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  • The KHSBHF looks for Breakout in 2021-2022

    The KHSBHF looks for Breakout in 2021-2022

     

    Purchase tickets here 

    ###For Immediate Release###

    The KHSBHF will be extremely active in its efforts to promote High School basketball across Kentucky beginning with its 2 Induction Ceremonies for the 2020 Class on May 15th and its 2021 class on August 14th at the State Theatre in Elizabethtown!

    Planned Events:

    • Gymnasiums will be honored through the KHSBHF’s  Glory Road project
    • Heritage games played honoring long time rivalries and other regional designated games to promote basketball regionally.
    • May 15, 2021 – 2020 Induction Celebration, Elizabethtown State Theater, 6:30 P.M.
    • August 14, 2021 – 2021 Induction Celebration, Elizabethtown State Theater, 6:30 P.M.
    • November 27th, 2021 – Tip Off Classic Pre-Season Scrimmages, T.K. Stone Gymnasium 2:00 – 4:00  – 6:00 P.M.
    • January 22nd, 2022 – Ohio County

    TBA Heritage Games

    • Dunbar – Central / February 2022
    • Paintsville – Pikeville TBA
    • Wayne County – Somerset TBA
    • Ashland – Clark County TBA
    • Lexington Catholic – Covington Catholic TBA

    Regional Fundraising Games: TBA

    Five Glory Road Events

    • Ashland High School Gymnasium
    • Dunbar High School Gymnasium
    • Monticello High School Gymnasium
    • Sports Center, Owensboro, Kentucky
    • T.K. Stone, Elizabethtown High School Gymnasium

     

    Ken Trivette KHSBHF Board Chairman believes that 20-21 offers the time frame  to bring the Hall of Fame to the schools –communities and fans that made the sport successful over the years.

    We want to connect the entire state to the KHSBHF . Regional KHSBHF directors will assist our efforts . Below is further information on the developing Breakout Plan. Schools that may want to participate can contact our Webmaster Chris Slater to get the necessary ways to get involved.

    Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame (KHSBHF)

    2020 Inductees

     

     

    Ellis Johnson

    Ashland High School

    1929

     

    Ellis was one of the greatest all-around athletes in Kentucky history.  He was a star athlete for Ashland High School in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field.  Ellis would lead Ashland to four basketball state tournament appearances from 1926-1929 and lead them to the state title in 1928.  He played on a national high school championship team and would go on to a stellar career in four sports at the University of Kentucky. In 1933, he became Coach Adolph Rupp’s first All-American.  Ellis Johnson’s legacy continues on in the Ellis Johnson Arena on the campus of Morehead State University.

     

    Todd Tackett

    Paintsville High School

    1998

     

    Todd scored over 2000 points in his high school career as a Paintsville Tiger helping lead them to four consecutive Sweet 16 appearances in 1995-1998.  He was named to the All-State Team and All-State Tournament Team in both 1997 and 1998.  Todd would help lead the Tigers to the state title in 1996.  He furthered his career playing for the University of Kentucky where he lettered in both his junior and senior year.  “Hot Rod” Todd had the game, the presence, and the style that made him a “Tiger” hard to tame.

     

    Wesley Cox

    Louisville Male High School

    1973

     

    Wesley was selected as Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1973.  An All-State performer in 1972 and 1973, he led Male to two Sweet 16 appearances.  Cox was named to the All-State Tournament Team in 1973 and played on the 1971 Male Bulldog State Championship Team.  Wesley’s powerful presence inside represented the Male Bulldog’s aggressive nature.  He would further his career in his hometown at the University of Louisville.

     

    Coy Creason

    Brewers High School

    1948

     

    Coy was named Kentucky’s Player of the Year in 1948 when he helped lead the unbeaten Brewers’ Redmen to the to the Sweet 16 championship.  He was named to the All-State and All-Tournament Teams in both 1947 and 1948.  The Brewers are the only unbeaten state basketball champion in the modern era, and Coy Creason was at the heart of the 1948 (36-0) historic team.  Coy would go on to become a star guard for Memphis State University.

