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Lombard, Johnson, Young join PSHOF
Three of the five coaches and athletes who were inducted into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame June 13, 2021, were selected for their success in basketball.
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Joe Lombard, Rayford Young and the late Noel Johnson and were inducted into the PSHOF at the Amarillo Civic Center Grand Plaza along with a football player and a track and field star in a ceremony moved from the traditional February to June because of COVID-19. Plans are for future ceremonies to take place in June each year in order to coincide with school years rather than calendar years.
Lombard, who retired after the 2019-20 basketball season, coached Nazareth and Canyon girls teams to 19 state championships in 42 years – six titles for the Swiftettes and 13 for the Lady Eagles. His 1,379-133 record gave him a 91.2% winning percentage. His teams won 1,000 games before losing 100.
In addition, Lombard’s cross country teams won two state championships at Nazareth and five at Canyon. And his wife, Babs, won a state title as basketball coach at Hale Center.
Noel Johnson won two state championships in 1990 and 1991 as a player at Nazareth, a national championship as Texas Tech’s starting point guard in 1993 and won more games in 12 years as Midwestern State’s head coach than any other in the school’s history. Johnson died this June at age 47.
Rayford Young was a star at Pampa and Texas Tech. He led the Harvesters to the state title in 1996 and averaged 14.1 points a game for the Red Raiders from 1996 to 2000, including a 17.8-point average as a senior. His son, Trae Young, was a prolific scorer for Oklahoma and now plays for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Also inducted June 13 were Steve Garmon, an outstanding football player at Groom and TCU, and Sharon Moultrie-Bruner of Pampa, the first Texas Tech woman to earn All-American honors during her track career from 1979 to 1982 and the first AfricanAmerican woman to be selected as Tech’s homecoming queen.
Athletes and coaches of the year were honored for two seasons as a result of the overlap caused by moving the ceremony from February to June. Honored as basketball athlete of the year for 2020 was Qua Grant of West Texas A&M University. The 2021 honorees were Joel Murray of WT and Allie Schulte of Lubbock Christian University.
Five coaches were recognized as coaches of the year after their teams won state high school championships: Eric Schilling of the Nazareth girls and Shannon Fisher of the Gruver girls for 2020 and Tate Lombard of the Canyon girls, Boston Hudson of the Clarendon boys and Coby Beckner of the Texline boys for 2021.
The late Noel Johnson’s photo was projected on a screen at the annual Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame ceremony June 13, 2021, in the Grand Plaza of the Amarillo Civic Center. She was one of five inductees into the PSHOF and one of three basketball players or coaches among the five. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
Marsha Sharp, former Texas Tech Lady Raider coach, and Joe Lombard, recently retired girls coach at Canyon and Nazareth, enjoy the program during the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame ceremony June 13, 2021. Sharp spoke in recognition of her former player, Noel Johnson, who died of cancer in June 2020, and Lombard was inducted into the PSHOF after retiring in April 2020. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
Retired Coach Robert Hale attended the 2021 Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame ceremony in support of Rayford Young, his former player who helped Hale’s Pampa Harvesters to the 1996 state basketball championship. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
On stage in the Grand Plaza of the Amarillo Civic Center June 13 are Rayford Young, left, a 2021 inductee into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame and a former Pampa and Texas Tech basketball star; Sharon Moultrie-Bruner, a 2021 inductee and former Pampa and Texas Tech track and field standout; Nick Johnson, brother of the late Noel Johnson, a 2021 inductee and former basketball player at Kelton, Pampa and Texas Tech and a winning coach at Midwestern State; Marsha Sharp, coach of the 1993 national champion Texas Tech Lady Raiders, who spoke for Noel Johnson; and Joe Lombard, a 2021 inductee who coached 19 Nazareth and Canyon girls teams to state basketball titles. Current Texas Tech coach Krista Gerlich also attended in support of her former teammate at Tech, Noel Johnson. The fifth 2021 inductee was Steve Garmon, an outstanding football player at Groom and TCU, who couldn’t attend the event but gave a video acceptance. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
Joe Lombard, left, and Rayford Young congratulate each other at the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame ceremony June 13 in the Grand Plaza of the Amarillo Civic Center. Both were 2021 PSHOF inductees – Lombard as a basketball coach and Young as a basketball player. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
Marsha Sharp speaks at the 2021 Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame ceremony in the place of Noel Johnson, who was being inducted into the PSHOF after she died in 2020 at age 47. Sharp was Johnson’s coach when the Texas Tech Lady Raiders won the 1993 NCAA championship. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
2021-2022 Panhandle-Plains Basketball
Area 2021 TABC awards
Six area high school players were named Players of the Year in 2021 by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. In UIL competition, Chloe Callahan of Canyon was the girls Class 4A Player of the Year, Gabi Fields of Brownfield was the girls Class 3A Player of the Year, Donovan Thompson of Clarendon was the boys Class 2A Player of the Year and William Luther of Texline was the boys Class 1A Player of the Year. In TAPPS competition, Brooke Hooten of Lubbock Christian High was the girls medium private school (Class 4A) Player of the Year and Natalie Sadler of Lubbock Southcrest was the girls small private school (Class 2A) Player of the Year.
