brentbbs

He has a whole chapter just about the camp. I attended it in 1978 or 1979, maybe both. We went to WKU's camp in 1980, and maybe 1979 too. Three camps total, two at Transy and one at Western or vice versa. Seems like something I should remember better . . .

Transy's long-time coach Don Lane was selling copies of his new book, The Lane Way: Family, Faith and Fifty Years in Basketball at a booth set up in the Rupp Arena concourse during the tournament. I am acquainted with Coach Lane by virtue of the close proximity of my seat to his for the last 20 or so years, but I don't know him at all outside that context and have no business relationship with him. I bought a copy from the booth and having read significant portions over the last several days I would enthusiastically endorse it to anyone with an interest in coaching/teaching generally or in Kentucky high school basketball. Most of the book is devoted to his college coaching career, but Lane was a fine high school player at Versailles High School and had head coaching stints at Mt. Sterling and Woodford County before moving into the college ranks. Once installed at Transy, he "recruited from within Kentucky, mostly . . . If players were looking at Eastern, Western, Morehead, Murray or any of the other state schools, I went after them." In other words there is plenty in here about Bluegrass preps. I have read enough portions already to recommend it and I will post a link to a full length review when I have finished reading the book in its entirety. The Lane Way is available from Butler Books (no affiliation with them either) -- https://www.butlerbooks.com/the-lane-way.html

Add to that the State Tournament MVP award. Although Perry was statistically dominated by Harlan County's Trent Noah, Perry was the best player on the championship team and his leadership, hustle and control of the game through his ability to dribble with speed and protect the ball combine to make him a worthy recipient in my view. This is no knock on Noah at all. Noah scored roughly 50% more points than Perry (129-88) taking one fewer shot, and made five more three-pointers (19-14) with two fewer attempts. While Perry's shooting was good(42% FG, 39%3FG), Noah's shooting was elite (56% FG, 55%3FG). Perry racked up more assists (19-9), while Noah snared more rebounds (29-9). Noah had a significant edge from the line in both points scored and shooting percentage: Perry (13 points on 81% shooting), Noah (32 points and 88%). Perry had by far his best game in the finals; Noah had by far his best in the quarters, when he scored 48 points in an overtime win. It would have been 50 but Harlan County eschewed an uncontested alley-oop as time expired. Congratulations to Perry on the award and to Lyon County on the championship. -- Brent

Fifty years ago today, on March 16, 1974, the Central Yellowjackets captured their second KHSAA basketball championship, defeating Male 59-54 in the only competitive game they played all tournament. Excluding the final, Central’s average margin of victory in all tournament games was 37.5 points. The championship game capped off a 33-1 season, the lone loss coming at the hands of Bryan Station, 95-82 in the LIT semifinals. Central coach Robert Graves noted that his team played that game short-handed, with star guard Daryl Yarbrough out with a knee injury, defensive ace Carlos Hampton hobbled by a foot injury and five other players sick with the flu. Graves admitted to the Courier Journal’s Bob White, “Maybe Bryan Station would have beaten us anyway, but we weren’t healthy then.” All teams have to deal with injuries and illness, of course, but it seems reasonable to think that if the injuries and flu bug had arrived at another point in the season or if they had not hit quite so many players at the same time, we might very well be observing the anniversary of an undefeated state championship team. Central nearly repeated its state tournament run in 1975, losing only its second game of the year in the state semi-final, a 62-60 defeat at the hands of Henry Clay. The 31-2 state semi-final team in 1975 capped off what could reasonably be characterized as the end of a 50-year dynasty. William Kean became Central’s coach in the Fall of 1922. In his first nine seasons Kean’s Yellowjackets — ineligible to compete by the not yet integrated KHSAA until 1957, and without an alternative post-season tournament to play in — won 182 games against only 13 losses. Two of Kean's teams in that nine-year run were undefeated. An all-Black association, the KHSAL, held its first tournament in 1932. Central won it. The Jackets added four more KHSAL championships, as well as a national Black teams’ tournament title in 1952, before finally being allowed to participate in the KHSAA tournament in 1957. Having lobbied for integration since at least 1953, Kean's first two KHSAA-eligible squads enjoyed tremendous success in 1956-57 (25-2) and 1957-58 (24-3), ending both seasons as the top team in the Litkenhous ratings. The 1958 Yellowjackets drew eventual state champion St. Xavier in the first game of the 25th District tournament, losing by two points in double overtime. It would be Kean's last game. He passed away the following month with a lifetime coaching record of 791-151. Central won the district tournament in each of the two seasons following Kean's death, capturing its first region championship in 1965. Graves took over as head coach the next season. In 1969, Central became the first former KHSAL school to win a KHSAA state basketball championship. The Courier-Journal’s Dave Kindred wrote that Central’s 1969 squad, ranked number one all season, “provoked a rumbling of boos from the nearly 18,000 Freedom Hall patrons with its every appearance.” By any objective measure, the boos did not faze the Jackets in the slightest. Before the final game against Ohio County on March 29, star guard Otto Petty told Kindred, “It doesn’t make any difference if the whole state hollers against us. We have our song. Those nets will be singing.” Sing they did, to the tune of 101 points, a championship game record that still stands. Central would continue to be a state power through the 1981 season and return to the state semi-final game in 1978, but the heights were never quite as high after 1975; Central's first losing season in school history came in 1982 after 70(!) consecutive winning records. Since then it has seen the normal distribution of ups and downs. In wrapping up, here's to the players, coaches and fans of Louisville Central -- congratulations on your achievements through the years. And to the 1969 and 1974 teams particularly, congratulations on the 55th and 50th anniversaries of your state championship seasons. Brent Houk

