Kansas Sports Hall inductee: Chic Downing

He coached fearsome basketball teams, terrifying opponents with their relentless pressure defense. He bullied opponents in college and high school as a powerful post player. And he battered softballs for 15 years playing travel fast-pitch.

Things are quieter now for Atchison’s Matthew “Chic” Downing, 65, who is enjoying retirement in the Missouri River town he never left.

“I watch the ‘Young and the Restless.’ ” he said. “The kids say, ‘Don’t you get bored?’ and I say, ‘I lay down and it goes away.’ I get upset when somebody reminds me I used to work.”

Downing packed a lot of work into his younger days.

He earned All-State honors twice at Atchison High and scored 1,039 points in three seasons. He stayed home for college and is Benedictine College’s career scoring leader with 2,042 points and second with 1,158 rebounds. The NAIA named him third-team All-American in 1970 and first team in 1972.

Benedictine coach Ralph Nolan, himself a member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, ran a shuffle offense that gave his forwards many duties. Downing, 6-foot-6 and 210 pounds as a collegian, flourished as a scorer and a passer. As a senior, he averaged 25.5 points and 13.4 rebounds and a former teammate laments that college basketball banned the dunk during Downing’s career.

“He probably should have shot more (early in his career),” Joe Brickner said. “He was just unstoppable. He was really smooth, so much so that you didn’t notice how athletic he was.”

The New York Knicks grabbed him in the 11th round of the 1972 NBA Draft and the ABA’s Pittsburgh Condors took him in the 12th round. Downing, after a brief try at pro basketball, returned home.

He took over at Atchison High in 1975 and asked the junior high coaches to run his system. They agreed, speeding the process of returning Atchison to the state tournament. The Redmen won the Class 3A title in 1976 and Class 4A titles in 1985, 1986 and 1988. The Redmen finished second in Class 5A in 1979. In 1983 and 1987, Atchison lost to Topeka Hayden in the Class 4A title games, part of a rivalry that dominated that classification in the 1980s.

“I enjoyed the coaching more than anything,” he said. “You got a chance to work on something and see the kids operate. That’s real satisfying knowing you touched the kids’ lives.”

Downing coached Wichita Eagle All-State players Cougar Downing (1988), Dale Birch (1985, ’86) and Robert Smith (1976). He won’t admit to a favorite — “I still live in Atchison and you say that and you can’t go to the park,” he said. He did categorize the 1976 team as one loaded with talent, but, as its 18-9 record indicated, sometimes frustrating to coach. The 1985 and 1986 teams represented the peak of his run, combining talent, chemistry and an every-game desire to win. His final title team, featuring sons Cougar and Par, excelled with chemistry and smarts.

Downing’s teams pressed, a tempo helped by the intimidating 6-foot-6 coach on the sidelines. His rosters lacked height, so he relied on quickness, passion and winning the mind game with opponents.

“We really picked you up when you got off the bus,” he said. “I wanted to know early how they were going to handle (pressure). They knew it was coming and we never changed that.”

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Kansas Sports Hall inductee: Chic Downing."