    Kim Denkins

    Nicholas County High School

    1994

     

    Kim Denkins was a three time All-State performer in 1992, 1993, and 1994.  She led her Blue Jackets to two state tournament appearances, winning it all in 1993. Kim’s inside game was the key to a Cinderella story that played out for Nicholas County.  A fierce competitor with a kind heart, her exploits are legendary.  Kim was selected Most Valuable Player of the 1993 Sweet 16 and went on to a stellar career at the University of Kentucky.

     

    James “Joe” Hamilton

    Dunbar High School

    1966

     

    Joe was an All-State guard who helped lead Lexington Dunbar to consecutive state tournament appearances in 1965 and 1966.  In 1966, his coach, Louis Stout, proclaimed Joe to be “the best guard in the state”.  “Little Joe” was exciting and dynamic on the court and “Mr. Personality” off the court.   He would go on to a star studded career at North Texas State and the ABA’s Dallas Chaparrals.  He led the ABA in 3 point shooting for three straight years.

     

    Durand “Rudy” Macklin

    Shawnee High School

    1976

     

    Rudy would lead Shawnee High School to the Sweet 16 in 1976 and be named to the All-State and All-State Tournament Teams that same year.  An all-around player who could dominate a game, he was both smooth and powerful.   He furthered his career at LSU where he became a star performer for Coach Dale Brown.  Rudy was named to the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame for his career achievements.  Today he remains active in the community of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

     

    Ronnie Lyons

    Mason County High School

    1970

     

    Ronnie Lyons became one of Kentucky’s most exciting players during his career at Mason County scoring over 2600 points and averaging 34 points per game as a senior.  He was named All-State in 1969 and 1970 and a high school All-American in 1970.  Ronnie became Mason County’s first player to have his jersey retired.  He would go on to become a fan favorite at UK where he helped lead the Wildcats to two NCAA appearances.  He has the “heart of a lion”, and on the court he was always on the “victory prowl”!  Welcome, Ronnie Lyons, to your new home, the Kentucky High School Basketball Hal of Fame.

     

     

    Connie Goins

    Franklin County High School

    1982

     

    Connie Goins was a prolific offensive force for the Flyers scoring 2,928 points during her career.  She was honored with the coveted Miss Kentucky Basketball award in 1982 after leading Franklin County to consecutive regional titles in 1980 and 1981.  Connie was named to the All-State Team in 1981 and 1982 and All-State Tournament Team in 1980 and 1981.  She would further her career at Duke University on a basketball scholarship.

     

    Clarence Glover

    Caverna High School

    1967

     

    Clarence Glover was a sleeping giant who rose out of the Western Kentucky farmlands to dominate the 5th region in the 1966 and 1967 seasons.  At 6’8”, Clarence was a mobile athletic force on the court.  He led the Caverna Colonels to consecutive 5th region title games in both 1966 and 1967 only to be denied state tournament berths in close game losses.  A two time All-State selection, Clarence would further his career at WKU where his Hilltopper teams became legendary, reaching the NCAA Final Four in 1971.

     

    Coach Patrick Payne

    Hazard High School

    1926-1946

     

    Coach Patrick Payne coached both boys’ and girls’ teams to state championships, girls in 1930 and boys in 1932.  He is the only Kentucky high school coach to achieve this feat.  His teams won 10 regional titles and 86% of the games played (373-91).  However, what really made Coach Payne’s career so remarkable was that he also coached the football, baseball, and track teams while teaching chemistry and physics as his day job.  He may be the most extraordinary educator/mentor to ever coach in Kentucky.  Patrick Payne is a coaching legend whose accomplishments are inspiring.

