Was discussing this question and I'm not sure of the answer.

 

I must preface that I played High School ball at Bryan Station in the early 1980's so I might be a little biased.

But I don't see any what I call legends of the HS school game being produced in this state anymore. Still a lot of good players but not like it used to be. Below is my list with some comments of who I truly consider legends, guys that if they showed up at the playground, summer league, high school game back in their day or ever today would have people telling stories of some game they played in or how big high school ball was back in the day.

 

I will start with the 1950's because King Kelly Coleman is the probably the 1st true HS legend in the state.

 

1960's - I'm sure there were more but I would assume Wes Unseld was would be consider a truly great player in this state.

 

 

 

Now the 70's - some I saw as a young kid growing up in Lex., some by word of mouth from guys who played against them or saw them play.

 

'74 Jack Givens (Bryan Station), James Lee (Henry Clay) when they would play the regular season games they would be moved to Memorial Coliseum

 

'76 Darrel Griffith, Bobby Turner (Male) - Need I say more anyone that saw them play can tell the younger generation what it means to play above the rim.

 

'78 Jeff Lamp (Ballard), Jerry Eaves (Ballard) - duo that led a great Ballad Team

 

'79 Charles Hurt - Seen him throw down a dunk on Mel Turpin that I believie the rim is still rattling

 

Kenny Higgs - (Owensboro) - Not sure what year he graduated but I have heard the old guard in Lex tell stories about his game

 

'79 Dirk Minniefield (Lafayette) - most athletic guard I have ever seen personally play in High school was rated one of the top two guards in the nation along with Isiah Thomas - Also lead a great high school team

 

'79 Mel Turpin -( Bryan Station) - maybe not a legend out of High School but the state has produce many 7 foot players of his talent in the last 30 years.

 

'80 Dicky Beal (Covington Holmes) - Quickest guard and best player I have ever seen in the NKY area

 

'81 Manual Forrest - Moore - This guy was a true HS legend, was a top 5 player in the nation. Best high school player I saw in Kentucky in during my 3 years on Varsity Bryan Station.

 

"83 - Winston Bennet (Male) - top 5 player in the nation, plus who can forget the hair, we played him my senior year in front of 12,000 at the coliseum in lex.

 

'85 Tony Kimbro - Great athlete, top player on 1 team in nation at 1 time.

 

'86 - Rex Chapman (Apollo) - Need I say more

 

'88 Richie Farmer (Clay County) - some of the greatest state tournament performances ever

 

'89 Allan Houston (Ballard) - One of the best guards ever produced in the state.

 

KY still produces good players but not many of the caliber I have listed and I haven't come up with a good reason why. Also, there haven't been many great teams like you used to see 30 years ago in this state. Save that for another thread.

1960's- Dave Cowens (Newport Catholic '66) not a HS legend at the time, but......

 

2× NBA champion (1974, 1976)

NBA Most Valuable Player (1973)

7× NBA All-Star (1972–1978)

NBA All-Star Game MVP (1973)

3× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1975–1976)

NBA All-Defensive First Team (1976)

2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1975, 1980)

NBA Rookie of the Year (1971)

NBA All-Rookie First Team (1971)

NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team

No. 18 retired by Boston Celtics

1960's- Dave Cowens (Newport Catholic '66) not a HS legend at the time, but......

 

2× NBA champion (1974, 1976)

NBA Most Valuable Player (1973)

7× NBA All-Star (1972–1978)

NBA All-Star Game MVP (1973)

3× All-NBA Second Team (1973, 1975–1976)

NBA All-Defensive First Team (1976)

2× NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1975, 1980)

NBA Rookie of the Year (1971)

NBA All-Rookie First Team (1971)

NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time Team

No. 18 retired by Boston Celtics

1960's would have to include CovCath's Dick Maile.

1965 All American at LSU

All SEC twice

 

Member of LSU Hall of Fame

1960's would have to include CovCath's Dick Maile.

1965 All American at LSU

All SEC twice

 

Member of LSU Hall of Fame

 

Good call, forgot about him.

Chris Lofton

I know you are looking for guys but I will throw out two lady legends.

 

Donna Murphy first Miss Basketball 1976, I think she was invited to the Olympic try outs as a high school player.

Jamie Walz Highlands

60s----Clem Haskins, Butch Beard, Jim McDaniels.

Dangle Russell (currently at Ohio St) is going to a big name to remember.

 

2 good players from the Louisville area that are great but got better using the prep school route:

Derek Anderson - Doss

Rajon Rondo - Eastern

Darius Miller :idunno:

Lack of legendary is probably due to AAU basketball and social media/computer updates.

Used to be you heard of things through word of mouth, a blurb in the paper, one of your friends called you on the phone. You played at the park and ran into some of the greats. You planned a trip to go see them. Things weren't as accessible and legends grew.

Now..everybody knows everything about everybody at the moment it happens.

There are still plenty of players from Ky or who played in ky for high school who put up good numbers in the pros. (Rondo,Mayo,Mack)

To answer the question, I think the rest of the country has discovered basketball. Years ago, Kentucky and Indiana emphasized HS hoops much more than other locales. Hence, better players. Now, the rest of the country has "caught up" as the game's popularity has exploded.

Because the older you get, the better you were.

To answer the question, I think the rest of the country has discovered basketball. Years ago, Kentucky and Indiana emphasized HS hoops much more than other locales. Hence, better players. Now, the rest of the country has "caught up" as the game's popularity has exploded.

 

Good point, but Indiana is still producing Top 10-15 ranked players on the national level. How many has Kentucky produced in the last 25 years. Indiana has dominated KY so much in the summer all-star series in past 15 years that no one even cares about it anymore, in the 1970's and 1980's it was a big deal.

 

Last year Indiana produced Trey Lyles and James Blackmon just off the top of my head.

 

Alot of the players I mentioned in my thread were top 10 - 15 players in the nation.

 

Kentucky has produced some nice players who have gone on to have nice college careers and even the pros but most of them were not not highly recruited, Shelvin Mack for example in the NBA but he didnt have major colleges beating down his door.

 

Name the last great University of Kentucky player from the state of Kentucky.

Was discussing this question and I'm not sure of the answer.

 

Kenny Higgs - (Owensboro) - Not sure what year he graduated but I have heard the old guard in Lex tell stories about his game

 

 

Kenny Higgs graduated from high school in 1974. He always put on a show.

A lot of great answers. Definitely think the rest of the country started focusing on basketball while IN & KY had been on it. I also think journalism has changed. Doesn't seem to be the focus on writing about high school basketball like it used to. This year Owensboro and Apollo both have a kid with multiple high level D1 offers but I can almost guarantee there won't be a write up leading into their game on January 2nd.