Years at CSU Pueblo: 1954-56
Category: Athlete
Sport: Basketball
Era: Pueblo Junior College (1937-63)
Eugene Poston - Nomination written by Tim Simmons: Not only did he earn the most valuable player award while competing for a sixth-place team in the 1956 NJCAA championships, he was an All-American. In the national championships at Hutchinson, Kansas, Poston was the second-leading scorer with 119 points for four games. My father would always say that Eugene was one of those "special" individuals that can be considered a "once-in-a-lifetime" player that a coach has the privilege of tutoring. Eugene's RELUCTANCE to accept the award should not stop the committee and/or the CSU-Pueblo athletics department in honoring Eugene Poston for his "outstanding achievements and contributions" to Pueblo College (now CSU-Pueblo).
In a book written by Michael L. Johnson entitled "The JUCO Classic", he wrote on page 78 this about Poston, "The preeminent performance of the day came in the evening's first quarter-final contest as (Poston) took the ballgame in hand, engineering an 86-77 upset of Cameron State. Though small for a center, the 6-4 sophomore possessed superior leaping ability, quickness, and timing and was a master of positioning under the basket where he completely commanded play. His game-high 39 points was not the top tally for the day, but it would have been higher, had he not missed nine free throws, and been less unselfish."
On page 79, Johnson wrote this about Poston - "Though giving away five inches, the Pueblo leader outscored and outrebounded Day (Hannibal's 6-9 center Art Day). Poston was a wizard under the basket, amazing everyone with his fluid ability."
In a footnote on page 79, an opposing player said Poston, "Was about the smoothest ballplayer I ever saw in junior college...(he was) like a well-oiled ball bearing. If the ball hung on the rim, he got it." According to the footnote, Poston was recruited by 100 schools, including the University of Kentucky.
