John Hegwood 1979-1982: The three-time letter winner appeared in 83 games from 1979-1982. He averaged 12.7 points per game and grabbed 6.8 rebounds per contest while shooting 53.1 percent from the field. As a freshman, playing on a loaded roster, he still averaged 9.0 points per game while grabbing 5.9 rebounds per contest. He finished his career scoring 1,130 points which still ranks 24th all-time at USF. He earned first team all-conference honors his final year on the Hilltop, when he averaged 12.8 points per game (USFAthletics). Â
He was also on the West Coast Athletic Conference first team in 1981, Honorable Mention in 1982, and was a teammate of Emerson star Wallace Bryant. "Coming from a tradition like Roosevelt to playing at Memorial Gymnasium in San Francisco, where Bill Russell, K.C. Jones played, that was something," Hegwood said. "It was a great time (jhelitebaasketball.com)."
As a two-sport athlete, Hegwood also played baseball for the Dons. He was drafted by both the San Diego Clippers and the Toronto Blue Jays, but chose the Clippers and the NBA. He decided to play overseas in South America for eight years. He also played for the Calgary 88s of the World Basketball League, for a total of 14 professional baseball years.Â
Like many who have grown up in and left Gary, John Hegwood will never forget his hometown or his roots. The former Roosevelt and University of San Francisco basketball and baseball star knows basketball is a tough sell in hockey country, but he is succeeding teaching the game in Canada as the director of the Calgary Youth Development Centre in Calgary, Alberta. "I'd say soccer might be the most popular in terms of the numbers, but hockey is it up here," Hegwood said. "What I tell them is how basketball was the game where I grew up." Hegwood's program has several teams at different levels, and he likens it to the John Will Anderson Club in Gary, where he played as a youth.  (jhelitebaasketball.com)
John Hegwood's professional coaching career began in Argentina and continued with the Calgary 88's and Calgary Outlaws (of the Canadian Basketball League). He spent a year coaching Calgary's Mount Royal Cougars before moving on to developing his own skill development program in Calgary. John is currently the President of the Calgary Youth Development Centre (CYDC). Coach John is truly a legend of the game. John Hegwood brings well over 40 years of experience as a player and coach to the Calgary area. He is considered by his peers today to be one of the most dedicated and hard-working coach's in Canada.
John was the recipient of Citizen of the Year at the 2009 Calgary Awards in recognition of his work with youth as Founder and Director of CYDC. Coach Hegwood was nominated by a fellow Calgarian and chosen by past award winners and former alderman. John received this honor in June 2010 from the Mayor of Calgary and the City Council (CYDCPanthersAthetics).
