June 22nd, May 1975, St. Paul, MN, “E-Thang” and I arrive in Minneapolis.
I asked E-Thang, “Hey man, you still interested in coming with me to check out the school in Minnesota?”
“Yeah Nag, let’s check it out!”
Coach Vaughn picked us up at the Greyhound bus station in downtown Minneapolis. Coach mentioned how cleaned the city was and asked how the other players were doing back in Chicago. Coach said he loved the quality of life in Minneapolis. The coach at St. Thomas had arranged for us to work out with several current and former players at St. Thomas the following day.
“You guys want to see some of the city before we get to my house?”
“Yeah Coach.” He drove around the parks and lakes of South Minneapolis. E-Thang and I could not believe how clean the entire city was in comparison to Chicago.
“Nag, it looks like one big suburb, don’t it,” E-Thank said.
Seeing the lakes and parks was all that I needed. At that moment my mind was made up. If I get into this school in St. Paul, this is where I would like to live.
We arrive at Coach Vaughn’s home that evening. His wife, son, and young daughter warmly welcomed us.
The next morning we arrive on the campus of St. Thomas. Coach Tom Feely greeted us and thanked Coach Vaughn for contacting him. In the gym waiting were several of his current and former players. He matched E-Thang and I together with one of his former players, John Morin, aka “Lou.”
We played 3 on 3 games for about 45 minutes or more. E-Thang and I did extremely well and enjoyed displaying our skills. We wanted to make Coach Vaughn proud of us.
An opportunity to leave Chicago, be close to Coach Vaughn, and be in an atmosphere with similar values of my family. In my young mind it just didn’t get any better than that!
After our workout, I could see the excitement on Coach Vaughn’s face but Coach Feely was drooling with excitement. He literally asked us to commit on the spot! He made it clear that academics at St. Thomas were taken very seriously. We had showed him we made the grade on the basketball court. Now he told us we had to have made the academic grades high school to be accepted. This is Division III basketball and if we decide to attend we had to be serious in the classroom.
He took us on a tour of the campus and introduced us to some of the other coaches. We stopped by the admissions office and got enrollment applications to take back to Chicago to complete and send back to him. Coach Vaughn mentioned to Coach Feely that we would be in town for a few more days and would be spending time with James Jackson at the University of MN.
Coach Feely asked if we wanted to go and see the Minnesota Twins play. E-Thang didn’t show any interest but I said yes. The next day Coach Vaughn’s dropped me off on campus and Coach Feely and I attended a Twins game at the Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington. We saw the game from box seats. I immediately thought of my grandfather and knew he would be thrilled to watch a game from box seats.
Coach Feely had contacted an alumnus who had box seats right next to the owner Calvin Griffith. As a young man I was impressed but my mind was already made up on attending St. Thomas if accepted. During the game Coach Feely and I talked about the importance of education, family values, working hard and the contacts I could make in college that would last a lifetime.
Coach Feely asked me what other colleges did Coach Vaughn contact.
“Macalester and Hamline were contacted but you were the only one to return Coach Vaughn’s phone call. Coach, if they call I will tell them that I’ve already made my decision on attending St. Thomas.” Coach Feely smiled with excitement and so did I.
What startled me most was how could it be possible for my grandfather and Coach Feely to have similar values? They came from different worlds and were raised in totally different environments. Do similar values transcend racial, economic, political and social barriers? What is it about family values that cause us to seek others like ourselves? Is the seeking a verification and validation of those values? Or is it just a human trait wired into our DNA that compels us to seek a sense of belonging to one another?
The next day, E-Thang, Coach Vaughn and I went over to the University of MN to spend time with James Jackson, a Crane High recruit from the previous year. James was happy to see us and showed us around Williams Arena and his dorm. He introduced us to Mychal Thompson, Osborne Lockhart, and one of the assistant coaches named Jimmy Williams.
After leaving James and returning to Coach Vaughn’s home, we talked in detail about our experience. I told Coach Vaughn that I wanted to attend St. Thomas if accepted. I could sense E-Thang had bigger plans. I knew he wanted to go to a bigger school, Division II or I where basketball was more promoted. I knew in my heart I wanted nothing to do with Division I or II basketball. E-Thang said, “Yeah Nag, I can see you at St. Thomas, it’s a better fit for you.” My internal conflicts were being resolved and the calmness was extremely welcoming once I made my decision to attend St. Thomas if accepted.
Upon leaving Minnesota, Coach Vaughn said, “Nag, make sure you get in touch with Heavy to see if he would like to come along with you if you get accepted.”
“Ok Coach, as soon as I get back I will get in touch with him.”
Getting accepted into St. Thomas was the primary thought on my mind. Sometimes friends are more perceptive than they realize. E-Thang’s knew this was the place for me!
June 25th, Melvin “Heavy” Freeman And My Grandfather’s Love and Preparing To Leave Chicago.