Incarnate Word's basketball Cardinals, at 7-3, are more than one-third through their 2009-2010 season and with Christmas approaching they have earned a break in the schedule to rest and recuperate.
But senior guard Pierce Caldwell, if asked, might not want a break for the holidays. He wouldn't want to cool off.
He missed a free throw December 17 at Texas / Permian Basin. That halted his school record string at 61 consecutive free throws made. His last miss was on March 6 of last year before he ended the season by sinking his last 12 attempts. That dozen good shots added to making his first 49 of the current campaign resulted in the remarkable 61 in a row.
The previous UIW mark had been 32 in a row by Van Price back in 1991-1992. In setting the old UIW mark, Price established another benchmark when he went 16-16 in a single game in December of 1991 on the way to his 32 straight.
But back to the sizzling Caldwell.
A San Antonio Marshall product, he raced into the holiday hiatus with six consecutive games of 20 or more points. In those half-dozen contests before Christmas he averaged 26.2 a game with a high of 29 and a low of 21.
Those 157 points in six games have propelled him into third position in all-time scoring at Incarnate Word. His career 1,527 points trail only the 1,595 by Tripp Puhl between 1986 and 1989, and the record 2,243 scored by Kenny Watson from 1991 to 1995.
And that isn't all for the 6-3 Caldwell. He has made 35 three-pointers this year. Those added to his previous home runs give him 301 in his career and that is a school record. So every time he makes a long-range jump shot it extends his own mark.
Prior to the season beginning Caldwell was in two different All-American predictions. The first was from THE SPORTING NEWS and the second was DIVISION II BULLETIN. These types of recognitions are not new for UIW's shooting star. A year ago he was honorable mention All-American for the second straight season and was the Heartland Conference player of the year for the second time in a row.
And so before Christmas he was at it again. While not prone to over speak about the current successes of his team, Caldwell's coach, Ken Burmeister, perhaps said it best. “Those are All-American-type numbers.”