All six of the players’ teams won 2021 state championships, and their coaches – Tate Lombard of Canyon, Michelle Wyatt of Brownfield, Boston Hudson of Clarendon, Coby Beckner of Texline, Brad Crow of Lubbock Christian High and Clay Stout of Lubbock Southcrest – received TABC Coach of the Year awards in their classifications.
Sicily Sumrall of Class 2A Wellington received the Tyrone A. Johnson Memorial Scholarship.
The Dean Weese Outstanding Coach Award went to Greg Bowman of Childress in Class 3A, and Jeff Gonzales of Plainview Christian won the Weese Award for TAPPS small private schools. Brian Legan of Class 2A Sundown was a finalist for the Weese Award.
The Don Coleman Outstanding Coach Award went to Ryan Bleiker of Jayton in Class 1A. Jay Lusk of Class 3A Shallowater was a finalist for the Coleman Award.
TABC boys Assistant Coach of the Year finalists were Trevor Johnson of Randall, Rody Crim of Childress and Keith Mauldin of Gruver. (Continued on next page) Basketball News 45
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At the small college level, Lubbock Christian University dominated the awards. Allie Schulte of the national champion Lady Chaps was the Women’s Small College Player of the Year, Parker Hicks of the Chaparrals was the Men’s Small College Player of the Year, Steve Gomez was the Women’s Small College Coach of the Year and Todd Duncan was the Men’s Small College Coach of the Year. In addition, Vic Self was the Women’s Small College Assistant Coach of the Year. Mark Adams knows basketball, the region
Because of Mark Adams’ extensive history in the South Plains and Texas Panhandle region, his entire coaching biography is presented here courtesy of texastech.com:
A West Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who has earned 554 wins as a head coach, Mark Adams has been named the 18th men’s basketball head coach in program history Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt announced on April 6, 2021.
An assistant and associate head coach within the program over the past five seasons, Adams has won at every level where he has recorded a 554-244 career record over his 23 seasons as a head coach. His list of accomplishments over the past five years includes helping the program to 112 wins, making three straight NCAA Tournaments for the first time in history, winning the 2019 Big 12 regular-season championship and advancing to the 2018 Elite 8 and 2019 NCAA National Championship final.
“It’s a great opportunity that I’ve looked forward to my whole life,” Adams said. “To lead this program is a great honor. I just want to make a difference and make everyone proud. We are going to do everything we can to win big and compete every day. To be the head coach of this program has been a dream of mine my entire life.”
A 1979 graduate of Texas Tech and Brownfield, Texas native who led Howard College to the 2010 NJCAA National Championship, Adams has extensive head coaching experience on his resume. His head coaching success includes Clarendon
New Texas Tech head basketball coach Mark Adams shows he’s all about action as he catches a pass before the Tech spring football game in April. (Photo courtesy Texas Tech Athletics)
College (1981-82), Wayland Baptist (1983-87), West Texas A&M (1987-92), Texas Pan-American now Texas Rio Grande Valley (1992-97) and Howard College (2004-13). He was inducted into the Wayland Baptist Hall of Honor in September 2017 and to the NJCAA Men’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2020. He spent the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons as Tech’s Director of Basketball Operations before returning for the 2016-17 season as the lead assistant and being promoted to associate head coach in 2019.
“It is an exciting day for Texas Tech University, our basketball program and the Red Raider Nation,” Hocutt said. “Coach Adams’ experience, pride and commitment to this program and university make him the ideal leader to continue our journey to get back to Monday night of the NCAA Tournament Championship.”
