I’m not one who lives too much in the past (cue the polygraph machine buzzing), but I think about Charlie a lot. And not for his coaching per se, although he was very smart. I loved his comedy. Just a very, very funny dude. Coach Steele reminds me of him in many ways. That’s why I know we are gonna get back on track.
Ps, take the test at the end. It’s harder than you think.
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RIP.
Jazz gave a great speech.
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And of course…This gem!
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Coach Coles was incredible. Proud to say he was my friend. Loved the man and still miss him. And so do the OU fans when we played at OU. He had a lot of fun with them and them with him…
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How did you do on the test? I’ve got a lot to learn it seems.
I would argue that he was more popular with opposing team’s students than he was on his own campus, where he was largely anonymous.
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18 - though I was not 100% sure about Wooden and Smith, so I would’ve scored 16 if I hadn’t guessed right.
Coach Coles was simply the best.
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I remember him a little different. He knew tons of athletes from different teams and often had an encyclopedic of their performance. The students knew him. He and Nod Washington had the only two caddies on campus.
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I think that’s why I like coach Steele and staff. Despite the challenges they face, they actually seem like they are having fun. And they clearly know basketball. Every Coles staff seemed the same. At least in my mind they do.
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I think I took Charlie’s last class leading into his last season, Fall 2011. We got to watch the team take a fitness test, an early off-season practice, hear from the coaches talk through some of their experiences, and philosophies, and yes learn a little about basketball. But those aren’t the memories that stand out, the class very much felt like a Charlie memoir. Stories of Charlie, growing up, playing at Miami, and recruiting stories highlighted by how we were a finalist for Ron Artest. His only requirements were to show up and take notes, and then at the end of the sprint collected everyone’s notebooks to grade not to be returned.
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First off, welcome to the board. You will enjoy it. Good people, good sports/life knowledge, funny comedy along the way. Second, great story and I didn’t know that about Ron. Wally once said in an interview Ron was the toughest defender he ever faced.
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My buddy dinged up Coach’s car when we were delivering campus mail. We had the white van, and when he backed it up after we’d finished at Millett, he scraped the rear quarter panel of Coach’s car. He drove a white Cadillac CTS at that time. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad, just a small scrape that you’s have to look for, but still, I felt bad about it. Promised him I wouldn’t tell though, because he was worried he’d lose his job.
I remember later that week I was doing the route alone, and when I got to Millett, I could see the scrape on Coach’s car. Ugh.
That ugly bit of history aside, I always wanted to take his course, but it filled up instantaneously, and I never got in. I suppose I could have tried to get force added, but I didn’t really have any sway with anyone in that department, and didn’t think to try. That’s a regret. He was always really friendly whenever I ran into him over there though.
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I took Coach Cole’s class in ‘98 or ‘99. There was a freshman from the basketball team in the class (I forget his name.)
One of the days, the freshman missed the class.
To start the next class, Coach walked in, chest out, energetic, standing tall.
First words he said, “you’ll have to forgive me if I have some extra energy today - I’ve been up for a while. I had the entire team up early today running sprints. We had a player miss a class last week.”
He then shot a quick look to the freshman, and went on with his lesson.
We all laughed and had a great class.
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My brother was in his class and I remember a funny exchange he had with coach. Chad Allen (was seven feet tall but didn’t play much) had finished a game where he had finished with double points and possibly rebounds. Maybe even a block or two. I can’t remember. Anyhow, my brother says “Coach, Chad had a pretty good game last night” and coach Coles shoots back “He’s seven feet tall. Why do you sound so surprised?”
He was so quick on his feet with his humor. Was truly a gifted soul. I bet our assistant coach Carl has some amazing stories.
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now we need mollautt back to talk about Richard CHAD ALLENdorf
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Always loved the “we get to keep our hotel key” remark.
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I missed only #11. I thought a 1-3-1 would look different because the one would be the only guy on the back line, but I guess he meant that when the ball was in the corner, then after the defensive slides it would look the same.
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I figured you might do well. Unlike me who showed a lack of knowledge and nuance.
Well, Y#5, basketball is one of my areas of expertise . There are many topics on here where you post that I am clueless about. Don’t ask me questions about tennis or horse racing.
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If my pony acumen was any good, I’d own one!