Good Sports: Legendary roundball coach Ronnie Cookson reminisces

Legendary ex-Scott County Central boys basketball coach Ronnie Cookson gives instruction to his Braves in a game against New Madrid County Central (NMCC), in this undated photo.

Southeast Missourian file

Good Sports is a column featured weekly in the Southeast Missourian and on semoball.com. It is primarily designed to showcase people who have impacted the sporting life of Southeast Missouri, so that readers may get to know them more fully. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Today: Ronnie Cookson, 75, retired boys basketball coach, Scott County Central High School, member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and 2016 Semoball Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Starting his coaching career half a century ago, Cookson has more than 700 career coaching wins and led the Braves to 13 state titles, according to semosportsone.com. A native of Puxico, Mo., Cookson won 22 conference championships and 15 district titles. He was a nine-time Missouri Basketball Coaches Association coach of the year and won the Missouri Sportswriters coach of the year on five occasions. Cookson’s very first district championship came in his inaugural year as Braves head coach, 1970-71.

Tell us how that very first season, 50 years ago, ended?

We went 21-8 and beat Parma in the state tournament and I got the lesson of a lifetime. I was young and partied a little too much, but we got that straightened out. (chuckles)

As a Puxico native, you must have known the legendary Arnold Ryan, for whom the school gymnasium is named.

I was just a little kid but knew Arnold well. My brother Carroll, who is ten years older than me, actually played for Coach Ryan.

Was Ryan an influence on your coaching?

He was 100 percent of an influence. I grew up on fastbreak Puxico ball. Like Ryan, I’d do checks on my players to make sure they were home at a reasonable hour during the season. There were some phone calls made and occasionally I’d stop by (a player’s) house. Not constantly but I’d surprise ‘em.

You were on the Braves sideline 40 years give-or-take. What made you stop?

I couldn’t hear and see good anymore. I couldn’t get up and down the floor too well. I have some health problems.

With so much success at SCC, did you have offers to coach elsewhere?

Oh, yes, but I really liked the school and liked Morley (Mo.). It was a family deal for me. No politics to mess with there.

Best player you ever coached?

I can’t tell you, I had so many good ones. Of course, Bubba (Otto Porter, Jr., now with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls) was amazing and I came out of retirement to help coach him. Bubba’s dad asked me to come back to see his son through SCC.

How about the best team?

I’d have to say the teams of 1979 and 1980. None of the starting five was a superstar individually. But as a group, they destroyed people. Donnie McClendon, Anthony Jones, Melvin Porter (Bubba’s uncle), Jeff Limbaugh and Mayfield Timmins. They played together, were organized and had good attitudes.

You had so much success over such a long span. Who’s more important – the players or the coach?

Players, absolutely. I was fortunate to have so many kids with good work habits and attitude. The coach helps, yes, because you must have rapport with the boys.

What did you like about coaching?

The wins were great, but it was enjoyable watching the kids play, watching them improve and get better.

You are still pretty tied to the school district.

Yes, I like to attend home games and my wife (Anna Marie Cookson) was a teacher and now she’s president of the (SCC) school board. This keeps me pretty connected to what’s happening at school.

Anna taught history at Scott County Central. How about you?

I also taught history in addition to sociology, health and safety and physical education.

You’re in the seed business – Ronnie Cookson Seeds.

I’ve sold seeds for a long time, back to the ‘80s. When I gave up coaching, I gave up farming (in Puxico) at the same time. It’s been quite an experience. In 2016, a tornado knocked our building down. In May 2019, a fire burned the business to the ground. I’m on my third building. We sell corn, soybeans and wheat mostly. I like visiting with people and really enjoy talking to farmers.

Any advice for someone going into coaching?

It’s a tough profession. You must take the good with the bad. You need to keep an open mind and be able to deal with things no one else knows anything about. Coaching is not a moneymaking deal. I enjoyed every minute of my time.

Any regrets?

No, not a bit. I don’t feel as if I’ve missed much and I accomplished what I set out to do.

The Scott County Central gym is named for you – the Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium.

(pauses) I wasn’t prepared for that, but it was nice and was appreciated. You know, buildings are usually named for people who are dead. (laughs)