Ed Nymeyer, who was the UA's career basketball scoring leader in the 1950s and coached Flowing Wells High School to state basketball and volleyball championships, died after a short illness Tuesday. He was 89.
An all-state basketball and football player from Globe High School in 1954, Nymeyer went on to lead Arizona's basketball team in scoring for three consecutive years, completing his Wildcat career with 1,225 points, then No. 1 in school history.
Ed Nymeyer, left, and Ernie McCray, former Arizona basketball star, in March, 1961, in Tucson.
But his best was yet to come. He coached Flowing Wells High School to state boys basketball championships in 1963 and 1968. Then, after coaching the men's basketball team (he was an assistant) at Pima College in the 1970s, Nymeyer returned to Flowing Wells and coached the Caballeros girls volleyball team to the 1991 state championship.
Nymeyer won more than 600 games at Flowing Wells. His boys basketball teams went 340-56 and his girls volleyball teams went 315-76. He also coached the Cabs' girls basketball team to the state finals in 1991.
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Nymeyer continued playing basketball at local YMCA gymnasiums until this year, usually playing three times a week with people 20-30 years younger.
He is the grandfather of Lacey Nymeyer John, a seven-time All-American swimmer at Arizona, the 2009 NCAA Woman of the Year and silver medalist at the 2008 Olympics.
Nymeyer was inducted to the Arizona High School Coaches' Hall of Fame in 1993, and later the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame.
A memorial service in Nymeyer's honor has not yet been scheduled.
Contact sports columnist Greg Hansen at GHansenAZStar@gmail.com. On X(Twitter): @ghansen711
Greg Hansen
Columnist
Arizona men's basketball's 1951 NCAA Tournament team left a big legacy