Folks around here already know all this I would guess, but Barker was a great player too, first team all-state when KY regularly turned out high DI talent. Barker was not high DI, he went to Samford, but on the high school level he was right there with the other first team all staters who did go to a power school: Jerry Eaves (UofL), Vince Taylor (Duke), Charles Hurt (UK), Doug Schloemer (UC), Dirk Minniefield (UK), and Barker's Apollo teammate Jeff Jones (UVA). Apollo was undefeated headed to the Sweet 16 but lost in the first round to 1978 champs Shelby Co. Even playing in a first round loss Barker made the all state tournament team.

That is a good point and I wish I had thought to include it. Part of whether you consider ECHS a Cinderella is whether you think size is an important factor, and if so, how small does the school need to be. ECHS plays 2A football now (same classification as Shelby Valley) and they did in 1976. So if a Cinderella can only come from among the very smallest of schools, no slipper for Edmonson. But 2A is still relatively small and I believe that the proposal under consideration at that time was to divide into two classes, large school and small school and that Edmonson would have fit into the small school class. (If anyone knows where I can track down information about the details of the proposal and the vote that I understand took place in the summer of 1976 please let me know at brent@thebasketballstories.com). Reading the contemporary accounts of the tournament and watching the telecast, EC seems to have been considered by most everybody as a small school at the time the tournament was played. For my money, size of school is a factor, but so is size of expectations. Carr Creek (with about half the enrollment of ECHS) ended up 36-3 the year they won the title and they were the top rated team by Litkenhous entering the 1956 tournament. Cuba was more like a third the size of Edmonson County, but they were ranked number 2 out of the teams that made it to the Sweet 16 in 1952, and were state runner up in 1951. Taking both size and expectations into account, Edmonson County was much more in the Cinderella category than Carr Creek or Cuba. As for Paintsville, they lost in the first round of the 1996 All-A to Harlan. Harlan lost in the second round of the All A to University Heights. Both Harlan and Paintsville made the "all classifications" Sweet 16 that year, and Paintsville of course won it all. To me, it would have been a shame for those teams not to have had the chance to compete at Rupp, and for Paintsville not to have hoisted the big trophy, because they were thought too small to have a chance. If Edmonson County hadn't won in 1976, many think that might have been the result.

The game doesn't seem to be any worse off for alternating possession after the opening tip on held balls and the start of other quarters. Surely better off than when there was a jump ball after every made basket. If this is COVID-related it's laughable. Otherwise it just eliminates a ceremony that has no practical impact on the game.

