The athletic department celebrated 100 years of Eastern men’s basketball at the 100th EIU Basketball Celebration banquet Saturday at the University Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Dave Kidwell, assistant athletic director/special projects, said about 80 former coaches, players, team managers and trainers were able to attend.

The banquet honored the 10 members of the All-Century Team and the six best teams in Eastern’s program history.

Panther great

Tom Katsimpalis, class of ’52, is a member of the All-Century Team and spoke on behalf of its 10 members.

The Panther great noticed how much the game has changed.

“They are playing above the rim more,” Katsimpalis said. “We weren’t allowed to dunk the ball; in fact, you couldn’t touch the net, the rim, the backboard, anything. The kids today are stronger, bigger, they jump higher and shoot higher than we used to.”

Katsimpalis remembered how different playing in McAfee Gym, formerly known as Lantz Gym, is to playing in Lantz Arena.

“The size of the floor was different,” Katsimpalis said. “Lantz Gym was a little longer than regulation [94 feet]. The crowd capacity was different and it was more of a confined place. They put bleachers on the stage and folding chairs on the side marker.”

He went to a New York Knicks tryout in 1952, but he decided to be with his wife Jeanette and his child.

“That life was not for me,” Katsimpalis said. “It was for more bachelor-type guys.”

Katsimpalis was an Eastern athletic administrator from 1959-1964, and from 1964-1974 he was the athletic director.

‘Running Runts’

Don Eddy, Eastern head coach from 1968-1980, spoke about his “Running Runts” team of 1968-1969, in which had no player taller than 6-foot-2 and only played seven men.

Eddy said the “Running Runts” put the bar high for the following teams who were more talented and had more height.

Eddy recalled when Lantz Arena would fill up because students and town residents wanted to see a team that played full court offense and defense the whole game.

The team finished 13-13.

“We had the right guys who were already here and they were not on scholarship,” Eddy said. “None of them were star players in high school, so they had no credentials. So the only way they were going to survive was do exactly what we told them. All the energy and intensity and unity possible was needed or they were going under.”

Eddy coached the 1976 and 1978 Division II third place teams.

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a crisis for the 1976 team. Brad Warble, the team captain, was injured for most of the season and the team started 7-7.

Eddy said the team felt sorry for itself, so he had extremely hard practices the next four days to break the team’s apathy and refocus its goals.

The Panthers won 15 straight games after that.

During Eddy’s era, people packed Lantz because the team won, played hard and broke the color barrier, the coach said.

Eddy said former head coach Rick Samuels from 1981 to 2005 brought in top talent when the program went to Division I and continued the success Eddy began.

Part of that success was recruiting Jon Collins, class of ’86. Collins was drafted by the Denver Nuggets and is a member of the All-Century Team.

“It’s been since probably ’86 or ’88 since I’ve been here and the school’s changed so much,” Collins said. “I actually got lost (Friday) night.”

Playing in the NBA was not a big deal for Collins.

“I just played my game,” Collins said. “Coach (Rick) Samuels was a great coach and he let you do what you could do. So I tried to do the same thing after I left Eastern to play to my strengths.”

Gentle giant

Maxine Duckworth, the mother of Kevin Duckworth, class of ’86, accepted the All-Century Award for her son. Kevin died on Aug. 25, 2008 from congestive heart failure.

“Kevin has made me so proud; I’m having a hard time to find words,” Maxine said. “But everywhere I go, everybody just loved him, and I see parts of him I didn’t know.

“I don’t care what nobody says. Kevin was a gentle giant and he knew how to treat people.”

Matt Britton, ’01, and Jesse Mackinson, ’04 were some members from the 2001 NCAA Tournament team who appeared at the banquet.

Britton said All-Century Team members Kyle Hill and Henry Domercant were fun to have as teammates.

“They were great individuals and talents,” Britton said. “Kyle was an extraordinary combination of athletic ability, talent and competitiveness, and Henry was one of the hardest workers I’ve ever been around.”

Britton said he is impressed with the Panthers this season, and said they have to play at a high level for three games in the OVC Tournament to make the NCAA Tournament.

Mackinson said he misses the camaraderie with the players and the competitiveness of Panther basketball.

Britton is dean of students at St. Anthony of Padua High School in Effingham and coaches the boy’s team. Mackinson is a self-employed farmer.

Members of the All-Century Eastern Team

Andy Sullivan, ’46

Tom Katsimpalis, ’52

Charlie Thomas, ’78

Craig De Witt, ’80

Jon Collins, ’86

Kevin Duckworth, ’86

Jay Taylor, ’89

Kyle Hill, ’01

Henry Domercant, ’03

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or rtbajek@eiu.edu.