The Independent

Basketball great Verl Heap dies at 84


By: Andy Staten, The Independent

01/01/2009

Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly

Verl Heap addresses high school senior athletes and their parents and coaches after receiving the Paving the Way Award at the All American Banquet in Mesa in 2002.

ST. JOHNS - The state of Arizona lost one of its all-time greatest sports figures last week.

Parley Verl Heap, 84, died peacefully at his St. Johns home Christmas Eve.

Heap was a standout basketball player at St. Johns High School, at Arizona State University (1942 and 1945-48 - punctuated by a stint in the Air Force during World War II), in the Basketball Association of America (now the NBA) and American Basketball League. After his pro career he returned to ASU as a basketball assistant. Then after two years at Duncan High School, he returned to St. Johns where he became one of the state's winningest high school basketball coaches.

He was born Sept. 6, 1924, in St. Johns, to Parley and Leona Heap. At a young age he learned to garden, irrigate and work on the family's farm. At age 10 he began working for his uncles on their farms and ranches and quickly learned how to do most anything there was to do. He became a good hand at both farming and ranching but ranch work was his favorite. He soon became a good horseman and loved working with cattle. Later on he learned to rope and enjoyed team roping with his friends and sons until just a few years before his death.

In school, Verl enjoyed many things including basketball and music. He sang in the choir and played a trumpet in the band. And through many hours of practice, he became a real standout at basketball where he made his high school varsity team as a sophomore.

During the Great Depression years of the 1930s and '40s, St. Johns, like many schools from northern Arizona, did not make the long trip to Tucson for the state tournament, so many outstanding players, including Heap, were not selected for post-season honors.

But his hard work in basketball soon paid off as he received a full-ride scholarship to play basketball at Arizona State. While at ASU he quickly became an important part of the basketball program, leading his team in scoring the first three games of his collegiate career. At the end of his freshman year in college he enlisted in the Air Force and served his country during World War II as a B17 pilot. While in the service, he married his sweetheart, Dawn Sherwood, also from St. Johns. After the war, they returned to ASU where he resumed his education and his basketball career. Upon his return to ASU basketball, he started every game and finished with a 15-points-per-game scoring average. Heap led the Sun Devils in rebounds his final two years at ASU. He was a All-Border Conference First Team pick, averaging 23 points per game, during the 1946-47 season. He led the Sun Devils to the National Basketball Tournament during the 1947-48 season and was named the tournament's Outstanding Player. He was also a member of the National Honor Society while at ASU. After his college days, Verl signed a contract to play professional basketball, becoming one of the first two players from the state to play pro basketball. He signed and played in what was then the Basketball Association of America. He first played for the Providence, Rhode Island Steamrollers and later with the American Basketball League's Wilkes-Barre Barons of Pennsylvania. He quickly became a starter and a standout with both teams.

While playing for the Steamrollers, Heap played against teams which still exist today, such as the New York Knicks and Minneapolis Lakers.

"I was a post player in college, but was a wing forward in the pro league," Heap said in a 1999 interview with The Independent. "There weren't a lot of great midmen in the game then. George Mikan (of the Lakers) was the best big man in the game. He was like a Kareem Abdul Jabbar of his time."

After a short career as a professional basketball player, he returned to Arizona where he could raise a family and pursue the other things he loved. He first went back to ASU where he worked as an assistant basketball coach. Then, in 1951, he went to Duncan High School for two years and following that he returned to his hometown of St. Johns where he took up farming and ranching again and coached and taught school for more than 30 years.

While coaching at Duncan and St. Johns, he compiled an amazing record of 592 wins and 168 losses. His 592 wins was the state's second most for any coach when he retired in 1984 (and his 536 at St. Johns was the most for any coach at one school). His teams were region or conference champions more than 20 times, state runners-up six times and state champions eight times. His Redskins also won 20 or more games during 13 seasons, won 44 straight games in 1976-77 and made three consecutive state title game appearances from 1972-74.

He is also a long time member of the Arizona Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was inducted into the ASU Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 2002, Heap and longtime coaching friend and rival Marlin LeSueur of Round Valley were honored with the Paving the Way Award at the All American Banquet in Mesa. The Paving the Way award is awarded to high school coaches and educators who have "paved the way" for countless others.

Heap said in the 1999 interview that coaching and working with the boys on the high school basketball teams has been the most satisfying thing he has gotten out of the sport. He also commented on the many changes he has seen in the sport over the previous six decades.

"The three-point shot has changed the game," Heap said. "Now everything's geared to shoot threes instead of trying to get the best shot close to the basket. The emphasis is on offense. When you get to the state playoffs, teams will play defense. The fans want more offense.

"You have a different kind of player now. They considered it more of a privilege to play then. Now if a coach disciplines pretty hard, he loses players. Now they say 'big deal, I'll go do something else.

"Also, there were no girls in sports - all the emphasis was on the boys' play. Now in high schools there is a girls team in each sport. It was inevitable it would happen. They do and should have equal opportunity."

Later in his retirement years, Heap enjoyed watching his grandchildren and their teammates play basketball. Although he would occasionally make it to a Suns game, he always loved the high school game the most.

"I'd rather watch high school games. The pros have their own set of rules. It is such a money thing. Did you ever see Michael Jordan foul out of a game? The fans want to see him.

"And on the inside big men can kill each other. I think that takes away from the game - to be skillful to play the game - to have all that body contact."

Verl was an active and devoted member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where he served in many capacities throughout his life. He was a farmer and rancher and devoted husband and father, friend and neighbor. He loved and supported his family with all his heart and they all love him very much.

He was preceded in death by his parents Parley and Leona Heap, a sister Peggy (Larry) Stradling and his oldest son Gary (Lila) Heap.

Survivors include: His wife of 64 years, Dawn Sherwood Heap; daughter, LeAnn (George) Proctor; son, Jimmy (Jenny) Heap; son, Roger (Terri) Heap, daughter, Eileen (Darrell) Lindsey; brothers, Theo (Gloria) Heap and Ronald (Bobbie) Heap; and sisters, Mary Ellen (Barry) Webb and Lakay (Joey) Grant; 18 grandchildren, and 17 great grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Jan. 3 at 11 a.m. with a viewing one hour before at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Down Town Chapel, in St. Johns. There will also be a viewing at Burnham Mortuary in St. Johns on Friday, January 2, from 6 to 8 p.m. Information can be found at www.burnhammortuary.com

EDITOR'S NOTE - Verl's son Roger Heap contributed to this article.

http://www.wmicentral.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2264&dept_id=505964&newsid=20232659&PAG=461&rfi=9