|
Inside the
Frattohouse |
|
|
November 10, 2008 This column is for all the fathers (and mothers) that used to compete for real back in the day, but their participation with sanctioned organizations has long since past. Even if an athlete peaked at the high school level, in most cases it was serious business, at least on the varsity level. Enter Ken Mink, a sophomore point guard on the basketball team at Roane State University in Harrison, Tennessee. He was competitor who truly believed he could play in college, but had been off the radar screen, so after writing a dozen letters to local colleges asking for a tryout, he received a reply from Randy Nesbit, his current coach. Mink showed up and during a scrimmage, Coach Nesbit was pleasantly surprised at how fast he picked up the offense, and in addition to showing above-average competitiveness, he had a solid mid-range jumper and an excellent perimeter game. Mink made the team and will most likely see playing time in blowouts as he is challenged by the fact that his 40-time was 6.6 seconds and his vertical leap is only 20 inches. But, that’s pretty good when you consider that Ken Mink… is 73-years old!! You may have been wondering why he is a sophomore in eligibility status, as I earlier mentioned and the answer is simple. Mink was a freshman point guard at Lees College in Jackson, KY in the mid-1950’s, but his first college career came to an abrupt end when a team prank went sour and he was made the scapegoat. Legend has it that the coach’s shoes were doused with shaving cream and Ken Mink was wrongly accused. Nonetheless, he was expelled from the team. He moved on and pursued an occupation in the newspaper industry while nursing his love for sports. The competitive nature carried right over into a successful business career, until recently when his desire to battle on the court again led him to his current role as a basketball player… and a student carrying a full course load. During a recent presentation he gave in a history class about the Civil War, one of his teammates asked Mink if he ‘remembered those times!’ For Ken Mink, the locker room camaraderie is part of the deal, too. And as Ken Mink enjoys every minute, he has once again proven that anything is possible if you’re willing to pay the price. (c) 2008 Novi
Information Network ___________________________________ |
|
