Prince and sports: ‘He was very small, but he was quick’

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2007 file photo, Prince performs during the halftime show at the Super Bowl XLI football game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami. Prince, widely acclaimed as one of the most inventive and influential musicians of his era with hits including "Little Red Corvette," ''Let's Go Crazy" and "When Doves Cry," was found dead at his home on Thursday, April 21, 2016, in suburban Minneapolis, according to his publicist. He was 57. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

By Associated Press April 21, 2016 5 min read

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Prince had music in his blood.

Basketball was in his heart.

“I really believe that was his first love,” said Al Nuness, his coach at Minneapolis Central High School.

When news of the death of one of modern music’s most influential performers reached Nuness Thursday through a call from his wife, his thoughts went straight to 1973. That’s when Prince and his precocious ninth-grade friends were promoted to the sophomore team by Nuness.

“He was very small,” Nuness said. “But he was quick. He could handle the ball and he could penetrate and he could dish.”