By John Goralski Sports Writer Nobody must have batted an eye when Greg O’Connell strolled into the high school gym in 1962 because nobody could have seen the scrawny 13-year old as much of a physical threat. At 5-foot-9, the freshman forward didn’t turn many heads. At 118 pounds, O’Connell wasn’t going to push around many high school players in the paint. But Walt Lozoski saw something in O’Connell’s size 14 shoes, and the late Blue Knight coach would not be disappointed. For his part, O’Connell started to grow…and grow…and grow… “I was a late bloomer,” O’Connell said with a laugh. “When I entered my senior year at 16, I was already 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds with a size 14 shoe. I graduated from college at St. Leo’s, and all of a sudden I’m 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, and a size 14 shoe. Even when I became a coach later on, I always looked at my player’s shoes. You can never tell.” On the other hand, it couldn’t have been too much of a surprise when O’Connell muscled himself into the varsity lineup as a sophomore. After all, two of his older brothers had already worked their way up as captains […]
By John Goralski Sports Writer Nobody must have batted an eye when Greg O’Connell strolled into the high school gym in 1962 because nobody could have seen the scrawny 13-year old as much of a physical threat. At 5-foot-9, the freshman forward didn’t turn many heads. At 118 pounds, O’Connell wasn’t going to push around many high school players in the paint. But Walt Lozoski saw something in O’Connell’s size 14 shoes, and the late Blue Knight coach would not be disappointed. For his part, O’Connell started to grow…and grow…and grow… “I was a late bloomer,” O’Connell said with a laugh. “When I entered my senior year at 16, I was already 6-foot-5 and 210 pounds with a size 14 shoe. I graduated from college at St. Leo’s, and all of a sudden I’m 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, and a size 14 shoe. Even when I became a coach later on, I always looked at my player’s shoes. You can never tell.” On the other hand, it couldn’t have been too much of a surprise when O’Connell muscled himself into the varsity lineup as a sophomore. After all, two of his older brothers had already worked their way up as captains […]