Ed Odeven

KEVIN HOUSTON Kevin Houston was born in The Bronx, but was raised in Pearl River, New York and was a 3-year starter on the varsity basketball team at Pearl River High School. Though a strong offensive player, at 5 ft 11 and 165 lbs. his small stature played a big part in his being overlooked by college scouts. Houston attended the U.S. Military Academy Prep School for 1 year after high school. Then the US Military Academy as it was the only university that had shown any interest in recruiting him. He enrolled in the fall of 1983 and proved all the skeptics wrong! During his 4-year career, Houston started every one of 113 games tying him for the most all-time games played in Army history. By the time he graduated from the Academy in 1987, he had re-written all the record books! Most points in a game (53), in a season (953), in a career (2,325), and season points per game (32.9)! He was the first ever Army player to win the Haggerty Award, which he shared as a senior with Mark Jackson of St. John's.! It is given to the best men's basketball player in the greater New York metropolitan area. Houston was also the 1986–87 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Player of the Year and the NCAA scoring champion! He was a 3x All-MAAC honoree, 2x honorable mention All-American, and 1x 3rd team All-American. After college, Houston served his mandatory term in the US Army. He coached high school basketball guiding the Storm King School, located in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, to two New England Private School Championships in 7 years. Kevin married his high school sweetheart, Elizabeth Cuccia, together for 21 years until she died on January 3, 2009. They have three children: Lauren, Luke and Leanne. His father is the great St. John's All-American, Jerry Houston! Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with Kevin on "The NYC Basketball History Show!"