###For Immediate Release###
KENTUCKY HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME (KHSBHF) CLASS OF 2024
The Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame (KHSBHF) is honored to announce its 2024 Class of Inductees. These twelve represent the great wealth of achievement by players and coaches over the decades. Biographies for the inductees can be found on the KHSBHF websiteat khsbhf.com. The Induction
Celebration will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at the Historic State Theater in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
KHSBHF Class of 2024
Coach Terry Buckles — Region 5
Central Hardin High School / 1985 — 2009
Central Hardin High Schoo! basketball coach Terry Buckles posted a record of 548 — 171 over a 24 year career, His teams won six regional championships and the 1996 Bruins were Sweet 16 runner-ups. He was named 5″ Region Coach of the Year six times. Coach Buckles was selected as head coach for the Kentucky All-Star Team series vs. Indiana.
In 2009, he was a National High School Athletic Coaches Association Coach of the Year finalist. He is presently in the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches’ (KABC) Court of Honor and the Central Hardin High School Athletic Hall of Fame. His teams were always well coached and a threat to win championships. Coach Terry Buckles is a retired coach and teacher and is currently residing in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.
Coach Ernon Simpson — Region 4
Bowling Green High School / 1970 – 2001
Coach Ernon Simpson had one of the most incredible coaching careers on record in Kentucky high school hoops history. He coached at Lincoln Institute, Union County, Ashland Paul Blazer, Lyon County and Bowling Green High Schools winning 559 games. His teams captured four regional titles at three different schools. Coach Simpson was named Courier Journal Coach of the Year in 1999. He was successful wherever he coached which led him to college coaching positions at Evansville and Kentucky
Wesleyan.
His final coaching destination was Bowling Green High School where he ended his illustrious career. Ernon Simpson also had a stellar career as a player at Shelby County and Kentucky Wesleyan where he participated on a Division I! National Championship team. Highly competitive while extremely likeable is an accurate “character” assessment of Coach Simpson. He is retired coach and teacher living
in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Coach Newton Thomas ~ Region
Horse Cave Colored School / 1938-1956
The legend of Coach Newton Thomas is one of the most unique stories in Kentucky high school basketball history. In 1938, as principal of tiny Horse Cave High School, he responded to the students’ request to form a basketball team that would compete in the Kentucky Athletic League. In the process of educating himself in preparation to coach basketball, he attended a clinic in 1938 given by UK Coach Adolph Rupp. Upon returning to Horse Cave, he had a goal placed outside the school. Coach Thomas was on a path that would lead him to the Glory Road of Kentucky high school basketball.
The Tigers improved quickly, and in the seasons of 1944 and 1945 his teams won 65 consecutive games, two KAL state titles and a national championship. Clarence Wilson and Carl Helem, KHSBHF members, were players on these Horse Cave teams. Coach Thomas ended his career as an educator, teaching advanced math and science classes at consolidated Caverna High School. He stayed involved by coaching Little League basketball where a young Clarence Glover, future KHSBHF member, began his basketball journey. Coach Newton Thomas is deceased.
Scott Hundley — Region 8
Scott County High School / 2000
Scott Hundley was the 2000 Kentucky High School Mr. Basketball award winner. His all-around game fit well into Scott County Coach Billy Hicks teams’ blistering pace. He was a two time Courier-Journal AllStater (1999 and 2000) as well as an All-Tournament Team selection in two consecutive KHSAA Sweet 16’s (1999 and 2000). Scott scored 2,200 points and garnered 1,100 rebounds in his illustrious career.
He was selected as the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in2000. He accepted a basketballscholarship to Vanderbilt University where he had an outstanding career. He would go into coaching after graduation from Vanderbilt and was the president of the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches (KABC) for two years. Scott Hundley is currently a principal in the Woodford County School System.
Carolyn Alexander — Region 14
Hazard High School / 1998
Carolyn Alexander’s career accomplishments place her among former historic, great Hazard High School basketball stars that played in Memorial Gymnasium. She fed the Bulldogs to three consecutive regional championships, a 1997 Sweet 16 crown and back to back All-A tournament titles in 1997 and 1998.
Carolyn earned All-State first team honors in both her junior and senior years and was named AP Player of the Year in 1998. She displayed her all around skillset with career statistics that include 3,726 points, 1,100 rebounds and 500 assists. She achieved individual stardom as a basketball player at Hazard, but she was also a great team player who displayed great leadership that made her a complete performer.
Currently Carolyn works as a high school special education teacher in Washington, D.C.
Tim Stephens — Region 12
McCreary County High School / 1976
Tim Stephens was possibly the most decorated high school basketball player in 12″ region history. He was a four time All-District and an All-Region player, a two time first team All-State selection and a two time All-American. He also led the state in scoring his senior year with an average of 35.6 points per game and recorded 3,211 career points. Tim led his team to the KHSAA Sweet 16 in 1976 and was named the recipient of the prestigious Ted Sanford Award. He was second to Darreil Griffith in the 1976 Mr. Basketball award voting. In 1976, he signed a basketball scholarship with the University of Kentucky Wildcats. Tim Stephens was great player but an equally good student and person. He is a retired teacher from the McCreary County School System and lives in Stearns, Kentucky.