     

    Coach Bill Mike Runyon

    Paintsville High School

    1983-2008

    2013-2016

     

    The Paintsville Tigers had a coach for 28 years who truly had “the Tiger by the tail”, leading them to over 700 wins including 14 district titles, 7 regional titles, 4 Final Four state tournament appearances, and a Sweet 16 championship in 1996.  His coaching achievements put him in the same category as mountain coaching greats Russell Williamson, Bobby Keith, John Bill Trivette, Patrick Payne and Pearl Combs.  Coach Runyon’s competitive nature would lead him into politics after retirement, and he continues to win.  He is now Mayor Runyon of Paintsville, his hometown.

     

     

    Coach Bob Tripure

    Lexington Henry Clay

    Lexington Catholic

    1984-1999

     

    Coach Bob Tripure is the only girls’ coach in KHSAA history to win state titles at two different schools, Lexington Henry Clay in 1990 and Lexington Catholic in 1999.  Along the way, his teams won 8 consecutive regional titles at Henry Clay.  His teams won 89% of their games over a 15 year career

    (384-72). Bob Tripure was a loyal assistant to Hall of Fame boys’ basketball coach Al Prewitt before taking the Henry Clay girls’ basketball position.  “Trip”, as he is affectionately known, is a Kentucky legend whose career accomplishments rank him with the top all-time coaches.

     

     

     

     

     

    Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame

    2021 Inductees

    Frank Selvy

    Corbin High School

    1950

    Frank Selvy was an outstanding player for the Corbin Redhounds in 1949 and 1950.  He would be named to the All-State Team in 1950 while leading Corbin to a third place finish in the Sweet 16.  Frank was a sleeper recruit that woke up Coach Adolph Rupp when he watched him play at the East-West All Star Game in 1950.  University of Kentucky followed with a scholarship offer, but Frank was loyal to his Furman commitment.  The rest is basketball history!  He had a stellar All-American college career and a 100 point scoring game.  Frank Selvy is the Kentucky player who got away and found fertile ground in South Carolina.  He was the number one draft choice for the Minneapolis Lakers and would one day play in the Los Angeles Laker backcourt with Jerry West.  Welcome home, Frank Selvy, to the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Coach Rodney Woods

    Wayne County High School

    1987-Active

    An All-State player at Lone Jack High School in 1971, Rodney Woods would go on to a stellar career at Tennessee and as point guard he directed the Ernie and Bernie Show for Coach Ray Mears’ Volunteers.  As good as Rodney was as a player, he may have become a better coach.  He is Kentucky’s fifth all-time winningest coach with over 800+ wins and has twice been named Kentucky Coach of the Year.  Coach Woods has been at Wayne County 37 years and counting, averaging 20+ wins per season taking the Cardinals to nine Sweet 16 tournaments.  His career has taken him from Lone Jack to the University of Tennessee to Wayne County and has now brought him to the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Derek Anderson

    Louisville Doss High School

    1992

    Derek Anderson was a “show stopper” on the basketball court throughout his career.  He was an all-around talent whose athleticism was off the charts.  Derek was a two time All Stater at Louisville Doss where he started for four years.  He would leave Kentucky briefly signing with Ohio State but returned and enjoyed an electric career at UK under Coach Rick Pitino.  A Doss Dragon who flew high and mighty over basketball courts across the land, welcome, Derek Anderson, to your new home, the home of legends, the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Pat Tallent

    Maytown High School

    1971

    A two time All-State player in 1970 and 1971, Pat also made the All-State Tournament Team in 1969 as a sophomore for the Maytown Wildcats.  The Tallent family is a part of Kentucky high school basketball history.  The four brothers Bill, Bob, Mike, and Pat helped put Maytown in Floyd County on the Kentucky basketball map.  Pat at 6’3” was arguably one of Kentucky’s greatest shooters.  He was a high school All-American and went on to have an outstanding career at George Washington playing for his brother Bob who was the head coach. Pat also excelled in the game of golf winning the 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship and the 2015 British Senior Amateur Championship.   Pat is part of a talented family where the youngest learned from his brothers and now enters the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame where he will be honored as one of Kentucky’s greatest.

