Every year, Friends of South inducts notable South alumni into the Axe Hall of Fame. This year, they honor eight accomplished alumni who The Axe had the opportunity to interview and spotlight.

Don DuShane graduated in 1961 and is also being honored in the Axe Hall of Fame for his outstanding performance in various sports at South, specifically basketball. He then went on to play basketball for the University of Oregon. I got the chance to talk with him about his experiences.

What was South like in general? Were there a lot of clubs, a lot of sports?

Yes, South Eugene was probably the three best years of my life. It was really fun. I think the best parts were my friends and sports. Sports were probably the most important thing to me. Well, my friends first but then sports. I played football and basketball, mainly. I stopped baseball right before high school at the state championship when I was 14. We won the state championship. In high school, I did track and field, but I think the sport I liked the most was basketball. I love basketball, if you can love a sport. I had three varsity letters in basketball, two varsity letters in football, and two varsity letters in track. I did the relay, high jump, and long jump for track. I was also in the E Club, which was a letterman’s club, and the ski club. Unfortunately, I was only in the ski club sophomore year because then our basketball coach said he didn’t want us skiing because he thought we were going to get hurt.

What was your favorite memory from high school?

My favorite memory was probably the playoff game in my senior year for basketball. It was a home game, and we were playing against Marshfield High School. With only two minutes left, we were behind by 13 points, then we were behind by 10. And with a little over 20 seconds left, we were behind by one. We put a press on, and then we stalled with 26 seconds left and our coach said he had never stalled when he was behind before. We made a pass and then my teammate made the basket and we won! That was the most memorable game. It was a packed house, too, so that was really cool. There was even a write-up in the Register-Guard.

What kind of classes did you take?

I took college prep classes, but it wasn’t really about the classes for me. I liked sports better. I took chemistry, physics, and English; all the things you’re supposed to take to help you get into a good college. I did like math, though. That was probably the best class. 

Did you play basketball in college?

I did. I was an Oregon duck. I got a scholarship there for basketball, so my tuition was paid. The cost of college now is very high. The cost is all relative to inflation, but when I went to college the tuition, not including room and board, was only $110. But, of course, ice cream cones were eight to ten cents and gas was 18 cents. I’m a relic!

Do you have a favorite memory from basketball in college?

My favorite memory is probably when we played at the Farwith Classic in Portland. I think we were playing Michigan. I can’t remember as much from my college days as I do from my high school games, because I had a great coach in high school and he made it really memorable. It was a great experience.

What was your job?

I worked at San Jose University in administration as the assistant dean for students. Then I counseled for many years, which I enjoyed a lot.

What was the best part of your job?

The best part of my job was helping students, specifically helping them adjust to college life. I also helped students who had academic difficulties. I even handled the discipline code for a while and was able to give a lot of students second chances at various problems. So, I enjoyed helping students for all those years.

What would you say the hardest part of your job was?

The hardest part of counseling was probably trying to assist and help students who didn’t want help or others where I wasn’t successful in helping them. Most of the time, though, I was able to get them to overcome their challenges so that they could be helped. Although, there was no real downside. If you find something you love to do and you get paid for it, then it’s the perfect job. My wife is also a psychologist, and she did psychological testing and then went into administration and became a principal.

What do you do now in your free time?

I take care of my wife, read, play golf, enjoy my friends, and try to enjoy each day. I like reading mysteries and fiction; nonfiction can sometimes be a little boring. I’m still in contact with a lot of my best friends from high school. We’re still all very close. Each year we go up to Sunriver, play golf, and just enjoy each other’s company. We probably play less golf now than in the past, but we do other things together. A lot of them went to U of O with me so we also stayed in touch throughout college, too. One of my classmates played football at the U of O and then played for the NFL. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame a couple of years ago. A lot of them are in the South Eugene Hall of Fame.

What’s one accomplishment, in any aspect of your life, that you’re the most proud of?

I’m most proud of my children. Having children is probably one of the best things you can do. I know a lot of people don’t have kids, but having kids, seeing them grow up, and having grandkids and great-grandkids, is one of the best things you can do for society. If you can raise your children to be excellent citizens and nice people who want to do good things for the world, it just makes the world a better place. I think being a nice person and raising even better people is the best thing you can do and the thing you should be most proud of.

Read more about Don DuShane on the Friends of South website.

Article by Jada Jones