More than a half-century later, his 53-point classic — against Indiana, of all teams — is still the single-game school record. And Dave Downey — the high-scoring guard turned high-powered businessman — is still here. On the night he is to be honored with Parkland's V. Dale Cozad Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Downey shared with us the story of what brought him to Champaign and what has kept him here. Here he is, in his own words, as told to Editor JEFF D'ALESSIO:
Let's start at the beginning, 60 years ago.
There are decisions you make in life that are kind of accidental at the time that turn out to be pretty good in the long run.