BLIKNS Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Was just curious, did he go to mizzou at the same time Stipo headed there,? I`m pretty sure he was an Assistant in "81-'82....,just not sure about p the 2 prior seasons. there is the upi story you can find online by Googling 03/23/1982, when he became our Coach at upi.com. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 Yes his hire was tied to Stipo signing with Missouri. He was there one year and then came to SLU. The exact year I am unsure of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willie Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 If memory serves he did not go to Missouri in Stipo's freshman year. It certainly was not a package deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted October 15, 2016 Share Posted October 15, 2016 It was NOT a package deal. Stipo was a freshman in 1979-80 following fellow DeSmetter Mark Dressler from Grawer's power house teams who went up to Columbia the year before. Grawer went there in 1981. Rumor had it that he needed to put at least one year in at a higher level to be considered for the Billiken job. Which he got in 1982-83. Bonowich might remember we did an April Fool's issue for the UNews in April 1979 where the headline read "Stipo Signs with Hometown Jesuits." In the copy we had him forsaking basketball to be a priest. Closest we ever came ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeseman Posted October 16, 2016 Share Posted October 16, 2016 19 hours ago, Taj79 said: It was NOT a package deal. Stipo was a freshman in 1979-80 following fellow DeSmetter Mark Dressler from Grawer's power house teams who went up to Columbia the year before. Grawer went there in 1981. Rumor had it that he needed to put at least one year in at a higher level to be considered for the Billiken job. Which he got in 1982-83. Bonowich might remember we did an April Fool's issue for the UNews in April 1979 where the headline read "Stipo Signs with Hometown Jesuits." In the copy we had him forsaking basketball to be a priest. Closest we ever came ..... Now that I think about it - you are correct. I remember this question coming up before and the discussion reflecting your post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clock_Tower Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 I believe that Rich Grawer headed to Mizzou for regular and frequent trips shortly have after his former player/student, Steve Stiponovich, shot himself over the Christmas break (1980) at Mizzou. Stipo was having a rough time at Mizzou and Grawer made multiple trips to be with Stipo, to settle him down, etc. During this time, I believe Grawer really got to know Norm Stewart really well and Grawer then decided to leave highschool coaching that Spring not only to get used to the college game but also to mentor Stipo and keep him straight. Stipo had a really good Junior year with Grawer as his assistant coach and then continued to flourish his Senior year as well without Grawer. Believe Grawer would have left DeSmet at the Christmas break in 1980 but Grawer was a full-time history teacher and head coach at DeSmet and I believe Norm did not have any openings on his staff in the middle of that year either. Believe the following is the timeline: 1. Grawer coached DeSmet to back to back State Championships in the '77-'78 and the the '78-'79 seasons. 2. Grawer coached DeSmet during the '79-'80 season - Stipo's freshman year at Mizzou. 3. Grawer coached DeSmet for the '80-81 season. December 27, 1980 Stipo's gun incident. Here's a link. http://www.si.com/vault/1981/12/21/826235/reverberation-of-a-gunshot-mizzou-center-steve-stipanovich-wounded-himself-a-year-ago-and-then-made-up-a-tale-hes-just-now-living-down 4. Grawer left DeSmet in May 1981 and handed the reigns and a stacked team (including younger brother Mike Stiponovich) over to his longtime assistant Dale Bergman who won State for DeSmet in his first year of coaching, '81-'82. 5. Grawer was assistant coach at Mizzou from '81 to '82. 6. Grawer was hired by SLU in March 1982. Here's a link. http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/03/23/St-Louis-University-Tuesday-named-Rich-Grawer-its-head/1706385707600/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonwich Posted October 17, 2016 Share Posted October 17, 2016 Some anecdotal stuff: Y'all know that Stipanovic changed his name somewhere along the line from the name he was born with (the one I just typed), don't you? And did you know that he didn't start high school at DeSmet? Or how he was able to transfer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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