Top 5 In TN history

[gomab2]

Haha... there wasn't much more for me to say... So many great players have been named so far...

 

I'll name a few off the beaten path names that made an impact on me...

 

-Corrie Johnson, Hardin County... loved watching this 40 ppg scorer who ended up signing with my uncle...

 

-Jacques Curry, Stratford... Watching Curry as a Senior was fun. Curry was a 6'2 2G that could absolutely shoot the lights out. I watched him drop 11 threes against Maplewood in a game on his way to 39 points...

 

-Vincent Rainey, Fairley... While Sly Ford got all of the attention, my favorite player on that team was Rainey. The kid could absolutely sky, and he turned out to be a 20 point a game scorer and All-Conference performer for a few years at Murray State...

 

-David Vaughn, Whites Creek... I went with my dad to see Vaughn play a few times, and was amazed by his combination of size and athleticism. I would have loved to have seen him be a better pro...

 

-Richard and Reginald Delk... ... I know I could be a bit biased on these two, but seeing first hand the things these two have done for the last 3 years has been pure joy. From watching Reginald dominate UNC-signee Marcus Ginyard to watching Richard drain game winning threes from the wing in two consecutive games to finish 6th nationally, these two could have a truly special feel for the game that is not often seen in TN HS hoops...

 

-Marquez Mayben, Northwest... While Marion and Hassell preside in the NBA, I was actually more impressed at the HS level with Mayben, who went on to become the leading scorer at Louisville. Mayben was one of the best pure scorers I have ever seen at the HS level...

 

-Robert O'Kelley, White Station... I liked O'Kelley better than Harris in HS because of the way he shot the ball. It was a joy to watch O'Kelley's pure stroke at WS and then at Wake Forest...

 

-Gerald King, Oakland... In the same class as O'Kelley, Harris, Hunter, Marion, Mayben, etc (best Class in TN history???), King was absolutely amazing for 4 years at Oakland, ending his carreer at the hands of Harris' East at the State Final 4. King had the whole package (6'4, hops, outside shot, D-1 body) and was Big South Conference Freshman of the Year before bouncing around the rest of this college career...

[devil5079]

Ronnie McMahann Mcminn Co!!1

[Guest Oakland]

Haha... there wasn't much more for me to say... So many great players have been named so far...

 

I'll name a few off the beaten path names that made an impact on me...

 

-Corrie Johnson, Hardin County... loved watching this 40 ppg scorer who ended up signing with my uncle...

 

-Jacques Curry, Stratford... Watching Curry as a Senior was fun. Curry was a 6'2 2G that could absolutely shoot the lights out. I watched him drop 11 threes against Maplewood in a game on his way to 39 points...

 

-Vincent Rainey, Fairley... While Sly Ford got all of the attention, my favorite player on that team was Rainey. The kid could absolutely sky, and he turned out to be a 20 point a game scorer and All-Conference performer for a few years at Murray State...

 

-David Vaughn, Whites Creek... I went with my dad to see Vaughn play a few times, and was amazed by his combination of size and athleticism. I would have loved to have seen him be a better pro...

 

-Richard and Reginald Delk... ... I know I could be a bit biased on these two, but seeing first hand the things these two have done for the last 3 years has been pure joy. From watching Reginald dominate UNC-signee Marcus Ginyard to watching Richard drain game winning threes from the wing in two consecutive games to finish 6th nationally, these two could have a truly special feel for the game that is not often seen in TN HS hoops...

 

-Marquez Mayben, Northwest... While Marion and Hassell preside in the NBA, I was actually more impressed at the HS level with Mayben, who went on to become the leading scorer at Louisville. Mayben was one of the best pure scorers I have ever seen at the HS level...

 

-Robert O'Kelley, White Station... I liked O'Kelley better than Harris in HS because of the way he shot the ball. It was a joy to watch O'Kelley's pure stroke at WS and then at Wake Forest...

 

-Gerald King, Oakland... In the same class as O'Kelley, Harris, Hunter, Marion, Mayben, etc (best Class in TN history???), King was absolutely amazing for 4 years at Oakland, ending his carreer at the hands of Harris' East at the State Final 4. King had the whole package (6'4, hops, outside shot, D-1 body) and was Big South Conference Freshman of the Year before bouncing around the rest of this college career...

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thanks for giving gerald some props gomab. it was a privilege to watch him play, just a shame college ball didnt pan out for him. ill never forget that 96 state tournament even though oakland did get eliminated by memphis east

[orangemoundwest]

Wow! A very interesting topic.  Hard to pick just five.  How about this...

