Here is an email from my friend Dave Hunter who played against Nate Thurmond when they were in high school. Dave wrote about that game in the book mentioned in an earlier post. Nate played for Akron Central High School. Dave played at a very small high school in Salem, Ohio. Salem made it to the state championship that year.
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Originally Posted by David Hunter
..., yes, Nate the Great was a legendary basketball player. After we defeated Akron Central and after we went to Columbus, I received a phone call from Nate Thurmond. He wanted to come to Salem to play another game against us, a friendly fire game to even the score. I agreed and we set up a game on the outdoor court. I don't even remember the score, but I remember he was gracious during the visit and we parted friends back in the summer of 1959. He went to Bowling Green along with His Central teammate Elijah Chatman. At the time Chatman said to the coaching staff that he would only go there if they took Thurmond too. They both went to Bowling Green and another player, Howard Komives, joined the two to play on an outstanding team this Komives, whom I played with in the Ohio North-South All Star game. He was from Toledo Woodward, ranked 9th in the State while Salem was ranked #6. This Komives went on in his Senior year at Bowling Green to lead the Nation in scoring. Thurmond helped him achieve this goal by playing strongly in the key. God Bless Nate Thurmond, a wonderful man and one of the great legends of the game and NBA Hall of Famer. Have fun . DAVE
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