Fred Pickett won a lot of basketball games.
But if he had not won any, he would still be an icon in Chester for the things he did off the court.
Pickett, the legendary hoops coach at perennial power Chester High, died Wednesday at the age of 60 after a battle with cancer.
But it is his battle off the court - as a mentor and molder of young lives - as a beacon for the children of Chester, for which he will be most remembered.
There are very few people who touched as many lives or did as much good in the city of Chester than Fred Pickett.
That certainly does not diminish what he and the Clippers accomplished on the court.
Pickett's teams won three PIAA AAAA state titles, in 2000, 2005 and 2008. After that final crowning achievement, Pickett retired. Some of the other numbers his teams put together likely will never again be matched. Under his tutelage, Pickett's teams won an astounding nine District One AAAA titles, including eight straight from 2001-2008.
In total his teams won 331 games in 13 years.
Yet those who knew him will tell you that was only a small part of who Fred Pickett was, and the legacy he leaves behind.
Assistant Coach Derrick Spence knows that.
"Basketball was only a small part of who he was," Spence told our Terry Toohey. "People have no idea how many lives he touched."
Columnist Jack McCaffery points out that behind the frenzy that always accompanies Clippers basketball, there was the quiet dignity and calm of Fred Pickett.
In a city that demands excellence on the basketball court, Fred Pickett always delivered.
On and off the court.
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