They Live Among Us. John Rushing

Transcription

1 They Live Among Us John Rushing Most of us were not stars in high school or college. Most of us did not have the athletic prowess to be sought by over 500 colleges across the entire nation, all attempting to lure us to their campuses with scholarships and other enticements. But there is one person who lives among us who did experience that degree of fame and adulation. As I have been attempting to illustrate with this column, we have both very talented and very unique individuals here in Pine Island Cove. I am guessing that most of you did not know we have somebody among us here who meets the description above. John Rushing, also known as Big John, was a basketball star who set all sorts of records back in the late sixties and early seventies while he was in high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and in college in Ada, Oklahoma. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, the eldest of eight children, his family moved to Milwaukee when he was only 6 months old. By the time he was in his teens he had started 1

2 to show signs of being a very tall young man He was already 6 3 by the time he started playing basketball at Roosevelt Junior High School. Because of where John lived in the city he was expected to attend West Division High. However, John s gym teacher took him aside one day and asked him if he might like to attend Lincoln High School which was way across town. His teacher told him if he wanted to be known in basketball, that is where he ought to go. He told him he might even be able to get a scholarship to go to college. John really laughed at that. Nobody in his family had ever been to college and he knew things like that just didn t happen. But John was wrong. John was a good student, and he was proud of his perfect attendance at Roosevelt Jr. High. But John didn t understand how he could go to a school that none of his friends could attend. He didn t understand how something like that was possible. Unbeknownst to him, John s gym teacher at Roosevelt spoke to the coach at Lincoln High School. It wasn t long before John received a call from Coach James Smallins asking him if he would like to attend Lincoln High and play basketball for them. That s when he found it was possible. It did happen and it began a 2

3 fantastic, dreamlike, upward journey for young John Rushing. Once at Lincoln High School he went directly to the varsity. He was a sophomore on a junior-senior team.they were a basketball powerhouse at that time. By the time he was a junior he was 6 feet 4 1/2 inches tall. He wanted to be able to jump like the college players he had seen so he began playing in heavy boots. Later he bought ankle weights to help him train. He watched a lot of professional and college basketball, learning, getting inspiration. When the boots and ankle weights came off it was like he was free of gravity. He led his team in scoring and rebounding by the time he was a junior. And that was the year Lincoln High School, with a perfect 49-0 season, went to State. During his Senior year the team finished

4 John graduated from Milwaukee Lincoln High School in January during the midterm of During his three years of competition at Milwaukee Lincoln High, John accomplished a number of milestones. He was the first to make the All-City 2nd team as a sophomore. He also made All-City and All-State 1st team as a junior and senior. He led the conference in rebounding and was one of the top scorers in the conference. John was ranked among the top 100 players in the country by the AP and the UPI. John also earned varsity letters in basketball and track and field (high jump). These are just a few of John s accomplishments while at Milwaukee Lincoln High School. After graduating from high school John had to decide from among over 500 scholarship offers from colleges across the entire nation. In the end he attended East Central State 4

5 University in Ada, Oklahoma, on a full basketball scholarship. There he became a four-year starter for the Tigers. Some of John's highlights in his college career were freshman of the year in the Oklahoma Conference and 1st Team All-Conference four years in a row. He was picked by the coaches as one of the best in the NAIA Tournament Cream of the Crop and named to the All-Tournament team three years in a row. John was named to the NAIA all American team in He finished his career by being inducted into the East Central State University Hall of Fame. These are just a few of John's accomplishment's in his wonderful career at East Central. After his graduation from college with a double major in Physical Education and Art 5

6 John considered going pro. Ultimately, he became a basketball scout for the Tigers basketball team. He feels that was one of the best decisions he has ever made. It allowed him to mature, grow and to learn about people, and about life. He then went back to Milwaukee to work at the Lavern Way Boys Club, working with children and adults in the inner city as the Athletic Director. After leaving the boys club John began working for the Milwaukee Public Schools and taught there for 20 years. He earned a Masters degree in Physical Education and Adaptive Physical Education. It was there he met another teacher, his wife Darlene. John taught Physical Education and Health for K through 6 for regular and adaptive children at Phyllis Wheatley Elementary School in Milwaukee. 6

7 John and Darlene have another entire series of chapters in their life story. After years of camping and fishing during their summer vacations they decided to do the camping experience full time. They sold their home and bought a 50 foot RV and a Chevy Tracker to tow behind. It was during those seven years of traveling adventures all around the country that they happened to end up on Pine Island. They were freezing in a campground up in Ocala, Florida. When they asked if anyone knew of a warmer place they could go in Florida, someone suggested Pine island. They spent a number of winters at the Pine Island KOA campground. One day they decided to visit Pine Island Cove. After talking to a number of residents and liking what they saw, they found a home they liked on Drum and have been here for about 6 years. 7

8 In October 2013 John received another very high honor, one of which he is justifiably proud. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. With that honor came a beautifully engraved plaque and a Hall of Fame ring. John was on the Pine Island Cove Board of Directors last year. He learned a lot about the park, and the people who live here. He and Darlene feel blessed to be here. One can often see John and Darlene riding around the park in their golf cart. John can often be seen striding along the park streets late at night when it is cooler out. That s when I usually see him. And sometimes, usually for only a few seconds, if the night is very quiet, and if you listen very carefully, you can almost hear those roaring crowds in the 8

9 gyms and auditoriums of the past, cheering Big John on. It appears I am out of time. My deadline approaches. I was just about to get into another interesting story concerning John. It concerns somebody John knew, and who knew John when he was at Lincoln High School in Milwaukee. It never got as far as a romance, just someone who had a real big crush on John. I probably shouldn t even mention how this young lady used to hang around outside the locker room hoping to catch a word with John after practice. I certainly couldn't speculate about what might have been, for John has been very happily married to Darlene for over 37 years now. I suppose it wouldn t hurt to mention the first name of this young, teenaged girl who hung around outside that locker room so many years ago. It is a somewhat unusual first name. I am certain none of you actually know the girl, now a woman. Her name was Oprah. Like I said, an unusual name. I guess for the rest of the story (and there is more) you might just have to get to know Big John a little better. After all, he does live among us. 9