Thanks to Keith Murphy, the sports director at channel 13/WHO-TV in Des Moines and Mike Swan of El Dorado, Kan., I was able to watch the DVD of "Chuck Harmison--From Cyclone To CEO" on my computer.
Swan, an Ames native who now teaches mass communications at Butler Community College in El Dorado, and Murphy both mailed me copies of the 30-minute video.
Swan was in charge of the documentary about Harmison [pictured at the right], a 6-foot 9-inch former Ames High School and Iowa State basketball player who now is interim commissioner of professional basketball in Australia.
It's a well-done film, and it definitely has a professional touch to it. The interviews are crisp, informative and well-filmed, and I hope a TV station in Iowa -- perhaps from the public network -- chooses to air it.
Swan and his students worked hard on it, and I enjoyed watching it.
Harmison led Ames to an undefeated record that culminated with the 1976 state high school championship.
He went on to have what I'd characterize as a so-so career at Iowa State. I'd like to think that if I were a 6-9 player who had been a standout on an undefeated Ames High School team, there'd be no stopping me in front of the large, boisterous crowds that jam Hilton Coliseum.
The trouble was, fans stayed away from Hilton when Harmison played there and Lynn Nance coached there.
Harmison's scoring and rebounding averages were mediocre. Maybe it was because of the coaching mediocrity at Iowa State in those years.
Harmsion's highest scoring average was 12.5 points as a senior in 1979-80. His other scoring averages were 7.0 as a junior, 6.7 as a sophomore and 6.8 as a freshman. His best rebounding average was 6.4 as a senior.
In the film, Harmison isn't critical of the coaching he received from Nance, a former FBI agent. Harmison's four seasons as a Cyclone were the same four in which Nance was the coach.
I covered many of Iowa State's games at that time, and they were troubled years.
Nance spent much of his time off the court tangling with athletic director Lou McCullough. At times, Nance even used his postgame radio show to criticize McCullough.
That kind of stuff certainly couldn't have been conducive to the Cyclones playing championship basketball at Hilton Coliseum or anywhere else.
Nance's records were 8-19, 14-13, 11-16 and 11-16. Nance either quit or was fired before the 1979-80 season ended.
Attendance plummeted in the Nance era. An average of only 6,470 fans attended Iowa State's home games in Harmison's and Nance's final season.
Iowa State needed a change, and got it. Johnny Orr took the coaching job, and built what now is Hilton Magic.
But enough of that. Back to the good job Swan did with the documentary.
Some of the filming was done when Harmison was back in Ames for the Barry Stevens benefit. Chuck's parents are interviewed, as is his high school coach, Arnie Zediker.
Harmison played professional basketball in Australia, and says in the film, "I never had a job until I was 38."
Like I said, I hope public television or some other station decides to show the film because I think it takes a good look at a home-grown kid who grew into an adult -- a 6-9 adult -- who has a successful career in Australia.
