"But the scrappy No. 14 seed Vikings, from a conference few people were familiar with (The Association of Mid-Continent Universities-8) and playing an in-your-face style of ball knowns as the "run 'n stun," upset the heavily favored Hoosiers 83-79, a year before Knight, Alford, Keith Smart and Indiana would return to win the 1987 NCAA Tournament."
"Led on the court by guard Ken "Mouse" McFadden and forwards Clinton Smith and Clinton Ransey, Mackey's Vikings advanced to the second round of the 1986 NCAAs and next defeated Saint Joseph's. The Vikings were within seconds of advancing to the Elite Eight, but a last-second basket by David Robinson upended CSU's run with a 71-70 loss to Navy. The silver-tongued Mackey had always referred to the Vikings' 1985-86 season as a "magic carpet ride.""
"But by then, Mackey had acquired an addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, he told ESPN and other media outlets later. He was in a crack house for nine hours on July 13, 1990, when someone called the Cleveland police and a local television station. Mackey stumbled out of the dwelling wearing his forest-green Cleveland State basketball polo shirt, high on cocaine and alcohol."
Kevin Mackey died at 80 from an apparent heart attack. He coached Cleveland State to a 1986 NCAA first-round upset over No. 3 Indiana using an aggressive "run 'n stun" style. The No. 14 seed Vikings defeated Saint Joseph's and nearly reached the Elite Eight before losing 71-70 to Navy on a last-second basket by David Robinson. Key players included Ken "Mouse" McFadden, Clinton Smith and Clinton Ransey. By 1990 Mackey had signed a lucrative contract and earned the nickname "the King of Cleveland." He later developed addictions to crack cocaine and alcohol and faced a 1990 arrest.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]