Saying Goodbye

Steve Connor died the other day. I foolishly thought that everyone would remember Steve, but few did. It is a sign, I guess,  that I am getting old. None of the TV guys knew who he was, nobody from the  newspaper did either, and they ran his obit. Only Tom Scott and I, among the media, felt any sadness.
 
Tom and I remember the sweet left handed jump shot, and the fierce competitiveness that made Connor one of the best basketball players to put on a uniform at Boise State. Connor came out of Boise’s Borah high school, where he led the Lions to the state finals. He joined with current Texas Christian University head coach Trent Johnson, and Danny Jones, a cat quick forward out of California, as one of the best recruiting classes ever at Boise State.
 
Connor turned down offers from several schools to play for his dad, Bus, at Boise State. He left BSU as the leading scorer and assist man in history. His scoring record was later eclipsed by Tanoka Beard, by 15 points. Had Connor played in the three point line era he would have easily been the all time scorer. Steve had tremendous range and was not shy about jacking  it up.
 
Connor’s favorite moment was a jumper he made against Jud Heathcote and the University of Montana in the season’s final game which sent BSU to the Big Sky Tournament in 1976.   There, Connor and his teammates came from behind in the final minutes to beat Weber State. The win advanced BSU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. They lost to a good UNLV team in he first round.
 
Connor used to tease me for being out of shape. I was 34 years old his senior year, and thought I could still play. We used to play horse. At a very fast pace. “Look at you, you’re sweating playing horse”, he would laugh. He would then proceed to kick my butt. I beat him once at Montana State, and never played him again.
 
I would trade that last, and only, win over him, just to see him again. I miss you lefty, you died way too young.