Kyle Crowley – Editorial

I am deeply saddened to have learned today of the sudden passing of Brossart ’88 grad, Kyle Crowley.  Long before I ever got into broadcasting I coached eleven Brossart Freshman teams and Kyle and his twin brother, Kelly, were some of my first recruits.  Employing the NCC recruiting tactic of getting them involved in some Brossart Summer Open Gyms, despite their brothers being NCC grads, and the twins destined to follow them, I swayed them to become Brossart Mustangs.  Kyle Crowley quickly became one of my favorite players.  He was a left-hander, and a competitor who was a prolific scorer.  That freshman season I utilized his left-handedness by running a myriad of misdirection stuff, as well as having him come across the paint as though a righty, only to flash back to his strong side and score – over and over again.  He made me a good coach and he made us a good team.  I will always remember him as loving to win, and employing whatever tactics needed – acceptable, or not-so-much – to get a W.  Kyle went on to score 970 career points and was the MVP of the ’88 Mustangs.  I was somewhat shocked today when someone said that he was probably 52 years old.  To me he will always be a teenager. Kyle later went on to coach the Campbell County freshman team and serve on the Camels’ coaching staff.  In a game with his Camels, I had a hot three-point shooter that had hit several in a row.  A quick substitute of a football-ish looking forward remedied the situation, when my shooter ended up in the second row on his next 3-Point attempt.  Kyle hadn’t changed.  Later in life Kyle lost an infant son shortly after birth.  In the eulogy that he gave, Kyle said that his son would have grown up to be a “Ladies Man”, just like him.  Kyle wasn’t wrong.  He presently has a junior son who plays for the Camels – #22, Chance Crowley.  I am fortunate to have had a lengthy chat with Kyle at our recent Crosstown game, as he asked me jokingly to be nice to his son on our broadcast.  I will treasure that conversation.  Parents should not outlive their kids, and coaches shouldn’t outlive their former players.   

DS