“There was nothing better in the 1960s and ’70s than high school basketball in Kentucky.” That comment by Jerry Eaves was in evidence throughout Saturday evening at the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. On display were the glory days of the high school basketball careers of 14 inductees.
“This game means a lot to the fabric of Kentucky — it’s part of us, it’s who we are,” said co-emcee Dave Baker. He noted that this 11th class of inductees included two players who won high school as well as college championships, four went on to play professionally and four were successful veteran coaches.
Not only were the achievements of the players and coaches highlighted to the packed house at the historic State Theatre in downtown Elizabethtown, but several provided some interesting personal reflections on their high school days.
Eaves, who won a state championship at Louisville Ballard and then a national championship at the University of Louisville, recalled that as a seventh grader he was on the freshman team. One day when things weren’t going well the coach told all the players to drop down and do push-ups, and the first one to drop would be off the team. That person was Eaves. “My dad walked me back in the next day and said (to the coach), ‘He’ll do whatever you ask him to do.’”
His father was a constant supporter, but when Eaves made it to the NBA his father didn’t attend a game.
Eaves asked why he hadn’t been to one of his pro games. The reply: “It was my job to get you there.” His father knew his job was done, so there was no need to go to the games.
Other inductees were:
- Tim Mudd, Elizabethtown girls basketball coach. “I never had seen a girls basketball game until the first one I coached,” he recalled. As the Lady Panthers coach from 1994 until 2016, his teams won 560 games, eight regional championships, three state runner-up finishes and a state championship in 1998. A sign displayed during his presentation said, “Good teams have good players. Great teams have great teammates.”
- The late John Burr, Columbia High/Adair County boys basketball coach. In his 27-year tenure, his teams went to the state semifinals in 1954 and to the championship game the next season. His son, Ben, said his father “was a teacher at heart — he not only taught his players basketball, but life skills.”
- Chris Renner, Ballard boys basketball coach for 24 years. His Ballard clubs had a record of 703-186 and made it to the state finals five times, winning the championship in 1999. He is only the third coach from Louisville and seventh in the state to reach 700 wins. He coached at Southeast Christian and then at Waggener, and had no desire to move to Ballard. “I would not have gone to Ballard unless my wife intervened and encouraged me to go to the interview,” he said.
- Charles “Big Game” Hunter played at Glasgow Ralph Bunche High from 1958-62. As a Kentucky All-Star, he was chosen “Star of Stars” in both games of the Kentucky vs. Indiana all-star games. He was the first African-American recruited at the University of Louisville and Vanderbilt University, but opted to go to Oklahoma City University. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics, and recalls that legendary Bill Russell didn’t call him by name, instead referred to him as “No. 6,” the number on his jersey.
- Greg Smith played at Princeton Dotson and Caldwell County from 1960-64. He and his brother, the late Dwight Smith, led Dotson to the state tournament in 1963 and then Greg led Caldwell to state the following year when Dotson consolidated into the Caldwell school system. He set a school record of 36 rebounds against Madisonville Rosenwald, and is the only Caldwell player to have his jersey retired by the school. Greg then joined his brother to play at Western Kentucky University, where they won two OVC championships. He played eight years in the NBA, and started on the 1971 Milwaukee Bucks NBA championship team. He ended his career with the Portland Trailblazers and still resides in Oregon. “I am very blessed to be able to say that I continue to follow in the footsteps of my brother and father,” he said. Dwight was inducted in the 2016 Hall of Fame, and their father, Henry, was highly-respected in their hometown of Princeton.
- Craig Eversoll was a standout player from 1979-83 at Warren Central. He is credited with “breathing new life into the Dragon program,” leading the school to its first district tournament win in its history. He averaged 29 points a game and set numerous school records his senior year. He told the crowd he was cut from the seventh grade team. He made the team the next year, and said his career was marked by him being “the last one to leave the gym.”
- Wayne Golden played for Louisville Shawnee from 1969-73. His senior year, Shawnee won the state championship and Golden average more than 30 points a game, setting a Jefferson County single game scoring record with 84 points. He went on to play at UT-Chattanooga, becoming an All-American as a member of the 1977 D-2 national championship team. Although a prolific scorer, teammates recall that Golden “didn’t care if he scored points, he just cared if we won.”
- Ronnie Daniel played for Shawnee from 1969-73, where he and Golden are called by many as the best guard combo in state history. Daniel scored 30 points and had eight assists as Shawnee beat Male in the 1973 state championship game. He was honored as a “stellar guard who could score, defend, give assists and lead his team.” Daniel recalled his mother gave him a basketball when he was young, but his grandmother would not let him leave the yard. “That’s how I learned to dribble,” he said. “I didn’t want to just play the game, I wanted to learn the game. I really didn’t like school, but basketball kept me going.”
- Brigette Combs played at Whitesburg from 1979-83, leading her team to three state tournament appearances. As a senior she averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds a game and was named Kentucky Miss Basketball. She had 2,672 points, 1,920 rebounds and 585 steals and was named one of the top 25 high school girls basketball players on the Kentucky All-Century Team. She went on to play at Western Kentucky University, where the Lady Toppers had a Final Four appearance in 1986. “I made the cheerleading and basketball teams, but I had more friends on the basketball team so I played basketball. My stepfather said he never heard me say anything about cheerleading again.”
- Ervin Stepp played for Phelps High School from 1976-80. In his junior season, he averaged 47 points, 11 rebounds and five assists a game. His points per game average led the nation and broke the state record that had been held by King Kelly Coleman. His senior year he led the nation in scoring with an average of 53.7 points a game. He had a game high of 75 points while his lowest was 34 points. His 357 free throws made is still a state record and ranks second nationally. He was Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 1980. He said his his dad was a welder, and made basketball rims he practiced on smaller than regulation rims — so the basket looked bigger in competition. I lived in the gym — literally. For about three months I age, slept and drank basketball.”
- Patty Jo Hedges played for Louisville Western High from 1975-79. She holds the all-time assist and steals record for Louisville Western. Currently the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches presents the “Patty Jo Hedges Ultimate Teammate Award” to honor her for her selfless style of play. She started at point guard for the University of Kentucky, where she was a 1,000 point scorer and all-time assist leader. She played professionally and for USA Basketball, where she won a gold medal at the 1983 Pan-American Games. “I played varsity from day one,” she noted.
- A’Dia Mathies played for Louisville Iroquois from 2005-09 and is the school’s most decorated player. She started on the varsity as a sixth grader and had career totals of 3,113 points and 2,583 rebounds, averaging a double-double her senior year. She led Iroquois to three state tournament appearances and a state championship in 2009. She was SEC Player of the Year for two seasons at the University of Kentucky, and was a first round draft pick by the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.
- Carol Parker played for Marshall County from 1980-84, and was Kentucky Miss Basketball in 1984 when she led her team to an undefeated season. She made the state All-Tournament Team as a junior and senior and was the MVP of the 1984 state tournament. She went on to play at Paducah Community College where she made the all-conference team for two years. She was PCC’s MVP in 1986.
Inductees in the 2023 Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame were (front, from left) Patty Jo Hedges, Brigette Combs, Ronnie Daniel, Craig Eversoll, A’dai Mathies, Ben Burr (accepting for his late father John Burr); (back, from left) Tim Mudd, Wayne Golden, Greg Smith, Charles Hunter, Ervin Stepp, Jerry Eaves, Chris Renner and Carol Parker, photo by Chip Hutcheson)
By Chip Hutcheson, Kentucky Today
