High-flying Myers drew big following

Jim Myers packed the gym at Norwood-Norfolk high school in the late 1970s. And when his team would play Canton, pitting Myers against future Syracuse player Hal Cohen, fans were lucky to find a place to stand.

Myers drew a crowd as a high-scoring guard for coach Steve LaBarge's Flyers teams, and produced staggering numbers in three years as a starter for Norwood-Norfolk.

From 1976-79, Myers accumulated 1,872 points, still good for second all-time in Section 10. He averaged over 30 points a game his junior year, and 36 points a game his senior season. He was named to the Times' All-North and all-state teams and chosen the winner of the prestigious Joe Jukoski Award at the end of his final season in 1979. Myers also excelled in baseball and soccer and won state honors in both sports.

The Flyers won the overall Section 10 title in Myers's senior year and advanced to the state tournament, falling to Sydney by one point in the quarterfinals. As a sophomore, Myers helped Norwood-Norfolk to a sectional title and another trip to the state quarterfinals.

Myers moved on to college, first at Clarkson, then SUNY Canton before settling in at SUNY Oswego his junior and senior years and setting records for the Lakers. His 40-point game against SUNY Geneseo on Feb. 1, 1983 remains the third highest total in Oswego history. Myers is also third all-time in free throw percentage in a season (.852) and fifth in free throws made in a season (138).

Myers recalled one particularly satisfying game against SUNY Potsdam in which he scored a stunning 11 points in three seconds on Feb. 14 during his junior year in 1982. After Myers hit the second shot of a 1-and-1, three technical fouls were called on Potsdam. Myers hit all six foul shots resulting from the technicals. Then Oswego inbounded the ball, Myers took the shot, made it, was fouled, and converted the three-point play.

Myers continued on as a coach, returning to his alma mater to coach boys basketball for the Flyers. He also coached baseball at Clarkson and coached his daughter Paige's AAU team.

Paige Myers, a former Massena standout, is now a senior point guard for William Smith College. Jim Myers, who works for the New York State Department of Corrections and is a referee, has two other children, Alexa, a freshman at Buffalo State College, and Troy, who plays football for Massena high school.

To read about previous selections to the Times' list of The North Country's Greatest 100 Athletes of All Time, log on to www.watertowndailytimes.com