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Pat Kilker’s treasured memories of his basketball days are many, taking him back to the time in grade school when he was first introduced to the game.
Kilker, a 1970 Saint John High School graduate who will be inducted into the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation’s Hall of Fame Sunday, began playing the game of basketball in 1961 as a fourth grader at St. Joseph grade school in Ashtabula.
His first coach was Dick Diggs, a recent graduate of Ashtabula High School who generously volunteered his time.
“Dick really knew his basketball. He was very capable and patiently introduced us to the fundamentals of the game,” Kilker said. “Dick would always try to get all of us team members off the bench and out on the court in each game, including us rookies, even if only in the fourth quarter.
“During one of our Rotary League games played later in that season at Chestnut Elementary School, I somehow managed to grab a rebound under our basket and then tossed the ball back up toward the rim. To this day, I can still picture in my mind the ball I had shot as it was going up, over, and down through the hoop, as if in slow motion. I couldn’t believe it. It was the first time I had ever made it into the scorebook. In that moment, at the age of 9, I was seriously and forever hooked on the game of basketball.”
The next year, Kilker became a starter on St. Joseph’s Rotary League team for the first time. Phil Slavic was the volunteer coach of the team that year (1962-63).
He taught his charges the ‘run and gun’ style of basketball.
St. Joseph dominated the Rotary League that year, going undefeated to win the League title.
“Tom Brace was the dominant rebounder on our team who most often was throwing the ball down to our cherry-picking teammate, Rob Bouffard,” Kilker said. “In addition to Bouffard, teammates Mike Wisnyai and John Wheelock [a member of the ACBF Hall of Fame] were our team’s prolific scorers.”
St. Joseph won all its regular season games that year by scores of 67-8, 65-15, 68-27, 42-7, 49-17 and 72-24.
In the end of the regular-season tournament, they went on to beat State Road 26-16 and Bunker Hill 33-10.
The following year, Mike Castrilla became his coach and St. Joseph once again took the Rotary League title. But this time, they had a more traditional style of offense.
Kilker spent his junior high years on St. Joseph’s basketball team in the now-defunct Parochial League.
“As in my years playing in the Rotary League, I was also a starter in the Parochial League in seventh and eighth grade, winning the league championship in both seasons,” he said.
During Kilker’s seventh-grade season, St. Joseph was coached by Denny DeGennaro (a member of the Ashtabula County Touchdown Club Hall of Fame), who was known in Kilker’s Depot neighborhood as ‘Dege.’
He heavily emphasized physical conditioning, mostly by running the halls of the school in preparation for playing the game. As Kilker said, “Dege had a great impact on me, encouraging me to always work hard and give it my best effort.”
During eighth grade at St. Joseph, the head coach was Kenny Petrochello, who also emphasized physical conditioning, especially running, as the primary key to winning basketball games.
As Kilker said, “Between coach DeGennaro’s and coach Petrochello’s focus on running, I also became prepared to later run the mile on St. John’s track team, finishing second at the NEC meet as early as my sophomore year when I made it through the district meet at Chagrin Falls and then on to the regional meet at Baldwin Wallace College.”
So in Kilker’s last four basketball seasons, from grades 5 through 8, he started on St. Joseph’s teams which all won championships.
In 1966, he began attending Saint John High School where he became a starter on the freshman team that was coached by Paul Kopko, a teacher at the school.
“It was Mr. Kopko who provided me with that final ingredient I had been lacking for playing hoops at the high school level — the jump shot,” Kilker said. “What a difference having the jump shot made in my game.”
As a sophomore at St. John, Kilker became a starter for the season opener against the Perry Pirates on the school’s JV squad under assistant coach E. G. Colin.
He played only two quarters in that JV game, however, allowing him to play another two in that same evening’s varsity game.
It turned out that his services were also needed that evening at Perry by varsity coach Don Cannell, another member of the ACBF Hall of Fame, to play for two quarters of the varsity contest.
He scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in support of the Heralds’ win.
Kilker was immediately promoted to starter on the varsity squad for the next three years
As a 6’3” sophomore, he was first assigned to play inside on offense.
But, beginning with his junior year, Kilker usually played as a forward on the wing where he displayed his 20-foot jump shot as well as his ball handling skills, particularly when driving, which had been emphasized to him by DeGennaro back at St. Joseph.
Kilker took Dege’s advice to heart during his years at St. John, leading Cannell to nickname Kilker the ‘Driver.’