Cecil Tuttle ~ Region 12
Hazel Green High School / 1960
Cecil Tuttle was the eldest of four Tuttle brothers who played for the Hazel Green Bullfrogs. The Tuttle basketball family is one of Kentucky’s great basketball stories. Cecil was a three year starter and led the “Frogs” to three consecutive district titles in 1957, 1958 and 1959. In 1959, Hazel Green High School, with Cecil Tuttle leading the way, was 12″ regional tournament runner-up to eventual KHSAA Sweet 16
runner-up, Monticello. He scored over 1,000 career points and averaged 22 points per game his senior year. In 1960, he was selected to play in the Kentucky East-West All-Star Game. Cecil Tuttle was inducted into the 12″ Region High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He earned a scholarship to Georgetown College where he had a great career and was twice selected as NAIA All-American. Cecil
Tuttle is semi-retired and fives in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky.
Dicky Beal — Region 9
Covington Holmes High School / 1980
Dicky Beal led Covington Holmes to a 92-12 record over his four year career as a starting guard. The Holmes Bulldogs (34-2) were state runner-ups in 1978 and in 1980 (33-3) a state semi-finalist under the leadership of point guard Dicky Beal. In 1980, he scored 51 points against rival Covington Holy Cross.
Also in 1980, Dicky Beal was named gt Region Player of the Year, selected to the All-State Tournament Team, named first team All-State and was awarded the prestigious Sweet 16 Ted Sanford Award. He signed with the University of Kentucky in 1980 and had a distinguished career as a Wildcat. Huge of heart and talent, Dickie Beal thrilled Kentucky fans with his electric style of play. Dicky Beal isa manufacturing business representative and lives in the Greater Cincinnati area.
Dwane Casey — Region 2
Union County High School / 1975
Dwane Casey was a three year letterman in basketball at Union County High School under the tutelage of Hall of Fame Coach Ernon Simpson. The Union County “Braves” compiled a 66-14 record in the always competitive 2″‘ region. Asa starting guard, Dwane earned All-District and All-Region honors and was named to the 1975 Courier Journal All-State Team. In 1975, he was selected to play for Kentucky in
the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star Game and participated in the Derby Classic. The University of Kentucky signed Dwane to a basketball scholarship in 1975. After graduation, he chose a career in coaching which led him to coach basketball at Western Kentucky, University of Kentucky and the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors where he was selected NBA Coach of the Year. Dwane is presently living in
Michigan and is an executive in the Detroit Pistons’ organization.
Stan Key — Region 1
Calloway County / 1968
Stan Key was one of the top all-around players in Western Kentucky high school basketball history. His
senior year at Calloway County he averaged 29.6 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Stan scored 1,936 career points and was a two time Courier Journal All-State selection (1967 and 1968).
Selected to play in the Kentucky-indiana All Star Series in 1968, he was a starting guard for Kentucky in their series sweep over the Indiana All-Stars. Stan once scored 53 points in a single game long before the three point shot was initiated. His #30 jersey was retired after his senior year, and he was inducted into the Calloway County High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. University of Kentucky’s Coach
Adolph Rupp signed him to a basketball scholarship in 1968. He had a stellar career at UK playing on three SEC championship teams. Stan Key is retired executive director of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association and lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kim Pehtke — Region 6
Doss High School / 1988
Kim Pehike was a standout player at Doss High School. She was dedicated to the worth ethic it takes to become a Hall of Famer. She started her high school career at Doss in 1984 with a new coaching staff determined to build a championship level program. This led to a KHSAA Sweet 16 championship game in 1987 vs. Laurel County. Doss lost in a heartbreaking close game. Kim was named to the All-State Tournament Team that same year. Doss ended their 1987 season with a record of 33-3, and Kim was named to the Courier Journal All-State Team in 1987 and 1988. Her high school career culminated when she was named Kentucky’s Miss Basketball in 1988. Kim Pehlke signed a Division 1 basketball scholarship in 1988 to play for the WKU where she had an outstanding career. Kim retired as principal of Pleasure Ridge Park High School and currently resides in Louisville.
Regina Ann Carroll — Region 16
Russell High School / 1979
Regina Carroll is one of the few basketball players to be named to the Courier Journal All-State Team four consecutive years from 1976-1979. She also made the KHSAA Sweet 16 All-Tournament Team as a freshman when Russell was defeated by Sacred Heart in the state semi-finals. Regina played in the Sweet 16 as an eighth grader competing against Newport High School Hall of Famer Donna Murphy. An outstanding all-around player scoring over 2400 points in her career, Regina Carroll was one of the early
pioneers of girls’ basketball emergence as a KHSAA sport. Regina, along with other great players from around the state such as Donna Murphy, Geri Grigsby, Sharon Garland, Valerie Owens and Lilly Mason gave the sport instant credibility. Following her historic high school career, she signed a basketball scholarship with the University of Louisville. Regina Carroll is retired from a 34 year career as an
employee of Marathon Petroleum in Ashland, Kentucky.