JOHNSON CITY — When Jordan King scored 42 points for East Tennessee State earlier this week, it brought a smile to the face of one former Bucs basketball player.
When Dimeco Childress heard about King’s performance against The Citadel, it caused him to reminisce about the time he threw down 42 of his own on Western Carolina almost 21 years ago.
It was Senior Night toward the end of the 2002 season and Childress was playing in the Minidome for the final time. His parents were on hand, along with his brothers and other family members. Childress was inspired by it all before the game even started.
“I never went into games purposely trying to score a lot of points,” he said. “But it was my last game at home and I told somebody, ‘I’m gonna score a lot of points. I’m gonna try to get 50. I got 42 and I missed the front end of a couple 1-and-1s that would have gotten me more and I missed some easy shots. I could have had more.”
Childress’ effort tied for the third-best scoring output in ETSU history. And it came against future pro star Kevin Martin, who went on to average more than 17 points a game in a 12-year NBA career.
While Childress was scorching the Catamounts, somebody — maybe coach Steve Shurina — hollered from the Western Carolina bench “Who’s guarding Meco?”
“Somebody yelled back, ‘Nobody!’ ” Childress said.
Legend has it that it was Childress himself who came up with that quick answer. He would neither confirm nor deny it, although the smile on his face as he talked about it could be construed as a sign of guilt.
“Maybe it was me,” he says with a laugh. “There was a lot of back and forth in that game.”
As Childress continued to score, the Catamounts began to try everything to stop him. He even was called for a technical foul for getting up into a Western Carolina player’s face after taking an elbow.
“The benches almost cleared,” Childress said. “It was crazy.”
Though known as a smooth outside shooter, Childress reached the 40-point mark with a dunk off a pass from Tyras Wade.
Once Childress reached 40, he knew was about to come out of the game so he didn’t get back on defense — snowbirding, as it is called — and waved for the ball. Teammate Jerald Fields saw him and rifled a long pass for yet another dunk and 42.
“It’s a memorable game for me even to this day,” said Childress, who also games of 35 and 36 points in an ETSU uniform. “I got my last four points on dunks.”
Childress and King now share third place on the school’s single-game scoring list with Tom Chilton, who got 42 against Middle Tennessee State in 1960. Chilton also holds the top two spots, 52 against Austin Peay in 1961 and 47 against Western Kentucky, also in 1961.
The Bucs won 91-77 on Childress’ big night and the memorable performance was just one of several accomplishments during his years at ETSU. He’s still the 15th-leading scorer in program history with 1,287 points. He averaged better than 17 a game as a senior, and the Southern Conference coaches named him player of the year.
Childress, who works for Ballad Health as a HIPAA compliance manager, still holds the school record for single-game free throw shooting. He went 14-for-14 in one game as a senior and for good measure added a 10-of-10 performance.
In addition to all that shooting and scoring, he led the team in assists.
These days, Childress stays in touch with the program with possibly the best seat in the house. He’s often seen sitting courtside at Freedom Hall, working the replay monitor for when officials need to double-check a call.
After King’s big game, which came on the road, Childress sent a congratulatory text through Bucs radio man Jay Sandos.
“I congratulated that young man, telling him ‘Welcome to the 40-point club,’ ” Childress said.
