On Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009, Bob Schulte was buried by his family and friends. He was 49 and had fought off the unfathomable reach and grip of leukemia for three years.
It may seem, to some, that the details of Bob’s basketball skills are trivial at a time like this. It must be argued, however, that within the accumulation and interweave of countless small details, are the codes and keys and markers that are in fact the measure of a man’s life.
Bob’s offensive game was OK. He had a reasonably good mid-range shot, but his name will never be seen on the roster of heavy hitting scorers.
Where Bob was at his best was defense. Certain descriptors pop to mind.
“Bull dog.”
“Tenacious.”
“Glue.”
“White on rice.”
Although he was not a physically huge man, Bob kept himself in much better shape than most of us. His chest and legs were very strong and his stamina was great. That enabled him to guard almost anyone and do a good job. He did exactly that with significant vigor and determination. Anyone who was every defended by him lived those moments with Bob’s nose in their arm pits and his knees up their butts.
Here’s why all of that is so important.
To play good defense in basketball you have to WANT to play good defense in basketball. It’s an often thankless job. Scorers get the glory. Defenders, unless they are named Bill Russell, are most often forgotten. Furthermore, you can be a great defender and still appear to be a lousy defender. Some scorers are so gifted that they can’t be stopped --- they can only be slowed down. The man who causes a scorer whose game average is 40 points to score only 35 points has actually done his job well ---- but most of the world won’t see it that way.
So --- while audiences ooooo and ahhhhh at isolation plays that showcase the awesome offensive talents of basketball’s superstars --- there are still some old schoolers who fight it out minute-after-minute in the trenches --- pushing, shoving, spitting out the sweat from some fat guy’s flailing elbow --- and loving mostly every second of the effort.
That was Bob.
None of us who knew him is surprised that he beat back a very aggressive cancer for so long. Good defenders are never lazy people. Good defenders are more than willing to dig in for the long haul.
Nor is it surprising that Bob had an excellent work ethic. He had become a commander in the U.S. Navy at a young age. He did well in business. He and his wife Donna raised a great family. All of that requires work and considerable sweat-equity. Those of us who knew him as a guy who played balls-to-the-wall from start-to-finish, win-or-lose, look at the way he was off the basketball court and say: “Of course. We’d expect nothing less.”
Nor is it surprising that Bob was a good teammate. Great defenders, by nature, tend to be unselfish people. They seem to regard the ultimate good of the whole before the immediate gratification of the self. Their satisfaction is in doing what needs to be done regardless of who gets the credit and the parades.
The only thing about Bob that IS surprising, is the fact that he was a cheerful defender. Some great defenders are ---- how should it be said? --- less than nice. There are other words to define such defenders. Bob was not of the scowling, growling school of defense. He was truly one of the best of all ballplayers --- a man who can compete seriously, with complete exertion of all energies, but with a quick smile instead of a quick temper.
There were many people at Bob’s funeral and hopefully his son Kevin and daughter Erica will understand that this is a tangible indication of the large number of people who respected Bob and were proud to know him.
We also hope that they take some small comfort in knowing that, although there may be no video tapes nor photos nor records of the many pick-up games Bob played, within the memories of some old basketball players in and around Medina, Ohio, there are many happy moments, punctuated by the sounds of people who like each other playing a sport that is important to them.
In the light of those memories Bob will always be many things to us --- but foremost among them:
...an OK shooter...
...a tough defender...
...a good man.
