McKinney vs. Nancy was the first high school basketball game I ever attended. McKinney colors were Purple and White. I think their mascot was the Bearcats. Coach Gooch was the head Coach. I was about 3 years old. I remember it was a small gym with a balcony. It was jammed packed with probably 200 in attendance. I think there was a band on the stage and they played the old fight song with Combs as their instruments.

 

 

 

Congrats to the Pats.

 

I'm plenty old enough to have been at those games and played against those teams. Stanford High School was good enough in '74 to have made a serious run at the state, if it had not been for Monticello, and the year before, Danville. Wasn't it the good old days when non-county or small public schools were in the thick of the chase?

Wasn't it the good old days when non-county or small public schools were in the thick of the chase?

 

 

I agree that the home town support was a lot better back then. It was a big to-do to go see your local highschool play a basketball game. In those small schools everyone knew everyone, and school spirit and school pride was a lot better than it is today in these larger consolidated county schools.

 

In fact in those days it would standing room only in those small gyms. I went to scout a Henry Clay game one friday night about two years ago, and I bet there wasn't 100 people in the gym. In Lexington on a friday night only 100 people came out to watch the game. In McKinney in 1968 200 people came out to watch them play Nancy. In my opinion those were the golden era days of high school basketball.

 

I know that the men that played for Coach Harper in Monticello are still looked at heros in Monticello even today. The small schools in the small towns are proud of their heritage.

I love going to Wayne or Monticello on a Friday night where basketball rules over ESPN. I saw Nancy and PineKnot play the night Billy Miller scored 90 points because PK got mad at them for running the score up. I enjoyed watching Burnside go to the semi-finals of the 12th Regional Tournament. I used to love the county tournaments played in both Pulaski and Lincoln Counties around Thanksgiving. I even saw GJ Smith play for the Hazel Green Bullfrogs and had to stand 4 deep during the preseason scrimmages. Wouldnt trade ball back then for this mess they have now for anything.

I love going to Wayne or Monticello on a Friday night where basketball rules over ESPN. I saw Nancy and PineKnot play the night Billy Miller scored 90 points because PK got mad at them for running the score up. I enjoyed watching Burnside go to the semi-finals of the 12th Regional Tournament. I used to love the county tournaments played in both Pulaski and Lincoln Counties around Thanksgiving. I even saw GJ Smith play for the Hazel Green Bullfrogs and had to stand 4 deep during the preseason scrimmages. Wouldnt trade ball back then for this mess they have now for anything.

 

I think I heard Avery Hatfield tell me about that game. Is that the game the other team kept throwing him the ball on the inbounds pass?

Those cracker-box gyms were the greatest. Do you remember the gym at Stanford?

 

There was a crow's nest above the visitor's side from which my dad used to broadcast the games. You had to go up a narrow set of stairs through the football equipment room to get there. The locker rooms were in the basement and were also used for football games.

 

The clock operator and scorer sat at table built into the home side stands in which you had to stop down into little cubby holes.

 

One of my older brothers was keeping the offical scorebook one night (about 1971) against Somerset when the coach from Somerset adamantly protested that one of Stanford's star players, David Cornelius, had picked up his 5th foul. The Referee told him that if the official book showed 4 fouls, then it was 4 fouls. The Somerset coach grabbed the official book and flung it across the floor causing some of the pages to rip out and fly off. In reality, he probably did have 5 fouls.:sssh:

 

When Lincoln County High School was built, the gymnasium was not built right away. In fact, LC played at Memorial's gym for the first two seasons (I am pretty sure it was the first two because another brother graduated from LC in 1977 and his graduation was the first in the gym).

 

Those WERE the days.

I think I heard Avery Hatfield tell me about that game. Is that the game the other team kept throwing him the ball on the inbounds pass?

Yeah, he had something like 50 points legitimately after 3 quarters, so they just kept taking it out and handing it in to him. PineKnot lost 145-something and Miller scored 40 or so in the 4th quarter. He would miss and PK players would laugh, rebound, and hand it to him to shoot again. :lol:

Those cracker-box gyms were the greatest. Do you remember the gym at Stanford?

 

There was a crow's nest above the visitor's side from which my dad used to broadcast the games. You had to go up a narrow set of stairs through the football equipment room to get there. The locker rooms were in the basement and were also used for football games.

 

The clock operator and scorer sat at table built into the home side stands in which you had to stop down into little cubby holes.

 

One of my older brothers was keeping the offical scorebook one night (about 1971) against Somerset when the coach from Somerset adamantly protested that one of Stanford's star players, David Cornelius, had picked up his 5th foul. The Referee told him that if the official book showed 4 fouls, then it was 4 fouls. The Somerset coach grabbed the official book and flung it across the floor causing some of the pages to rip out and fly off. In reality, he probably did have 5 fouls.:sssh:

 

When Lincoln County High School was built, the gymnasium was not built right away. In fact, LC played at Memorial's gym for the first two seasons (I am pretty sure it was the first two because another brother graduated from LC in 1977 and his graduation was the first in the gym).

 

Those WERE the days.

 

At Eubank one night, the janior pushed the broom under one of the star players from the opponent during warmups, and when he twisted his ankle, he crashed into the popcorn machine on stage, spilling hot buttered popcorn on everyone, including himself. As they took him out of the gym to the doctor, the crowd booed him because he broke the machine, then cheered for the janitor as he started sweeping up the popcorn again. Talk about sportsmanship

At Eubank one night, the janior pushed the broom under one of the star players from the opponent during warmups, and when he twisted his ankle, he crashed into the popcorn machine on stage, spilling hot buttered popcorn on everyone, including himself. As they took him out of the gym to the doctor, the crowd booed him because he broke the machine, then cheered for the janitor as he started sweeping up the popcorn again. Talk about sportsmanship

 

 

:cry: I am crying from laughter. That is great story.

At Eubank one night, the janior pushed the broom under one of the star players from the opponent during warmups, and when he twisted his ankle, he crashed into the popcorn machine on stage, spilling hot buttered popcorn on everyone, including himself. As they took him out of the gym to the doctor, the crowd booed him because he broke the machine, then cheered for the janitor as he started sweeping up the popcorn again. Talk about sportsmanship

 

 

You made me laugh out loud.