I know this is an old thread, but I am a new member and this is an interesting question. As with so many things, the answer to this is not completely black and white, but I think the Cinderella characterization is a fair one. On the "Not Cinderella" side of the equation: 1. ECHS was coming off three consecutive district championships under Coach David Denton, who left at the end of the 1974-75 season, perhaps not totally by his own choice. 2. By the time of the Fourth Region tournament ECHS was 20-6, and ranked as the second best team in the region tournament by Litkenhous. They had a good team. But not one, I think, that was capable of beating anyone at any time. On the "Cinderella" side: 1. The preseason coaches' poll pegged them as the fifth best team in the region. 2. They were never ranked in or even near the top 20 all year. 3. They lost in the district final to the team ranked 6th out of the eight teams that made the region tournament (albeit ECHS played the district without one of their starters who was sick with the flu). 4.They beat Franklin-Simpson by one point in the region final with F-S missing three shots in the waning seconds (a jumper off a baseline out of bounds under their own basket and two attempted put backs on offensive rebounds). 5. ECHS had never been to a region final in the school's 16 year history, much less the Sweet 16. 6. Coach Bo Davenport, in his first year at ECHS after having been fired at Grayson County the year before, had never been to a region final in his 26-year career, much less the Sweet 16. (In fact, after winning district championships in his first two years at Clarkson High School, 1950-51 and 1951-52, he never won another district title). 7. The state was stacked with great teams in 1975-76. Defending champion Male was ranked number one in the nation in the preseason Street & Smith guide. Male lost to Ballard in an epic Seventh Region final. Ballard won the state championship in 1977 and is considered one of the best teams in Ky high school history (and arguably the best). The nucleus of that Ballard team was at the Sweet 16 in 1976. Henry Clay, Shawnee and Shelby County fielded teams that would be favorites to win it all in many years. Shelby County did win it all in 1978. 8. The draw fell into place for a dark horse to come out of the upper bracket, which ECHS drew into. a. Going by the Litratings, six of the nine single-digit rated teams were in the lower bracket: (1) Ballard, (2) Henry Clay, (4) Shawnee, (6) Holmes, (8) Ashland, and (9) Christian County, along with number (11) Clay County and (13) Hazard. Christian County emerged from the upper bracket after upsetting Ashland (mildly), Shawnee in the quarters and Henry Clay in the semis. (Henry Clay beat Ballard in the quarters.) So, the only game Christian County was favored to win was championship game. b. ECHS was ranked 14th of the Sweet 16 by Litkenhous. ECHS drew the 15th ranked team (Betsy Layne) in the first round. The top two rated upper bracket teams Shelby County (3) and Apollo (5) played in the first round. ECHS's quadrant was number 7 Harrison County, number 15 Betsy Layne, and number 16 Green County. ECHS's wins were over the 15th, 7th, 3d and 9th rated teams in the tournament. 9. ECHS's semifinal win against Litkenhous number 3 Shelby County ended in controversy, with the clock (seemingly) continuing to run for a second or two after a foul call that put Shelby County at the free throw line down three points. It is an unlikely scenario, but it is certainly possible that Shelby County could have made the first and rebounded and scored on a missed second ala UVA against Purdue on their way to the 2019 NCAA championship. 10. The championship game was an upset. Both semifinals were upsets. The quarterfinal games of the champion and the runner-up were upsets. It was a topsy-turvy tournament and a load of fun to watch. All credit to Edmonson County for making the most of the breaks they got. You don't win the state tournament without playing very well and they did that. All they could do was beat the teams in front of them. But they sure did catch a lot of breaks. I think the shoe fits. And they are widely credited with saving the Sweet 16 as we know it.

What a great post. I spoke last week with Coach Creamer from that Shelby County team and he told me that he received 15 or 20 letters enclosing the goaltending photo from folks in Covington. He didn't say he had it framed though. In any event, he probably deserved an officiating break at the State Tournament. His 1973 team lost in the quarterfinals to Hickman County on a foul call as time expired in a tie game, where the Hickman County player admitted he was never touched. And in 1976, many neutral observers think the clock continued to run for several seconds after a foul call at the end of a 53-52 Edmonson County win over Shelby in the semis. Coach Creamer is quick to admit that those calls wouldn't have necessarily made the difference in the outcome but the same can be said about the impact of the goaltending non-call in the early part of OT in the 1978 championship game. One other note: Doug Schloemer got another tough break at his induction ceremony into the KHS Basketball Hall of Fame. Inductees don't give speeches but the Hall plays a tribute video for each individual. Schloemer was the last inductee to be introduced that year, and a technical malfunction meant that his tribute video didn't run, the only time that has happened since the first class was inducted in 2012. It was an unfortunate mishap that he handled very graciously. Also in his induction class, posthumously -- Charles Hurt.