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RH: Bob Powers' Plans Keep Final Four Team Close

By Paul Suellentrop

In 1966, a burly Wichita State center with bad ankles decided to quit basketball and go home to Pennsylvania.

"Sitting on the bench was driving me crazy," Bob Powers said. "I'm competitive."

Coach Gary Thompson told Powers to stay in Wichita, that things were going too well for him to return to Washington, Pa. When Powers said his family couldn't afford tuition without the basketball scholarship, Thompson told him not to worry. He found a way to keep Powers on scholarship for the three semesters he needed to graduate with a degree in education.