 

My "old school" five (before c. 1980):

1.  Albert Ellison (led Linden to 3 state championships before classification)

2.  Bailey Howell (Middleton legend, played for Mississippi State and the great Boston Celtic teams)

3.  Perry Wallace (Pearl state champ, broke color barrier in SEC for Vandy, great player)

4.  John Gunn (Melrose state champ, Memphis State, stricken with fatal cancer much too young)

5.  Mike Rhodes (led Perry County to back-to-back state titles, Vandy 1,000 point scorer, greatest individual performance in TSSAA history versus Knox Catholic in 1977)

 

Old School honorable mentions: Larry Spicer, Memphis North/Baylor; Lee Fowler, Columbia Central/Vandy; Johnny Darden, Springfield/UT; Elston Turner, Knoxville/Ole Miss; Johnny Newman, Memphis?/Ole Miss; Sylvester Gray, Bolton/Memphis State (may have played in early '80's); Cecil Dowell, Bolton/Ole Miss; Anthony "Woosie" Roberts, Chattanooga Riverside/Oral Roberts; Steve Eaton, Chattanooga City/Western Kentucky; Jimmy Braddock, Chattanooga Baylor/UNC

 

My post-1980 top five (not including current h.s. players):

1.  Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway (Memphis legend -- high school, AAU and college, great pro player before knee injuries started taking toll)

2.  David Vaughn (Nashville White's Creek state champ, Memphis State, NBA)

3.  Vincent Yarbrough (Cleveland state champ, UT, NBA, uncanny instincts and talent)

4.  Kirk Haston (Perry County runner-up and state champ; Big Ten player of year for Indiana, NBA)

5.  Lang Wiseman (Bolton four-year starter, outplayed Penny Hardaway in state finals, had good UT career, 4.0 GPA and medical degree)

 

Post-1980 honorable mentions (not including current h.s. players): Shawn Marion, Clarksville?/Austin Peay/NBA; Trenton Hassell, Clarksville?/Austin Peay/NBA; Popeye Jones, Dresden/Murray State/NBA; Todd Day, Whitehaven/Arkansas/NBA;  Marcus Haislip, Marshall County/UT/NBA; Tony Delk, Haywood County/Kentucky/NBA; Malcolm Mackey, Brainerd/Georgia Tech/NBA; Ron Mercer, Goodpasture/Oak Hill Academy/Kentucky/NBA; Orlando Lightfoot, Chattanooga City/Oklahoma/Idaho; Tony Harris, Memphis East/UT; Jovann Johnson, Science Hill; C.J. Black, Brainerd/UT; Fred Jenkins, Columbia Central/UT; Robert O'Kelley, White Station/Wake Forest; Stanley Caldwell, Union City/UT; Carlus Groves, East Robertson/UT; Cannon Whitby, Obion County/Arkansas; David Woodard, East Robertson/JUCO; Trey Pearson, South <a href='http://www.coacht.com/inside/team.cfm?SchoolID=159&SportID=3' target='_blank'>Fulton</a>/Ole Miss/Murray State; Marcus Maybin, Clarksville?/Louisville; Ron Heury, Whitehaven/Memphis State; Jay Price, Brainerd/UT; Jason Holwerda, Chattanooga Christian/Vandy; Seth Skogen, Tennessee Temple/Mercer

 

Now, who did I leave out?  Who doesn't belong on this list?

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SuperSteve, that's a good list. Check out this article written in the Memphis Flyer back in 1987 that will give you some more guys that need a look. Bobby Smith AKA Bingo Smith (Melrose Class of 1965) who is the leading scorer in Cleveland Cavalier History is surely one for the list. Also Larry Finch. Great topic and plenty of deserving hoopers. Also, I was a Pall Bearer for John Gunn. He died of a disease called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

 

Memphis Flyer Article:

 

http://www.memphisflyer.com/MFSearch/full_..._from=3&aID=640

[supersteve17]

SuperSteve,  that's a good list.  Check out this article written in the Memphis Flyer back in 1987 that will give you some more guys that need a look.  Bobby Smith AKA Bingo Smith (Melrose Class of 1965) who is the leading scorer in Cleveland Cavalier History is surely one for the list.  Also Larry Finch. Great topic and plenty of deserving hoopers.  Also, I was a Pall Bearer for John Gunn.  He died of a disease called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

 

Memphis Flyer Article:

 

http://www.memphisflyer.com/MFSearch/full_..._from=3&aID=640

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Thanks for the props. Thanks for the link and the additions to my list. Thanks for correcting me on the cause of Gunn's untimely demise. He really was a hoss, wasn't he? What a great Melrose team that was! Did you play on it? Orange Mound rulz!

