 points in the third-place game. That group of seniors went 103-5 in their careers, with only two regular-season losses, both to Bondurant-Farrar.

“When we lost to Bondurant-Farrar in the regular season in 2006, one of our guys told me, ‘B, we’re not going to lose again.’ We went on to beat Bondurant-Farrar in the semifinals and came from behind to beat Fort Dodge St. Edmond on St. Patrick’s Day,” Burmeister said. “That was the first year of Wells Fargo Arena and it was a sea of green for St. Edmond and purple for Nodaway Valley. I was very grateful for the players we had. They were very hard workers. Thanks for doing this today and asking me to be a part of it. We had a youth basketball camp for 25 years and I always appreciated the Creston kids who came up to that and made it better.”

Walters thanked everyone for attending and asked them to spread the word about the ongoing display at Anson’s. He said other local business owners have expressed interest in similar displays for other sports.

The reception included several sheet cakes decorated in basketball themes by Kim (Hightshoe) Hoepker, a classmate of Walters.

“John’s appreciation of history and the school’s role in the history of a community is a great thing,” Driskell said. “It’s really cool that it all started with that piece of the gym floor saved by Jack Davis, the ultimate Creston Panther fan.”