    Clarence Wilson

    Horse Cave High School

    1945

    Clarence Wilson was a premier player in the Kentucky Athletic League rom 1942-1945, leading Horse Cave to a 65-1 record and two state titles. The Tigers under the tutelage of Coach Stone Thomas were also national runner-ups 1945.  Clarence would go on to a distinguished career at Tennessee A/I before choosing to become a member of the Harlem Globetrotters, choosing basketball over baseball for his professional career.  He was a Globetrotter from 1949-1964, the longest tenure of any Trotter of his time.  Clarence Wilson and the Horse Cave Tigers story would require a movie to accurately depict their greatness.  A Kentucky “treasure”, the Hall of Fame welcomes to your new team!

    Coach Bill Brown

    Louisville Southern High School

    1976-1995

    Coach Bill Brown was Kentucky Coach of the Year in 1987 when his Louisville Southern Trojans won Sweet 16 State Championship.  His teams would win 447 games while losing only 116, and 84% winning percentage.  Coach Brown’s teams won 20 or more games for 13 consecutive seasons from 1981-1993.  They were district champions 14 times, regional winners 10 times, and captured the ultimate prize in 1987.  He is a Louisville legend known not only for his coaching skills but for his professionalism and personality.  Coach Bill Brown joins his 1989 Miss Basketball Player, Lisa Harrison, in the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.  He is now a member of the legendary Hall of Fame coaching staff.

    Bob Mulcahy

    Lexington Lafayette High School

    1950

    As a Lafayette General under the tutelage of Coach Ralph Carlisle, Bob Mulcahy would lead the Generals to the state title in 1950.  A two time All-Stater in 1949 and 1950, he would further his basketball career at the University of Kentucky.  If it wasn’t enough to be a high school star, he would double down as a high school coach at Louisville Seneca leading the Redskins to consecutive state championships in 1963 and 1964. He went on to coach at the collegiate level.  A Kentucky icon, Bob joins his many friends as a member of the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Dirk Minniefield

    Lexington Lafayette High School

    1979

    Dirk Minniefield joins his former Lafayette coach Jock Sutherland in the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.  Dirk would lead the Generals to a 36-1 season and a state championship in 1979.  His flashy all-around game was well suited for the fast and furious Lafayette team that was but a win away from going undefeated.  Dirk was three time All-State player, 1979 Mr. Basketball, and an All-American his senior year.  The 1979 Lafayette team was “one for the ages”.  A charismatic coach, an All-American guard, and a team with flair are rarely seen at the high school level.  Dirk Minniefield would go on to a successful basketball career at the University of Kentucky and will always live in the hearts and minds of Kentucky basketball fans.  Welcome, Dirk Minnifield, to the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Sara Beth Hammond

    Rockcastle County High School

    2011

    Sara Beth Hammond would launch the Rockcastle County Rockets to new heights during her ascent into stardom from 2009-2011.  A three time All-State performer, she would lead the Rockets to a state title in 2011 while garnering the coveted Miss Basketball award that same year.  Rockcastle County’s record over her four year career was 130 wins/32 losses.  Her senior year the Rockets were 36-1. She would receive a basketball scholarship to the University of Louisville where she distinguished herself athletically and academically.  During her four year career, Sara Beth would play in 15 NCAA tournament games, the most in school history, and led the Cardinals to a national runner-up finish in 2013. Sara Beth Hammond now joins the greatest players in Kentucky history as a 2021 inductee into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Barney Thweatt

    Brewers High School

    1948

    Barney Thweatt was the team captain for the last unbeaten Kentucky high school basketball state champion.  The 1948 Brewers Redmen completed their season with a perfect 36-0 record defeating mighty Maysville in the final championship game.  He was named to the 1947 All-State Team and All-State Tournament Team.  He would go on to become a star player for both Memphis and Murray State Universities.  A stellar coaching career would follow at Oldham County and Paducah Tilghman.  Barney Thweatt’s basketball accomplishments were astounding, but it was his character and leadership skills that were equally impressive.  Hypothetically speaking, if the Hall of Fame inductees were a team, Barney would arguably be selected as captain!

