By Dick Dozer, Fastbreak Magazine
Originally published: December, 1988
It was only natural that Cotton Fitzsimmons would be the smallest guy on the court that evening. At 5-7, he was the acknowledged floor leader of Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) Junior College, and the occasion was quarterfinal action in the National JUCO basketball tournament 35 years ago in Hutchinson, Kansas.
The clock showed a couple of seconds left in the first half when Cotton took a pass in the backcourt and observed that time was of the essence. But let him tell it:
"I was at the top of the free throw circle.