John’s Journal: Mankato East Remembers Pal Kueth
Former Player’s Initials Now Part Of Cougars’ Court
Posted: Saturday, December 11, 2021 - 4:55 PM
Coach Joe Madson talks with the Mankato East Cougars during Saturday's game with South St. Paul at the Breakdown Tipoff Classic.
In this photo from last season, Mankato East’s Pal Kueth (0) defends against Mankato West’s Mehki Collins. Photo by Pat Christman, Mankato Free Press.
The Mankato East boys basketball team was on the court Saturday at Hopkins High School, meeting South St. Paul in one of 15 games on two courts as part of the Breakdown Tipoff Classic. The court was standard, with two hoops, out-of-bounds lines, free throw circles, etc. But it wasn’t quite the same as the Cougars’ home court.
New this season at Mankato East are two initials, a P and a K, inside a black circle in one corner of the court. They are in memory of 2021 grad Pal Kueth, who died suddenly at home on Sept. 11.
Pal’s initials were placed at the spot from where he launched a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer to give East a 45-44 win over crosstown rival Mankato West last March. Everyone who was there will remember it forever.
“That's just a moment we'll never forget. It was crazy,” said East senior Puolrah Gong after the Cougars lost to South St. Paul 66-62. “I remember the play exactly. A kid missed a free throw, B.J. (Omot) got it, passed it to me and I couldn't get the shot off. I passed to Pal and he hit the shot, like he always did.”
A photo of Pal’s initials on the court was posted on Twitter recently by the East activities account (@Mankato_East), with these words: “Remembering Pal Kueth this season...the initials PK mark the spot Pal shot the game-winning three-pointer against Mankato West last season here at East. We miss you Pal.”
“He was an all-around leader and an all-around great person,” said Gong, a 6-foot-7 forward. “He was fun to be around, always smiling. Always. He really taught us a lot. He means a lot to us.”
Omot, a 6-8 senior who led the Cougars with 19 points Saturday, said, “If you were having a bad day, you’d just look at him and he made you smile. He was just that type of person. It was really tough losing him.”
Coach Joe Madson said, “We loved him. Pal was a great teammate, a very unselfish player who always had a smile on his face. He loved basketball. We want to remember him. He went way too early.”
In a game story about Kueth’s big bucket against West last year, the Mankato Free Press’ Chad Courrier quoted Pal: “I trust everybody on my team, and I know they could make a shot if we need to. But my teammates trusted me, and all I had to do was make the shot.”
The Cougars remember Pal with fondness and will keep him in their hearts throughout this season and beyond, on the court and off.
“I think it makes us play harder now,” Omot said. “You just want to do it for him, because he's one of us.”
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected]
The Mankato East boys basketball team was on the court Saturday at Hopkins High School, meeting South St. Paul in one of 15 games on two courts as part of the Breakdown Tipoff Classic. The court was standard, with two hoops, out-of-bounds lines, free throw circles, etc. But it wasn’t quite the same as the Cougars’ home court.
New this season at Mankato East are two initials, a P and a K, inside a black circle in one corner of the court. They are in memory of 2021 grad Pal Kueth, who died suddenly at home on Sept. 11.
Pal’s initials were placed at the spot from where he launched a game-winning three-point shot at the buzzer to give East a 45-44 win over crosstown rival Mankato West last March. Everyone who was there will remember it forever.
“That's just a moment we'll never forget. It was crazy,” said East senior Puolrah Gong after the Cougars lost to South St. Paul 66-62. “I remember the play exactly. A kid missed a free throw, B.J. (Omot) got it, passed it to me and I couldn't get the shot off. I passed to Pal and he hit the shot, like he always did.”
A photo of Pal’s initials on the court was posted on Twitter recently by the East activities account (@Mankato_East), with these words: “Remembering Pal Kueth this season...the initials PK mark the spot Pal shot the game-winning three-pointer against Mankato West last season here at East. We miss you Pal.”
“He was an all-around leader and an all-around great person,” said Gong, a 6-foot-7 forward. “He was fun to be around, always smiling. Always. He really taught us a lot. He means a lot to us.”
Omot, a 6-8 senior who led the Cougars with 19 points Saturday, said, “If you were having a bad day, you’d just look at him and he made you smile. He was just that type of person. It was really tough losing him.”
Coach Joe Madson said, “We loved him. Pal was a great teammate, a very unselfish player who always had a smile on his face. He loved basketball. We want to remember him. He went way too early.”
In a game story about Kueth’s big bucket against West last year, the Mankato Free Press’ Chad Courrier quoted Pal: “I trust everybody on my team, and I know they could make a shot if we need to. But my teammates trusted me, and all I had to do was make the shot.”
The Cougars remember Pal with fondness and will keep him in their hearts throughout this season and beyond, on the court and off.
“I think it makes us play harder now,” Omot said. “You just want to do it for him, because he's one of us.”
--MSHSL media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to "Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John at [email protected]