    Coach Tim Riley

    Warren Central High School

    1990-Active

    Coach Tim Riley’s coaching career is still ongoing for the Owensboro Catholic Aces where he won the 3rd region title in 2019, the first in the school’s history, and repeated winning the title again in 2020.   Championships seem to be a common theme for Coach Riley having won 13 district titles, 10 regional crowns and the ultimate prize, the KHSAA Sweet 16 state championship at Warren Central High School in 2004. During his 15 year tenure there, his Dragons “set fire” to the 4th region with thirteen 20+ win seasons.  A personable yet highly competitive mentor, Coach Tim Riley adds another class act to the coaching ranks of the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

    Sarah Elliott Cannon

    Jackson County High School

    2004

    Sarah Elliott, 6’-6 inch post player played for Jackson County high school graduating in 2004. She led the Lady Generals to 2002 KHSAA state finals.   Sarah scored 2,731 career points and pulled down 1,843  career rebounds. She also had 821 career blocks. Sarah played at the University of Kentucky where she averaged 11.3 points and 6 rebounds per game. She also played one year of professional basketball in Poland.

  • Billy reed

    Billy reed

    The following article, written by Hall of Fame journalist Billy Reed, was presented by the Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) www.khsaa.org in celebration of the great work by so many individuals through the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches and their allied partners. It was written leading up to the weekend when the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame (KHSBHF) www.khsbhf.com inducted the remainder of their Centennial Class. The KHSBHF continues to celebrate the “essence of the game” that led to the KHSAA founding high school basketball.

    “Well, one of my dreams has always been, on a Sunday morning, to be coming home on a fire truck, riding through Shelbyville and holding the state championship trophy with my finger up in the air: ‘We’re number one!’”
    — Arnold Thurman, 1966 Shelby County state champs

    ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. July 21, 2017, by Billy Reed

    If basketball has more to do with dreams than any other sport, and a convincing argument can be made that it does, surely it has something to do with the jumping.

    The other sports are ground games. Oh, I know baseball has its home runs and football has its leaping catches. But essentially, they are based on scoring by gaining territory.

    But basketball is all about leaping, soaring, reaching for the stars. It’s the stuff of dreams, in other words. By defying gravity, basketball players defy the constrictions that may have been placed upon them by the circumstances of their birth and their family’s means.

    The sport goes wrong when money becomes more important than dreams. That’s why basketball at the high school level endures in our neighborhoods, our communities, and our hearts. There is no hero like a high school hero because there is nothing like sharing noble endeavors with family, friends, and neighbors.

    The Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame, located (now closed) on Dixie Highway in downtown Elizabethtown, is dedicated to preserving and promoting this important part of the commonwealth’s culture. It was built with money and materials, certainly, but mainly it was built with love. In Kentucky, the essence of the game is about the values that last a lifetime – teamwork, discipline, unselfishness, and education.

    Many wise individuals have noted that basketball has such a hold on the hearts and minds of Kentuckians that it becomes almost a religious experience. It is fitting, then, that the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame be located in an ancient church that was renovated in order to showcase the essence of the game, Kentucky-style.

    On Friday, July 21, the public is welcome to attend a cocktail reception at the Historic State Theater in Elizabethtown, followed by a showing of the movie 32,” advertised as “A Kentucky Basketball Story: Where It All Began.” After the film, representatives of the Hall of Fame will hold a question-and-answer session.

