Where Are They Now?: Dick Daugherty

Dick Daugherty said his golf game could use a little work, but he'll take shooting his age or less.

The former Clark High School standout is 75 years old and is shooting in the low 70s.

"I shot a 71 the other day, so that's fine with me," Daugherty said. "The course wasn't that tough, but if I can stay under 75, than i am doing good."

A retired teacher and coach from Illinois' District 215, Daugherty spends his winters in Longview, Texas, and summers in Keystone, Colo. He was T.F. North's boys basketball coach from 1967-1972. His last game was a loss to Thornridge, tabbed among the greatest high school basketball teams ever in Illinois.

Daugherty had talked about how his North team might be able to pull an upset of the Quinn Buckner-led Falcons, who were on their way to two straight state titles.

"I kind of said that to make our kids think they had a chance and they did for about a quarter," Daugherty said. "Then Buckner took over. We lost 101-68, but we lost by less than what they beat Quincy in the state championship."

He said he thinks basketball is too low scoring.

"I like to see the game in the '70s, '80s with lots of scoring," Daugherty said. "When I was at T.F. North one year, I think we averaged 75 points a game and that was with no 3-point shot.

"I think the shot clock in college has forced teams to take a lot of bad shots and it hasn't helped scoring."

Daugherty played basketball for Dr. John W. Bunn at Colorado State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Colorado). He also was a shot putter on the track team. Daugherty left Greeley, Colo. for a year and went to Butler under the tutelage of  Tony Hinkle.

"I had the opportunity to learn a lot from two coaches who are in the (college basketball) Hall of Fame," Daugherty said. "Dr. Bunn wrote the rules. We played Kentucky, Cincinnati, so I played against two Hall of Famers (Adolph Rupp and Ed Jucker) there too."

He said he will never forget the Clark-Whiting rivalry and the Battle of 119th Street.

"Any sport -- football, basketball, baseball, we had a rivalry and a good one," he said. "I also remember playing the (basketball) sectional at the Hammond Civic Center. What a place that was with the crowds. We had 16-team sectionals and they went from Tuesday to Saturday."