On defense, despite his height, Kilker had the natural quickness to defend guards, and, because of his height, he could more than hold his own under the boards.
Among the games Kilker most fondly recalls was Saint John’s victory over Conneaut in a game he played in Conneaut as a junior in early 1969.
At the time, Conneaut was undefeated in the NEC at a perfect 10-0. Among Conneaut’s starters that year were Scott Humphrey and Jeff Puffer, both members of the ACBF Hall of Fame, along with Randy Adamack, Tom Church, and Al Razem.
Saint John won, leading Cannell to remark to the Star Beacon reporter after the game, that it was Kilker who came through in the fourth quarter “and got us those vital points” needed to secure the win.
Kilker also fondly remembers the Heralds’ wins over Kirtland in his sophomore and junior years.
The first victory was on the road in 1968 over a Kirtland team that was 10-2 at the time and ranked 24th in the Ohio State UPI Class A ratings.
The second, and bigger, win over Kirtland was in 1969 in Saint John’s gym. Prior to the start of the game, Kirtland was 15-0.
In Kilker’s senior year, the Heralds notched a win over Jefferson at the Falcons’ gym, where Kilker scored 30 points for the first time.
In the fourth quarter, he made all seven jump shots, which he took from beyond 20-feet out (now 3-point range). As the Star Beacon sportswriter described it, “Kilker hit like crazy.”
In the 1970 Fairport Sectional Tournament during his senior year, Kilker led the Heralds to a 73-62 win over Grand Valley with 32 points.
According to the Star Beacon sportswriter covering the game, “Kilker was deadly from anywhere on the floor, but especially with his jump shots.”
During his senior year at Saint John, Kilker averaged 16 points per game for all games played, and had among the top five highest per game scoring averages in Ashtabula County.
As team captain, he scored in double figures against every high school team within the county, as well as every high school team Saint John played from outside the county.
Kilker was named All-City, All-NEC, and all-county in basketball for the 1969-70 season.
He was also selected to the all-tournament team following games played in the 1970 sectonals at Fairport, scoring 25 points in one game and 32 in the other.
Kilker was named to the All-Diocese of Youngstown team for the 1969-70 season, and recipient of the Saint John High School Most Valuable Basketball Player, Best Shooter, and Best All-Around Athlete (basketball/football/track) awards during his senior year.
With his days at Saint John coming to an end, Kilker was recruited to play basketball by several colleges throughout Ohio, but did not explore those opportunities.
He chose to enter St. Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati. Kilker later transferred to John Carroll University in the second semester of his junior year where he tried out for, and was chosen to be a member of, the university’s basketball team.
After graduating from John Carroll University in 1974 with a bachelor of arts in classics degree, he attended night school while working. He eventually earned a masters of business administration degree from Youngstown State University, as well as a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law.
During his professional career, Kilker held various positions involving industrial sales and management, ultimately practicing law. He was promoted to the status of Equity Partner in the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from which he has since retired.
Even after he had graduated from law school and began working as a lawyer, Kilker missed playing basketball so much that he somehow found the time to continue playing the game as a member of the team sponsored by his law firm.
“I was the player-coach of the team, and we went undefeated on the way to winning the Allegheny County Bar Association League title,” Kilker said.
Kilker has been a supporter of Saint John School, including its athletic programs, and is active in the school’s alumni organizations.
He is a member of the Saint John School Hall of Fame and a supporter of the Warren Andrews Memorial Scholarship, as well as the Chuck Benedict Memorial Scholarship.
Kilker summarized his life like this: “While I was growing up in Ashtabula, my father first and foremost prioritized my academic studies at St. Joseph and St. John schools.
“Even more so did my mother, who taught in several of the area’s Catholic grade schools. Right behind my father’s emphasis on academics, however, was his encouragement of my participation in sports with the life’s lessons it was sure to provide, though, at that time, my mother did not share the same perspective. In fact, my father had himself participated in sports, playing college football at John Carroll University before heading off to World War II.
“It took my mother much longer to appreciate the valuable impression that sports had upon me, though she always came to my games. Years after my basketball playing days were over, however, Mom told me that, when it came to the value and benefits of playing sports, ‘Your father was right.’ and so Dad was, especially when it came to playing hoops.
“Encouraged by my father, and blessed with the lessons learned from all my coaches, I thoroughly enjoyed my years playing sports, especially basketball. Years later, I shared that same message with my daughter, Kathryn, who took it to heart in playing sports while in school, then moving on to build a successful life and career in Manhattan.”
