More than 30 years later, No. 30 is going to be hung on the wall in the venue he helped open.
Ron Cox, who earned All-America recognition all four seasons he played basketball for Eastern Washington University, will have his No. 30 jersey retired in ceremonies taking place March 8 at Reese Court.
Formerly from nearby Coulee City, Wash., Cox played four seasons for the Eagles from 1973-77. He had record totals of 1,741 points and 1,273 rebounds in leading Eastern to a 77-30 record and three Evergreen Conference titles. The ceremony in his honor will take place prior to EWU's home game versus Weber State, which starts at 2:05 p.m.
"We are very judicious when it comes to jersey retirements, but this ceremony is long overdue," Eastern athletic director Bill Chaves. "Ron's career speaks for itself. For him to still hold our all-time scoring and rebounding records after 35 years is truly remarkable, and certainly deserving of continued remembrance and recognition."
Drafted in the sixth round of the 1977 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cox went on to a highly-successful high school coaching career which included 388 victories in 26 seasons. He was inducted into the Eastern Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2011 was admitted to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame. Current Detroit Piston Rodney Stuckey is the only other Eastern player to have his jersey retired, and Cox's No. 30 will now hang next to No. 3.
In his first two years playing for head coach Jerry Krause, the Eagles played in Memorial Fieldhouse along the East side of Washington Street. But the Special Events Center opened across the street in fall of 1975, and his final two seasons were played in what would later be named Reese Court. In his senior season, in which the Eagles finished 25-4, Cox helped Eastern start a school-record 31-game home winning streak, which would continue until Dec. 8, 1978.
Cox received his bachelor's degree at Eastern in 1978 and his master's degree in 1995. He and his wife, Betty, have been married for 40 years. Their son, Jamie, 38, and daughter Tanya (Pauling), 37, also attended Eastern. They also have another daughter, Heather, 33, and seven grandchildren ranging in age from 5-years-old to a senior in high school. All live in the Spokane area.
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