The Mankato East boys basketball team was on the
court Saturday at Hopkins High School, meeting South St. Paul in one of 15
games on two courts as part of the Breakdown Tipoff Classic. The court was
standard, with two hoops, out-of-bounds lines, free throw circles, etc. But it wasn’t
quite the same as the Cougars’ home court.
New this season at Mankato East are two initials,
a P and a K, inside a black circle in one corner of the court. They are in memory
of 2021 grad Pal Kueth, who died suddenly at home on Sept. 11.
Pal’s initials were placed at the spot from where
he launched a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer to give East a 45-44
win over crosstown rival Mankato West last March. Everyone who was there will remember
it forever.
“That's just
a moment we'll never forget. It was crazy,” said East senior Puolrah Gong after
the Cougars lost to South St. Paul 66-62. “I remember the play exactly. A kid
missed a free throw, B.J. (Omot) got it, passed it to me and I couldn't get the
shot off. I passed to Pal and he hit the shot, like he always did.”
A photo of Pal’s
initials on the court was posted on Twitter recently by the East activities
account (@Mankato_East), with these words: “Remembering Pal Kueth this season...the initials PK mark the spot Pal
shot the game-winning three-pointer against Mankato West last season here at
East. We miss you Pal.”
“He was an
all-around leader and an all-around great person,” said Gong, a 6-foot-7
forward. “He was fun to be around, always smiling. Always. He really taught us
a lot. He means a lot to us.”
Omot, a 6-8
senior who led the Cougars with 19 points Saturday, said, “If you were having a
bad day, you’d just look at him and he made you smile. He was just that type of
person. It was really tough losing him.”
Coach Joe
Madson said, “We loved him. Pal was a great teammate, a very unselfish player who
always had a smile on his face. He loved basketball. We want to remember him.
He went way too early.”
In a game story
about Kueth’s big bucket against West last year, the Mankato Free Press’ Chad
Courrier quoted Pal: “I trust
everybody on my team, and I know they could make a shot if we need to. But my
teammates trusted me, and all I had to do was make the shot.”
The Cougars remember
Pal with fondness and will keep him in their hearts throughout this season and
beyond, on the court and off.
“I think it
makes us play harder now,” Omot said. “You just want to do it for him, because
he's one of us.”
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of
Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn
and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts.
Contact John at jmillea@mshsl.org
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