    On Saturday, July 22, the Hall of Famer will be open to the public for one day only. It then will be closed for last-minute tweaks until opening full-time on Aug. 12. That night, the 2017 honorees will be inducted at a 7 p.m. ceremony, also at the Historic State Theater. This will complete the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 100 players and coaches, designed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Boys State Tournament in 2018.

    Many sociologists have tried to figure out why basketball is so revered in Kentucky. One reason, surely, is that the commonwealth always has been a poor state as measured by various socio-economic indicators, and basketball is a sport that doesn’t a lot of room or equipment. So hoops can be affixed to garages and telephone poles. All you need from there is a kid with a pair of sneakers, a ball, and a dream.

    Nets come in several varieties – or not at all. They may be made of nylon or chain links. It makes no difference. When a ball drops cleanly through, not touching any rim, it’s “string music,” as the TV analyst Joe Dean had it, in the imagination.

    Back in the 1930s and ‘40s, the most popular shots were layups or two-hand “set” shots. The 1950s brought the jump shot, courtesy of Joe Fulks, the member of the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame who introduced it to the National Basketball Association.

    Today it’s about getting to the rim for dunks or firing three-pointers from imagination’s limits. The game has changed, certainly, but the essence remains the same, especially among those players who play for the sheer love of it. The average high school player, the vast majority who never entertain dreams of NBA millions, still sees basketball as one way to getting a college education – and education is both the coin of the realm in America and the hope of its future.

    High school basketball taught me a lot.

    Consider Kentucky geography. I learned the difference between Mayfield and Maysville. I learned the difference between Owensboro High and Daviess County High. I learned which schools were from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, which were from the cities, and which were the Purchase Area in the far western part of the commonwealth.

    High school basketball taught me that girls, given the right combination of coaching and training, can play the game at a very high and entertaining level. Since the advent of Title IX in 1972, our culture has been enriched by such galvanizing players as Geri Grigsby, Donna Murphy, Lea Wise Prewitt, Lisa Harrison, and Erin Boley, to name only a few.

    Perhaps most importantly, high school basketball taught me about civil rights and the racial divide that exists in America to this day.

    In 1957, all-black schools became eligible to play in the KHSAA Boys’ State Tournament for the first time. In 1961, Dunbar High of Lexington became the first all-black school to play in the championship game. And in 1969, Louisville Central became the first traditionally black school to win the state championship. The hardships those teams had to overcome is both uplifting and heart-breaking.

    Nevertheless, it can be argued that basketball, more than any other sport, has contributed to the American civil rights movement. It could be partly because basketball is an intimate sport. It’s impossible to hide a person’s skin color in a basketball uniform, and the crowd is close enough to the action to see the players’ expressions. In basketball, the jersey a player wears becomes the only color that matters.

    I reached for the stars, too.

    My goal was nailed haphazardly to the back of the garage at 338 Mentelle Park Extended in Lexington. The court was dirt when the weather was dry, a mosh pit when it rained or snowed, and it was hard to get a true bounce off the dribble.

    Shabby? I suppose. But to me it was the glittering arena where I shot hooks like Owensboro’s Cliff Hagan, long one-handers from the corner like Hazard’s Johnny Cox, and slashed to the hoop like Vernon Hatton of Lafayette.

    The same scene was more or less playing out in backyards and on playgrounds in all parts of the commonwealth. Only the heroes were different. In the coal mountains of Eastern Kentucky, boys dreamed of being a scoring machine like the immortal “King Kelly” Coleman of Wayland High, and on the inner-city playgrounds of our cities, African-American youngsters were trying to emulate the showmanship of Dunbar High’s Julius Berry or the all-around virtuosity of Covington Grant’s Tom Thacker.

    Of course, the landscape has changed remarkably over the years. Many of the small schools – the ones with legendary and romantic names such as Inez, Carr Creek, and Brewers – have disappeared, victims of consolidation. Today many of the best players leave their high schools to play at “academies” designed to put them on the fast track to the big-time colleges and the NBA. The list of coaches who can be accurately described as “legends” has dwindled to a precious few.

