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College basketball scoring has finally picked up this month: Trenton Massner of Western Illinois and Marcus Tsohonis of Long Beach State each scored 46 PTS in late-January, followed by Drew Pember of UNC Asheville becoming the 1st player this season to score 48 PTS last Wednesday in an 8-PT OT win over Presbyterian. 1 guy who knows a little about scoring 48 PTS is Carvin Melson, who set a school record when he did so for Oakland back in 1972. He still holds a few school records (including 2408 career PTS/1204 career REB) and was inducted into his school’s Hall of Honor in 1984. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Carvin about many things…including bees. Today is the 51st anniversary of Carvin’s 48-PT game so we take this time to remember his remarkable achievement.
You were an All-State selection at Murray-Wright High School in 1969: what made you choose Oakland? I was actually honorable mention All-State. We won the city championship in 1968 and I was heavily recruited by some big programs. My high school coach got the job at Oakland and I felt some loyalty because he had coached me from the time I was a young boy: I knew that he would care about me personally and professionally. When I 1st arrived I met a senior named Eddie Holloman who introduced me as a guy who would set a record that would stand for over 50 years: he was mighty prophetic!
On January 29, 1972, you scored a school-record 48 PTS vs. Grand Valley State: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? That was really interesting. I scored 32 PTS in the 1st half and after halftime the crowd would start calling out how many points I had every time that I scored! After scoring 48 my coach took me out. 1 of our opponents scored close to 40 as well so it was 1 of those back-and-forth games.
After having some mediocre stats as a freshman you shot 59.1 FG%/81.4 FT% as a senior: how were you able to turn yourself into such a great shooter? Every year I would practice 1 particular thing and try to improve on that area. I prided myself on being an all-around player but I definitely tried to improve my shooting. If you look at my stats I scored 19 PPG as a freshman but kept scoring more PTS every single year.
You remain the school’s all-time leader with 2408 PTS: what was your secret for being a great scorer? I did not rely on any 1 thing: I tried to play defense, get some steals, and grab a lot of offensive REB. I was a double-double machine. I got my points in a variety of ways rather than just taking a bunch of jump shots. We faced some of the best defensive teams in the nation and there was no shot clock back then. My best play was coming around a pick at the top of the key: if there was a 3-PT line back then and more than 25 games/season I would have scored even more! We were not in a conference back then but I made a generic all-star team and also made the all-tourney team in every tourney that I played in. It has been 50 years since I played there and I cannot believe that I still have that record with all of the run-and-gun offenses today.
You also hold the school record with 1204 REB: do you think that anyone will ever break your records? Nobody has come close to that and I do not think that either of my records will be broken. Anybody that would have so many points by their junior year would probably turn pro. Travis Bader (2351 PTS) came close to my scoring record several years ago but fell a little short.
In 1984 you were inducted into the school’s Hall of Honor: where does that rank among the highlights of your career? Really high because I was the 1st basketball player to be inducted. They were trying to make Oakland into the “Harvard of the Midwest”. We were not known for basketball at the time but we beat some good teams like Eastern Michigan and even beat UAB handily in a scrimmage.
After your basketball career came to a close you took etymology classes at Purdue and then founded a pest control company, where you have become an expert at solving bee nesting problems: what caused you to make such a big career change? I went to the Pistons training camp in 1973 with Coach Ray Scott. I thought that I should have made it but Ben Kelso had a no-cut contract. After they cut me I spent 1 year in the ABA before going to camp with New Orleans…then getting cut again. I was a tweener back then: I could rebound very well even though my natural position as a 6’4” player was at guard. I wiped the floor every day with a guard from Central Michigan named Jim McElroy, who had played with Dan Roundfield in college (so he had a lot of scouts come to see his games), and he ended up making the team over me. I started a pest control business and had a lot of customers who were having bee problems, which allowed me to specialize in bees and carve out my own niche. I still work on it to this day and help people implement prevention procedures. It was something I had wanted to do all along after giving basketball everything I had: I love what I do. I also spent some time working with youths at a boys’ club but I did not enjoy sitting behind a desk all day. I have a lot of repeat customers so my goal now is to franchise: there is not a lot of written material on how to treat bees. I have put together a package over the past 30 years: nobody really talks about prevention so I am just trying to put it all down on paper.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? As someone who dedicated himself to the cause and gave everything he had. We came into Oakland as “The Pioneers” with very low expectations. 1 thing Coach Gene Boldon does not get credit for was upgrading our schedule from junior college opponents to better teams even though we did not have scholarships. It was not so much me standing out: I was a part of a team that led our program to the next level. We would have buses break down on us and they did not want to put the money into basketball…but we had a vision and came out really respectable. The guys before us set the tone for my group to come in and we just went out and did our thing.