A Falcon Great Passes

Howard "Butch" Komives, a truly great Falcon player, passed away yesterday at the age of 67. His obituary is in The Blade.

Contemporary fans may not appreciate just how great Komives was. He averaged--yes, I said averaged--37 points a game, in the pre-shot clock/pre-three point era. Even with those things added, it is hard to imagine a player scoring that many points today. (Teammate Tom Baker says he thinks Komives would have scored 45 points a game today).

We were 40-12 during his last two seasons, appearing in the NCAA Tournament in both seasons.

Nate Thurmond, perhaps the greatest of all Falcons, had this to say....

"He was a great guy and a tough competitor," said Nate Thurmond, a former NBA great and Mr. Komives' teammate at BGSU. "He was the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend."

Mr. Thurmond, who lives in San Francisco, said Mr. Komives was a rare player because he possessed both offensive and defensive skills.

"He was a great shooter. He played both ends of the court," he said. "A guy who scores a lot of points many times was never thought of being able to play the other end. But he played both ends. You don't see a lot of that."

He also played four years in the NBA.

Condolences to his family and all who knew him. He exhibited the virtues of hard work and committment, and in that way, is a role model for us all. He was probably the best offensive player ever to wear the orange and brown.