Editorial cartoonist David Cohen sent me a note and drawing paying tribute to UNC Asheville student and former basketball team star Kenny George, and I thought it was worth passing along. As most of you know, George last year was the tallest man in college basketball and lead the team to a great year. Late last year, George suffered a foot infection that required partial amputation and his basketball career is over. He’s supposed to return to campus next week, so if anyone sees him around, please let me know.
Read David’s piece below.
Most of you are probably also familiar with David’s cartoons. Check out his web site and watch for him — he’s working on getting nationally syndicated. More on that later.
David, thank you for sharing. Here it is:
An appreciation of Kenny George
Now that the college basketball season is in full swing, and UNC-A is taking it’s usual medicine on the Top 25 spanking machine, I am reminded again of Kenny George. You have to remember Kenny—the 7’9″ “man to match our mountains” who became a national cause celebre last year. Kenny George, the tallest man to EVER play college basketball, right here in our little cosmopolis.
I attended UNC-A during the Hartman years, and we had some guy from the Midwest who was 6’11” (and dated a cheerleader who couldn’t have been more than 4’10”).He was a phenomenon 35 years ago; Kenny would make him look short.
Kenny George took UNC-A to the Big Dance last year, and helped raise the level of roundball all over this part of the state. He led the nation in field goal percentage and was featured (along with UNC-A and Asheville) in many national publications and broadcasts.
And over the summer, Kenny had to have part of a foot amputated due to a runaway infection after some surgery. Even with the state of prosthetics and cybernetic limbs it is doubtful that he will be able to play basketball again. He is scheduled to come back to UNC-A in January to finish up his degree and move on with the rest of his life.I don’t know Kenny. I know someone who knows him, and they say that he is a quiet guy, a guy who once you can get him talking will have interesting things to say about a lot of subjects. But the burden of being SO different from other people keeps him mostly isolated from them.
One of the things about living here is that I get to be reminded daily of the sheer magnitude of the mountains. The fact that they dwarf me and our attempts to grasp them, whether for good or bad. It is a feeling that can be inspiring and emboldening, and it can be intimidating, as well.
Through no choice of his own, Kenny George is kind of in that position, too.I bet, inside his head, Kenny is still the little guy who started to love basketball, before he got so huge and imposing. I think about what it has to be like for him, living in a world designed for people almost half his size. And now his life is turning in a different direction—-a direction that probably won’t include college or, even, professional sports.
I gotta say, I’m pulling big time for this guy. I’m hoping that he heals quickly, and that he sails through the rest of school and gets his degree in mass communications.
I hope that his journey in this world can inspire and embolden others; that he will grow even more big, in his heart and mind, as well as in ours.
D
8 Comments
Kenny George is the man. In and out of the court. I wish him the best for what the future holds for him.
Looks like the word is that George is taking classes at UNCA this spring, but remotely. He’s "in" a class I’m taking, according to my prof, but is working with his professors somehow to take courses while not coming to class. Kind of like an online class, I guess, only not online.
Yes, the school is still UNCA.
I think I should clarify. When I said they’re pushing to be called Asheville, I meant the athletic department. There’s an official note in their press releases to be called just Asheville on second reference. I’m an alum of UNC Almost, and I still think of and call the school UNCA.
But the athletic department certainly digs the Asheville-only label. Check out some of the things you can buy from the stand in the Justice Center.
You may think you’re being moderately anonymous, Mike, but you are not foolin’ me. And you also aren’t a jerk. Happy New Year to you and everyone else up in Mars Hill!
Well, they may be "pushing" to be called just Asheville, but they’re not succeeding. The people who work there still call it UNCA, the alums of the past couple of years (well within this supposed window after it "stopped being UNC-A") call it UNCA, pretty much everybody in WNC who has reason to mention the school by name calls it UNCA. The institution’s own Web site still calls it UNCA and offers me the chance to view the premier issue of "UNC Asheville Magazine." Wonder why they waited so many years to release it, since it must have been printed before this big name change marketing strategy took effect.
And not to be a stickler, but every news release on the athletics site tells the story of some "UNC Asheville (_insert sport_) team" and its exploits. Heck, there’s a big banner ad telling me I can buy Super Saturday tickets for the UNC Asheville Women’s Basketball Team.
</rant> Sorry, Ash (and Jamasheville), rough day at work and I’m blowing off steam by being a moderately anonymous jerk on your site.
Jamunca—-
thanks for the correction!
I meant the " Other Dance".
And for a long time, it was referred to as UNC-Almost.
"Kenny George took UNC-A to the Big Dance last year"
Except by "big dance," Mr. Cohen means that Kenny George helped UNCA get to the NIT. They’ve only been to the NCAA tournament once, and that was in 2003 when a 6-11 Ben McGonagil reigned in the middle.
And not to be a stickler, but it stopped being UNC-A probably 6-7 years ago. Hartman era, indeed. In fact, the school now is pushing to be called Asheville. …just, Asheville… a la Charlotte’s transition from UNC-C to UNCC to Charlotte.
Wow, Jason! Thanks so much for posting this one. Very nice.