Iowa History Daily: On March 21, 1970, Neil Fegebank and the Paullina Panthers captured the school’s third straight state title while on a historic 76 game win-streak. Fegebank went on to star for the Iowa Hawkeyes after polishing perhaps the most successful high school career in Iowa basketball history.
Coach Larry Dick led the Panthers to the state title in 1968 before Marlo Griebel took over to coach the team in 1969 and 1970. Fegebank, a 6’7” center, dominated over the back-to-back-to-back title run. Allegedly not losing a game from eighth grade through the close of his high school career, the big man dominated Panther opponents.
A three-time all-stater, Fegebank set state tournament records in the final run to the title in 1970 with 246 points, 64 rebounds, and 20 blocked shots for the tournament. Fegebank averaged 27.7 points and 20 rebounds per game over the course of his senior season.
Recruited by national powers UCLA and Duke, Fegebank opted to head to Iowa City to continue his playing career in college. Fegebank went on to start for the Iowa Hawkeyes for three seasons during the Dick Schultz era. In his senior season, Fegebank averaged 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Hawkeyes while finishing his career with 707 points and 499 rebounds. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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