    And yet…

    Go to your neighborhood high school gym on a game night. Listen to the pep band playing. Smell the popcorn popping. Watch the cheerleaders take the floor during timeouts and entertain with what has become a sport within a sport. It’s still much the same now as it was in decades past. Times may change, but the essence of the game remains pretty much the same.

    When the Kentucky High School Hall of Fame officially opens, visitors no doubt will be drawn to the players who made it big in college or the pros: Wes Unseld, Rex Chapman, Darrell Griffith, etc. But with all due respect to them, they are no more important, in the larger scheme of things, than the great players and coaches who stayed home to become educators, lawyers, doctors, judges, government officials, and business leaders.

    Former Governor Steve Beshear played high school ball at Dawson Springs. Noted Lexington neurosurgeon Bill Brooks played at Henry Clay. Successful business entrepreneur George Tinsley played at Male. And heaven only knows how many former high school players have become teachers, principals, and superintendents across the state.

    I’m sure it’s a wonderful thing to be an NCAA champion. I’m sure it’s wonderful to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft. But the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame isn’t really about that.

    It’s about jumping and reaching for the stars. It’s about riding a fire truck down Main Street the morning after the state championship has been secured, waving at the guy who owns the hardware store, the teacher who made you learn algebra, the policeman who found you when you got lost.

    That’s not only the essence of the game; it’s the essence of being a Kentuckian.

  • Kentucky Gives Day 2022

    Kentucky Gives Day 2022

    Kentucky Gives Day is May 10th, 2022.

    The KHSBHF was established in 2012 to recognize, educate, and promote the great heritage of Kentucky High School Basketball. Your donations help us realize the dream of this endeavor.

  • Foster Heights Elementary School in Bardstown, KY Visits The HOF

    Foster Heights Elementary School in Bardstown, KY Visits The HOF

    The HOF welcomed Kindergarten and 1st grade classes today from Foster Heights Elementary School in Bardstown, KY. A great group of kids! We thank the teachers and staff for bringing them to tour the KY High School Basketball HOF!

    We hope they had a great time and learned something about High School Basketball!

    Thanks!

  • 1963 KY State Championship – Seneca vs Dunbar with VO intro/outro

    1963 KY State Championship – Seneca vs Dunbar with VO intro/outro

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  • Wayland vs Bell County

    Wayland vs Bell County

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  • 1975 Kentucky State Championship Game – Male vs. Henry Clay

    1975 Kentucky State Championship Game – Male vs. Henry Clay

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  • 1969 KY State Quarterfinal – Maytown vs. Clark County

    1969 KY State Quarterfinal – Maytown vs. Clark County

    The 1969 Clark County Cardinals dominated the 10th region tournament winning by an average margin of 25 points. Ranked number 2 in the state they came into the sweet 16 as co favorite with Louisville Central . Led by all state first teamer Larry Gay and guard Bobby Newell they were on a roll entering tourney . However out of nowhere came a mountain juggernaut the Maytown Wildcats led by Randy Click -Tom Stewart and sophomore Pat Tallent of the Maytown basketball family of Bob-Mike and Pat . After this break out Sweet 26 in 1969 Pat would follow with an exceptional 70-71 earning first team all state and All American honors . He was inducted into the KY HS Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021.
    Side note: Maytown would conquer Clark County only to lose to eventual Champion Louisville Central in semi’s 80-74. The Central team many thought was the best to ever win title? Wow!!!
    maysville
    Maytown wore white for the Clark Co. game. Randy Click, Tom Stewart, Keith Hicks, David Gibson, and Pat Tallent started. Jake Halbert, Rodney Hicks, Jim Stewart, Mike Bailey, Jeff Stewart Jerry Hicks, and Greg Halbert came off the bench. Gene Frasure was our only Coach.
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    Unfortunately, there is no sound with this video, but please enjoy one of the great games in Kentucky High School Basketball History.