Sixteen miles due east of Sikeston sits the tiny town of Charleston, just a stone’s throw from the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Charleston is like dozens of towns up and down both rivers. Small, quaint, tight knit. But unlike most of those towns, Charleston is a powerhouse in boys basketball. The Charleston… Read more »
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Sport: Basketball
John Earl Chase
John Earl Chase spent over forty years in public education coaching, primarily at Branson High School in basketball, football, track and baseball. He began his career in 1939 at Branson High School as an assitant basketball coach and head football coach where he introduced 6 man football to the school. In 1948, he re-entered coaching… Read more »
Derrick Chievous
Chievous played collegiately at the University of Missouri, becoming the school’s all-time scoring leader with 2,580 points over his collegiate career. He was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 1st round (16th overall) of the 1988 NBA Draft. Chievous played in the NBA from 1988-1991 for the Rockets and Cleveland Cavaliers. His best season… Read more »
Mike Claiborne
He climbed the ladder the right way, with his college years spent broadcasting football and basketball games on the school’s WRFN station and working for the student paper before, at the onset of his professional career, writing for a hometown newspaper. Then came a subtle but notable break for Mike Claiborne. In the early 1980s,… Read more »
College of the Ozarks Women’s Basketball Program
On the inside of the locker room door hangs a map of the United States, with a bull’s eye over a quaint campus just south of Branson. The motivator has been there for years and explains almost everything about the College of the Ozarks Women’s Basketball Program. “I would always let the players know the… Read more »
Khalia Collier
Never underestimate the positive influence of an upbringing in the world of sports. For Khalia Collier, the game of basketball not only fueled her competitive fire as a player but also ignited a passion to challenge herself in another way, as a sports executive. In college, while playing for Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis,… Read more »
Pat Colon
The crazy thing about her career is that, while her resume eventually would feature All-State status and later 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in college, there was a winter when the game went on without her. Pat Colon, you see, got cut during tryouts ahead of her freshman season of high school. And you think… Read more »
David Colt
For the past 24 years, David Colt has held the position of Head Athletic Trainer and Assistant Professor at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. Responsible for the health care of 390 athletes in 15 sports, he also devotes much of his time to the classroom teaching various college courses. Colt became a Certified Athletic… Read more »
Leon Combs
He could have relocated long ago to a seaside cottage, kicked back under palm trees and focused only on his corner of the world. Instead, after retiring in 1994, Leon Combs not only moved back home to the Ozarks but he also opened up his heart – and wallet – to numerous charitable causes. This… Read more »
Steve Combs
Steve Combs has been obsessed with basketball nearly all his life. The former Harrisburg boy’s coach, Combs grew up as a Bulldog, rooting for one of the smoothest players of all-time and the local college team. “I always wanted to be a basketball player,” he said. “I was a huge Harrisburg Bulldog and Mizzou Tigers… Read more »
Carroll Cookson
Carroll Cookson’s basketball career began when a young coach by the name of Arnold Ryan moved to the community of Puxico where Carroll was born and introduced the Cookson boys to the game. A love for this game was instilled in Carroll, and with his teammates, brought two state championships to Puxico in 1951 and… Read more »
Ronnie Cookson
In the history of Missouri high school basketball, no coach has matched the success Cookson had at Scott County Central. He led the Braves from 1970 to 1995, retired, then returned from 2007 to 2009. SCC crushed Missouri records with 15 state titles, one second-place, and one third-place finish. His overall record was 694-137 (83.5 winning… Read more »
John Cooper
Born in Smith Mills, Kentucky, Cooper was the eldest of six children. He graduated from Hopkinsville (KY) High School, then earned a B.A in Physics, as well as a PhD in Education, from the University of Missouri and lettered in basketball and track between 1932 and 1934. An all-conference choice in 1932 when he led… Read more »
Robert Corn
Longtime basketball coach Robert Corn puts it this way: “Sometimes in this business, you have to be lucky.” A case in point is the day his coaching career took its most important step, with a phone call. “I was in my office at Mountain Grove High School and it was coach (Gene) Bartow. He said,… Read more »
Bob Costas
Bob began his professional career at WSYR-TV & Radio, while studying journalism at Syracuse University in 1973. At age 22, he landed a job at KMOX Radio in St. Louis, one of America’s most prominent radio stations. He broadcast a wide variety of live, play-by-play and studio programs for KMOX from 1974 through 1981. One… Read more »
David Coutchie
In 2019, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes – fresh off a Super Bowl victory – traveled to the Ozarks to help fundraise for the Boys & Girls Club of Springfield. That evening, auctioneer David Coutchie proved to be a wizard. An autographed football was to go for $6,000 – until Coutchie encouraged Mahomes to… Read more »