Long time residents of the Clarkston area remember Ed Hintz for his twofold 1950s role as Clarkston High School athletic director and football coach.
Seems athleticism runs in the family’Hintz? granddaughter, Kayla Pedersen, is a standout on Stanford University Women’s Basketball team.
Pedersen, who in 2007 was named a McDonald’s All-American, and also earned All-America nods from EA Sports, Parade, USA Today, and the WBCA, may be on the verge of a record-breaking college career.
At 6-foot-4, the freshman forward was recently named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year’the only freshman to finish in the conference’s top 10 in scoring (12.8 points per game – eighth) and rebounding (8.1 rebounds per game – third), according to Stanford’s website. Pedersen’s 49.5 percent mark from the field was also seventh-best in the Pac-10.
Top-seeded Stanford won its 18th straight game Monday, March 10, shooting past rival and eighth-ranked California 56-35 for the Pac-10 tournament title.
The team will take that momentum onto its home floor at Maples Pavilion during the NCAA Tournament’s First Round, slated for March 22 in Stanford, California.
‘We’re really a proud grandpa and grandma,? said Hintz from his home in Scottsdale, Arizona, noting he’s attended just about every game Kayla played since she was in elementary school.
Hintz left Clarkston when he was appointed superintendent of Flint schools around 1959. He and his family eventually headed for Arizona, where they remain today.
Although Hintz, who is a lifelong friend of Clarkston resident Mel Vaara, claims he doesn’t miss Michigan winters at all, he does speak of many fond memories, and calls himself ‘always a friend of Clarkston and the Vaaras.?