TicketsWednesday night, I took some time to head over the Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Fairfield. Nine players were being inducted into the HoF, including Miami's Wally Sczerbiak, Xavier's Aaron Williams and UC's Steve Logan.
Plus, Charlie Coles was the keynote speaker and anytime Charlie speaks, I listen.
Mostly, though, I wanted to catch up with Logan. He was inducted into the UC HoF earlier in the year, but I missed him that day. A good amount of controversy has surrounded Logan in the past few years, specifically a rape charge that was dismissed.
With that unfortunate situation behind him, Logan is moving forward and trying to use his knowledge of the game to help kids become better basketball players. He talked about the youth basketball camps he's attempting to get off the ground in his hometown of Cleveland right now along with a wide range of other topics.
Looking back at the numbers Logan posted at UC, they are simply staggering:
--- His 1,985 total points are good for second all-time in UC history only behind Oscar Robertson.
--- He averaged 22.0 points a game his senior season and was named a First Team All-American.
--- He averaged 29.2 points a game during UC's Las Vegas Classic championship, including a 40-point performance against an 11-0 Mississippi State team.
--- He accomplished all of this at 6-foot tall. And that may be generous.
When I asked Logan what the one thing UC fans always say when they talk with them, I expected to hear about his game-tying drive that rattled around the rim against Memphis, scoring 21 second-half points to win the C-USA tournament or the epic double-overtime heartbreaker against UCLA that concluded his career.
No, not at all.
"They say, 'Wow, man, we didn't realize you were that short."
The manner in which Logan overcame his height disadvantage was extraordinary, in retrospect. He didn't do so with exceptional speed or quickness necesarily, but with force, savvy and basketball IQ.
Anyway, here are a few highlights of our conversation prior to the banquet as Logan sat at a table his wife and children Steve Jr. and Kerry:
On what he is up to now:
"I am in the area trying to get my camps going. I am in the business of running camps and trying to get my camps off the ground. Helping inner city kids and kids in the suburbs know how to play the game the right way, fundamentally first. That is what I am trying to get off the ground right now."
On the last time he played competitive basketball:
"I haven't played competitive ball in at least two or three years. I was in , I had a meniscus repair arthriscope, it was really slowing me down and my knee hasn't been the same since. I think I am at my end with playing ball, but I wanted to stay in basketball and give back my knowledge of the game."
On the fact there has been a revival of small point guards lately in the NBA and his size kept him out of the league 10 years ago:
"I believe God has His plan. I didn't' hit it well with the NBA, got a few years overseas. Like you say, I look at the game now and see the small guards in there and it's like, wow it's amazing. Some of the things the guys are doing out there I know I can do. I am just blessed just to be here and I can't worry about not making the league. That's behind me now. I had a good basketball run and I am really proud of myself."
On his career which, spanned some amazing highs of two No. 1 seeds, second-leading scorer, and ultimate lows of Kenyon Martin's leg injury:
"I think I got lucky to play with a great leader like Kenyon for two years and learn from him, you know, how to work and how to play the game as a big man. It was unfortunate he went down because we felt like that was our year to win it. But he went down, I just learned from that. Just play hard everyday. That is one thing Kenyon did everyday, he came to practice like it was a game. I kind of followed my work ethic after him as far as working hard."
On the recruiting story of how he ended up at UC:
"Mick was actually recruiting another kid from and the kid had a bad night shooting. Him and Huggs was there watching the game, he said, forget this Mick, call and tell him we want to sign him. I ended up at UC because a kid had a bad, off night."
On what he wants to do next:
"I would love if the opportunity presented itself to come back to and get things started with basketball. Maybe coaching here. Most definitely (get into coaching), I like high school and college, just giving back what I know. How to play the game, especially for point guards, being able to show these guys what is the right way to play. I would love to come back to this area and get some camps going, AAU things going and teach these guys how to play basketball."