An honor to remember

By DOUG EADS CJ breeZe Columnist

June 01, 2007 09:58 am

— Last Sunday, May 27, 2007, will be a day that will always hold a special place in my heart.
That was the day when I received an honor — an honor that will go down as one of the most special ones that I will ever receive as a journalist, no matter where my career may take me from here.
Last Sunday, I was one of 15 people that was inducted into the 2007 Class of the 12th Regional Basketball Hall of Fame — a very high honor that I will always cherish.
I went into the Hall of Fame as a contributor last Sunday, for 21 years of covering 12th Regional basketball as a sports writer in Somerset, covering Pulaski County, Somerset, and Southwestern, and all the schools throughout the 12th Region.
When I think of all of the great coaches and players I’ve covered over the past 21 years, I truly am humbled to be thought of so highly by the coaches and schools throughout the 12th Region.
When I first began writing sports in the fall of 1986, I had the privilege of meeting and covering many great basketball coaches back then — guys like Dave Fraley of Pulaski County High School, Kirk Chiles and Bob Tucker from Somerset, Rodney Woods from Wayne County, South Laurel’s Steve Wright, Jack Stanford of Casey County, Wade Upchurch from Monticello, along with some other great coaches like Roscoe Denney, Darry Burkett, and Spencer Tatum.
Fast forward to today, and there have been plenty of other great coaches that, I not only consider as good friends, but they are all guys that are as good as it comes when it comes to coaching the game of basketball. I would do anything in my power to help each and every one of these coaches, because after all, they’ve always been there to help me with any story idea I have ever approached them about, and they have always made my job so much easier than it really had to be. And, they have made the last few years an enjoyable experience indeed.
I want to take this time to recognize each and every one of these coaches, and tell them how much I appreciate them.
I’m talking about guys like Shawn Thacker at Somerset, Dave Schulz from Southwestern, Mark Flynn at Pulaski County, Boyle County’s Ronnie Bottoms, Rockcastle County’s Benny Blanton, Perry Walters from Casey County, and McCreary Central’s Robert Jones.
All of these coaches are Hall of Famers in my book, not only as coaches, but as people first and foremost, because they each and everyone epitomize the word class, both on and off the court.
And, they have each gone out of their way to make my job easier. Whether it was a roster that I need, a quote about a game they just played, or anything else, these guys have always went out of their way to accommodate any request that I have ever asked of them.
Also, where would I be today as a sports writer without, you guessed it, the great basketball players that I have had the honor of covering over the years just from this community alone?
This list is like a who’s who in the 12th Region, if you go back to my 21 years as a sports writer.
Shannon Fraley, Jeff Pierce, Chris Fitzgerald, Brad Gover, Jamie Cromer, Brent Peterson, Stephen Wilson, Ryan Tucker, Kiki Nazario, Shannon Smith, Josh Anderson, David Cooper, Monte’ Calloway, Jordan Mann, Derek Smith, Nathan Bray, Isaiah Super, Brandon Cross, Brandon Wilson, Casey Dalton, John Perkins, Jonathan Edwards, and the list goes on and on and on.
It’s players and people like the above that have made the past 21 years as a sports writer very enjoyable to say the least.
When I think of all the great players and coaches that I have had the privilege of watching over the years, I truly am humbled to be in the 12th Regional Basketball Hall of Fame.
I grew up in Windsor, Kentucky, in the southern most part of Casey County.
In the mid-’70’s, I can remember a skinny kid in elementary school being taken by my dad to Liberty on Friday nights, to see the Rebels and their big three, Randy Salyers, Chris Hogue, and Mike Mann play the game of basketball the way it was meant to be played.
That trio led my beloved Rebels to the 12th Regional championship game in back to back years, in 1976 and 1977, but they fell both times in the finals — losing in ’76 to Tim Stephens and McCreary County, and again in ’77 to Laurel County.
Those three guys and that Casey County team will probably always been my favorite one of all-time, because of how hard those guys played, and how well they played together as a cohesive unit.
When that group lost to Stephens and McCreary County in the ’76 finals at PC, I can remember sitting in the stands and crying after the game, because all of those guys had treated me like their little brother for the entire season.
Those childhood memories and my career as a sports writer are just a glimpse into how much I love 12th Region basketball.
Again, when I think of all the great players and coaches that have came through our region, and to make the Hall of Fame, it truly is the biggest honor that I will ever receive in my lifetime — I have no doubt about that.
I don’t feel worthy at all, and that’s the truth.
However, I am forever grateful and now, my name will live on forever in the 12th Regional Basketball Hall of Fame.
What an honor! I’m certainly in some great company.