Continue reading...
Kilker, a 1970 Saint John High School graduate who will be inducted into the Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation’s Hall of Fame Sunday, began playing the game of basketball in 1961 as a fourth grader at St. Joseph grade school in Ashtabula.
His first coach was Dick Diggs, a recent graduate of Ashtabula High School who generously volunteered his time.
“Dick really knew his basketball. He was very capable and patiently introduced us to the fundamentals of the game,” Kilker said. “Dick would always try to get all of us team members off the bench and out on the court in each game, including us rookies, even if only in the fourth quarter.
“During one of our Rotary League games played later in that season at Chestnut Elementary School, I somehow managed to grab a rebound under our basket and then tossed the ball back up toward the rim. To this day, I can still picture in my mind the ball I had shot as it was going up, over, and down through the hoop, as if in slow motion. I couldn’t believe it. It was the first time I had ever made it into the scorebook. In that moment, at the age of 9, I was seriously and forever hooked on the game of basketball.”
The next year, Kilker became a starter on St. Joseph’s Rotary League team for the first time. Phil Slavic was the volunteer coach of the team that year (1962-63).
He taught his charges the ‘run and gun’ style of basketball.
St. Joseph dominated the Rotary League that year, going undefeated to win the League title.
“Tom Brace was the dominant rebounder on our team who most often was throwing the ball down to our cherry-picking teammate, Rob Bouffard,” Kilker said. “In addition to Bouffard, teammates Mike Wisnyai and John Wheelock [a member of the ACBF Hall of Fame] were our team’s prolific scorers.”
St. Joseph won all its regular season games that year by scores of 67-8, 65-15, 68-27, 42-7, 49-17 and 72-24.
In the end of the regular-season tournament, they went on to beat State Road 26-16 and Bunker Hill 33-10.
The following year, Mike Castrilla became his coach and St. Joseph once again took the Rotary League title. But this time, they had a more traditional style of offense.
Kilker spent his junior high years on St. Joseph’s basketball team in the now-defunct Parochial League.
“As in my years playing in the Rotary League, I was also a starter in the Parochial League in seventh and eighth grade, winning the league championship in both seasons,” he said.
During Kilker’s seventh-grade season, St. Joseph was coached by Denny DeGennaro (a member of the Ashtabula County Touchdown Club Hall of Fame), who was known in Kilker’s Depot neighborhood as ‘Dege.’
He heavily emphasized physical conditioning, mostly by running the halls of the school in preparation for playing the game. As Kilker said, “Dege had a great impact on me, encouraging me to always work hard and give it my best effort.”
During eighth grade at St. Joseph, the head coach was Kenny Petrochello, who also emphasized physical conditioning, especially running, as the primary key to winning basketball games.
As Kilker said, “Between coach DeGennaro’s and coach Petrochello’s focus on running, I also became prepared to later run the mile on St. John’s track team, finishing second at the NEC meet as early as my sophomore year when I made it through the district meet at Chagrin Falls and then on to the regional meet at Baldwin Wallace College.”
So in Kilker’s last four basketball seasons, from grades 5 through 8, he started on St. Joseph’s teams which all won championships.
In 1966, he began attending Saint John High School where he became a starter on the freshman team that was coached by Paul Kopko, a teacher at the school.
“It was Mr. Kopko who provided me with that final ingredient I had been lacking for playing hoops at the high school level — the jump shot,” Kilker said. “What a difference having the jump shot made in my game.”
As a sophomore at St. John, Kilker became a starter for the season opener against the Perry Pirates on the school’s JV squad under assistant coach E. G. Colin.
He played only two quarters in that JV game, however, allowing him to play another two in that same evening’s varsity game.
It turned out that his services were also needed that evening at Perry by varsity coach Don Cannell, another member of the ACBF Hall of Fame, to play for two quarters of the varsity contest.
He scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in support of the Heralds’ win.
Kilker was immediately promoted to starter on the varsity squad for the next three years
As a 6’3” sophomore, he was first assigned to play inside on offense.
But, beginning with his junior year, Kilker usually played as a forward on the wing where he displayed his 20-foot jump shot as well as his ball handling skills, particularly when driving, which had been emphasized to him by DeGennaro back at St. Joseph.
Kilker took Dege’s advice to heart during his years at St. John, leading Cannell to nickname Kilker the ‘Driver.’
On defense, despite his height, Kilker had the natural quickness to defend guards, and, because of his height, he could more than hold his own under the boards.
