Miami basketball coach Katie Meier’s father Jerry died in an airplane crash when her mother Phyllis was just four months pregnant with her. When Katie was born she had siblings who were four, three and two. Jerry played basketball at DePaul under Hall of Fame coach Ray Meyer.
Katie Meier and my stories eerily mirror each other in many ways. My father, Ron Rubenstein played at Louisville and was on the Cardinals first Final Four team in 1959. The likelihood is that he played against Jerry Meier in college. Meier’s ascent to becoming the Miami basketball coach was greatly influenced by her late father.