Coach Newcomb honored for 200th win at Eastern

By: 
Josh Lewis, Sports Writer
Eastern Head Basketball Coach Scott Newcomb won his 200th game at Eastern High School earlier this season when his Musketeer squad beat Crawford County 54-49 on Dec. 8th. On Saturday night just before the Musketeers took on Salem, Newcomb was presented with a signed ball by High School Principal Darin Farris. Newcomb was joined on the court by a number of former players and coaches to celebrate.
Prior to the presentation, Newcomb said he had no idea what was going on. “I had no clue. I saw my daughter come in and I talked to her today, and she told me she was going to Indianapolis today, and then I see her walk in the gym. I didn’t see Joe [son] and Blake, my grandson. So I didn’t know what was going on until Mr. Farris told me, ‘Hey, come here.’ So I had no clue.”
Newcomb said it was a nice surprise. “And it was nice to have a lot of the players back. You hope that when it’s all said and done, you want to win ballgames, but you hope you make a positive impact on them and make it a good memory for them. Hopefully, I did but I appreciate the players coming back.”
Newcomb wasn’t even aware that he had won 200 games. “I didn’t even know that I’d won 200 here. I didn’t realize that. The coaches said something a few days later, but I had no idea,” he said. “That’s nothing that I’ve tracked. Maybe if you win a lot of games as a coach, then you keep track of all that, but that’s never been my objective.”
Newcomb said winning is important, but he’s not worried about tracking his record. His main goal is to teach his players life skills.
“Of course you want to win, but I want to try and do things the right way, get them to play hard, get them to be on time, and get them to do the things that when they get out in the real world you’ve got to do if you’re going to have success. That’s what we are in education for is to try to help kids. So winning 200 is good, but hopefully, you have an impact later.”
Newcomb’s first season at Eastern was in 1998-99. He said at the time he didn’t know for sure if he would get to 200 wins or not, but said he always hoped to. “I hoped to, but you just never know. You never know how it goes. Some people say you should have won 300 and you’ve screwed up at least 100 of them. That may be so, but we go out and try to work and do the best we can with what we’ve got. We try to improve kids, and hopefully, make a positive impact. It was a nice honor and Hank (Weedin) got his just recently too, and him being a good friend of mine it was good to see his, too. It was a nice honor, and it’s one of those memories you’ll keep forever.”
Making an impact on players’ lives is the thing Newcomb said he has enjoyed most. He recalled a former player emailing him telling him he was now a coach and shared that he now knows why Newcomb taught them the things he did during practice. “Those are the things that make you feel good as a coach.”
Looking back on his 400-plus games at Eastern, Newcomb said there were a couple of teams and memories that stood out. “Our sectional team in 2001 was a really special group. Our team with my oldest son, Joe, and Michael (Gilliam), and Clayton (Starrett) that was a special group, too. We just ran into a buzzsaw with a Providence team that was really, really good. In all honesty that was one of the better teams we’ve ever had. 
“Then Grant [youngest son] winning the sectional there, and then probably the biggest thing that sticks out there was getting beat in the regional. I remember our first game here when we played Borden and John Trueblood hit a shot to win at the buzzer, after we threw the ball away. There are games like that that stick out and a lot of good memories and different ones throughout the years.”

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