Among the games Kilker most fondly recalls was Saint John’s victory over Conneaut in a game he played in Conneaut as a junior in early 1969.
At the time, Conneaut was undefeated in the NEC at a perfect 10-0. Among Conneaut’s starters that year were Scott Humphrey and Jeff Puffer, both members of the ACBF Hall of Fame, along with Randy Adamack, Tom Church, and Al Razem.
Saint John won, leading Cannell to remark to the Star Beacon reporter after the game, that it was Kilker who came through in the fourth quarter “and got us those vital points” needed to secure the win.
Kilker also fondly remembers the Heralds’ wins over Kirtland in his sophomore and junior years.
The first victory was on the road in 1968 over a Kirtland team that was 10-2 at the time and ranked 24th in the Ohio State UPI Class A ratings.
The second, and bigger, win over Kirtland was in 1969 in Saint John’s gym. Prior to the start of the game, Kirtland was 15-0.
In Kilker’s senior year, the Heralds notched a win over Jefferson at the Falcons’ gym, where Kilker scored 30 points for the first time.
In the fourth quarter, he made all seven jump shots, which he took from beyond 20-feet out (now 3-point range). As the Star Beacon sportswriter described it, “Kilker hit like crazy.”
In the 1970 Fairport Sectional Tournament during his senior year, Kilker led the Heralds to a 73-62 win over Grand Valley with 32 points.
According to the Star Beacon sportswriter covering the game, “Kilker was deadly from anywhere on the floor, but especially with his jump shots.”
During his senior year at Saint John, Kilker averaged 16 points per game for all games played, and had among the top five highest per game scoring averages in Ashtabula County.
As team captain, he scored in double figures against every high school team within the county, as well as every high school team Saint John played from outside the county.
Kilker was named All-City, All-NEC, and all-county in basketball for the 1969-70 season.
He was also selected to the all-tournament team following games played in the 1970 sectonals at Fairport, scoring 25 points in one game and 32 in the other.
Kilker was named to the All-Diocese of Youngstown team for the 1969-70 season, and recipient of the Saint John High School Most Valuable Basketball Player, Best Shooter, and Best All-Around Athlete (basketball/football/track) awards during his senior year.
With his days at Saint John coming to an end, Kilker was recruited to play basketball by several colleges throughout Ohio, but did not explore those opportunities.
He chose to enter St. Gregory Seminary in Cincinnati. Kilker later transferred to John Carroll University in the second semester of his junior year where he tried out for, and was chosen to be a member of, the university’s basketball team.
After graduating from John Carroll University in 1974 with a bachelor of arts in classics degree, he attended night school while working. He eventually earned a masters of business administration degree from Youngstown State University, as well as a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University School of Law.
During his professional career, Kilker held various positions involving industrial sales and management, ultimately practicing law. He was promoted to the status of Equity Partner in the law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from which he has since retired.
Even after he had graduated from law school and began working as a lawyer, Kilker missed playing basketball so much that he somehow found the time to continue playing the game as a member of the team sponsored by his law firm.
“I was the player-coach of the team, and we went undefeated on the way to winning the Allegheny County Bar Association League title,” Kilker said.
Kilker has been a supporter of Saint John School, including its athletic programs, and is active in the school’s alumni organizations.
He is a member of the Saint John School Hall of Fame and a supporter of the Warren Andrews Memorial Scholarship, as well as the Chuck Benedict Memorial Scholarship.
Kilker summarized his life like this: “While I was growing up in Ashtabula, my father first and foremost prioritized my academic studies at St. Joseph and St. John schools.
“Even more so did my mother, who taught in several of the area’s Catholic grade schools. Right behind my father’s emphasis on academics, however, was his encouragement of my participation in sports with the life’s lessons it was sure to provide, though, at that time, my mother did not share the same perspective. In fact, my father had himself participated in sports, playing college football at John Carroll University before heading off to World War II.
“It took my mother much longer to appreciate the valuable impression that sports had upon me, though she always came to my games. Years after my basketball playing days were over, however, Mom told me that, when it came to the value and benefits of playing sports, ‘Your father was right.’ and so Dad was, especially when it came to playing hoops.
“Encouraged by my father, and blessed with the lessons learned from all my coaches, I thoroughly enjoyed my years playing sports, especially basketball. Years later, I shared that same message with my daughter, Kathryn, who took it to heart in playing sports while in school, then moving on to build a successful life and career in Manhattan.”
Continue reading...