[orangemoundwest]

Thanks for the props.  Thanks for the link and the additions to my list.  Thanks for correcting me on the cause of Gunn's untimely demise.  He really was a hoss, wasn't he?  What a great Melrose team that was!  Did you play on it?  Orange Mound rulz!

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Unfortunately I tore the cartilage in my knee during the football season and could not play my Sr. Year. Big John was a monster. He and James Bradley were a nasty combo.

 

A little side note: Daniel Horton, Point Guard Michigan & Jason Horton, Point Guard Missouri, are the sons of the starting small forward on that team (Daryl Horton).

[supersteve17]

Unfortunately I tore the cartilage in my knee during the football season and could not play my Sr. Year.    Big John was a monster.  He and James Bradley were a nasty combo.

 

A little side note:  Daniel Horton, Point Guard Michigan & Jason Horton, Point Guard Missouri, are the sons of the starting small forward on that team (Daryl Horton).

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Where did those boys play high school ball? They weren't in Memphis, were they? Sorry about the knee. I bet it's a great conversation piece with the ladies, though!

[orangemoundwest]

Where did those boys play high school ball?  They weren't in Memphis, were they?  Sorry about the knee.  I bet it's a great conversation piece with the ladies, though!

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Both played for Cedar Hill High School in Cedar Hill Texas which is a suburb of Dallas. Man I really wanted to be on that team. I would have only been a role player but it was a special team and time. It was just one of those things. I might have used the injury a couple of times back in the day

Edited November 18, 2004 by orangemoundwest

[govu]

Would "White Lightning" Keltner also be known as Booger Keltner of UCAR fame?

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Yes indeed, After completing his mission in Vietnam, "White Lightning" was offered a faculty position as a professor at the Annapolis Naval Academy. However, after four years of fighting communism in Southeast Asia next to his brother in arms John Kerry, Lightning turned down the Navy's offer. He accepted an executive position at UCAR in Columbia in the engineering department. He went back to Mt.Joy to marry his high school sweetheart Debbie and they lived happily ever after. But the folks around Mt. Pleasant still talk about the greatest High School Player to ever grace to court at the Old Haylong High. Thank you, Lightning for what you have given the game of basketball and for defending our freedom.

[govu]

Yes indeed, After completing his mission in Vietnam, "White Lightning" was offered a faculty position as a professor at the Annapolis Naval Academy.  However, after four years of fighting communism in Southeast Asia next to his brother in arms John Kerry, Lightning turned down the Navy's offer.  He accepted an executive position at UCAR in Columbia in the engineering department.  He went back to Mt.Joy to marry his high school sweetheart Debbie and they lived happily ever after.  But the folks around Mt. Pleasant still talk about the greatest High School Player to ever grace to court at the Old Haylong High.  Thank you, Lightning for what you have given the game of basketball and for defending our freedom.

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And now the rest of the story. Many longtime fans were delighted to see Larry show back up on the national scene during the recent Presidential election as a member of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. In an exclusive interview with Fox news, Larry told Hannity and Combs of a misty morning in 1968 when he was patrolling the MeKong Delta with his commanding officer Major J.F. Kerry. All at once they heard a distress call from a nearby special forces unit that was marooned on the beach and under heavy fire from "Charlie". Once they arrived on the scene both Al and John fought valiantly as they loaded the wounded and rescued their brothers from ambush. On their last trip to the shore, Al took one in the leg and told Kerry to go on and take the wounded to safety. The valiant Al dug himself into the sand armed only with his M-16 and held off the Vietcong single handedly while Kerry got the wounded to base safely. As the swift boat departed Kerry yelled to Al, "I'll come back for you". But the boat never came back. Al was captured and spent the next 12 months in a POW camp where he shared a cell with future U.S. Senator John McCain. During the long hours spent together between the torture, Al and McCain shared their vision of a better America. Upon returning to the states, Al became a staunch supporter of McCain and the Republican Party. Many believe that his experience may have even influenced the outcome of the recent Presidential election.

[LegendsPRman]

Wow, what an amazing story and admirable person Keltner is. Who would've known that a young man from the small town of Mt. Pleasant would have such an impact on our freedom.

 

I'm not nearly old enough to have seen or even heard about Keltner and Hay Long High School but from what I read he's an amazing athlete and soldier. God bless him for his service to our country.

[HighSchoolStats]

Wow, what an amazing story and admirable person Keltner is.  Who would've known that a young man from the small town of Mt. Pleasant would have such an impact on our freedom.

 

I'm not nearly old enough to have seen or even heard about Keltner and Hay Long High School but from what I read he's an amazing athlete and soldier.  God bless him for his service to our country.

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It almost brings a tear to my eye thinking a basketball legend and war hero like "WHITE LIGHTNING" Keltner would be forgotton by todays younger generation. Great post GOVU.