Widely regarded as one of the best defensive coaches at any level of basketball, Adams led Tech to the nation’s top defensive efficiency rating during the run to the 2019 NCAA National Championship Final and leading the Big 12 by limiting opponents to only 63.2 points per game last season. The Red Raiders, who won the 2019 Big 12 Conference regular-season championship for the first time program history, were second in the country by holding teams to 37.0 percent shooting, third by limiting the opposition to 59.5 points per game and led the Big 12 with opponents only shooting 29.8 percent on 3-pointers during the run to the Final Four and the National Runner-Up finish. Tech was coming off a banner season in 2017-18 on the defensive end where it limited their opponents to 64.8 points per game and a 40.1 shooting percentage to pace the Big 12 conference in 201718. Both marks were ranked inside the NCAA’s Top 20, and it marked the first time in program history that Texas Tech ended the season as the Big 12 leader in both defensive categories.
The Red Raiders have held the opposition to 60 or less points on 59 occasions over the past five seasons with Adams as an assistant coach. Tech held four opponents in the 2019 NCAA Tournament to under 60 points, including earning a 63-44 win over Michigan in the Sweet 16 and then a 61-51 win over Michigan State in the Final Four. The 2020-21 team limited 13 opponents
Mark Adams displays a Guns Up sign after being introduced April 7 as Texas Tech’s head basketball coach. (Photo courtesy Texas Tech Athletics)
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under 60 and finished at No. 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency, including securing a 65-53 win over Utah State in the NCAA Tournament first round. As an assistant, Adams is now 9-3 in the NCAA Tournament at Tech and 10-4 overall.
The Red Raiders finished the 2017-18 season with a 27-10 record, the program’s first NCAA Elite Eight appearance and a program-best No. 6 final ranking in the USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll. Texas Tech also captured a program-best second place finish in the Big 12 regular season and set a program single season mark with 11 Big 12 victories before it was broke the next season.
Adams served as an assistant coach on Chris Beard’s Little Rock staff during the 2015-16 season. The Trojans started a historic campaign with 10 straight wins and finished with a 30-5 mark. Little Rock claimed the Sun Belt regular season and tournament titles, and the Trojans knocked off No. 12-ranked and fifth-seeded Purdue by an 85-83 margin in double overtime at the NCAA Tournament. The 15-game improvement for Little Rock was tied for the NCAA’s top spot in 2015-16.
The Trojans were one of the nation’s top defensive units and paced the Sun Belt conference in points per game (60.8), field goal percentage defense (39.5) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.1). All three marks were among the NCAA’s Top 30 fueled by 60.8 points per game which was fourth.
Adams led Howard College located in Big Spring, Texas to the 2010 NJCAA National Championship and was named the NJCAA’s National Coach of the Year. The team was led by current Utah Jazz forward and NJCAA Player of the Year Jae Crowder who averaged 18.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.4 steals under Adams in 2009-10. Crowder posted a career-high 14.2 points per game with the Boston Celtics in 2015-16.
Adams recorded 233 victories with the Hawks from 200413 and advanced to the NJCAA Regional Tournament in nine consecutive seasons. The 2006 team racked up a program singleseason record 36 wins, and Charles Burgess tucked away the NJCAA Player of the Year award. Adams led his teams to three conference championships and six trips to the regional finals over his nine-year run.
Overall, Adams guided his teams to 14 postseason appearances and a .700 postseason winning percentage as a head coach and reached the national tournament of each school’s respective classification eight times (three NJCAA, two NCAA Division II and three NAIA). Wayland Baptist secured a spot in the 1985 NAIA National Final.
Adams has earned 15 Coach of the Year honors during his tenure as a head coach. He also has captured six region, conference or district Coach of the Year honors over his career.
He and his wife, Jennifer, are the parents of two children: Luke and Abbie. Luke was a four-year letterwinner on Tech’s basketball team from 2012-15 and is the men’s basketball head coach at New Mexico Junior College. His daughter Abbie also is a Texas Tech graduate and is working as a speech-language pathologist.
Mark Adams’ Coaching Experience
Seasons, School, Position
1981-82, Clarendon College, Head Coach 1983-87, Wayland Baptist, Head Coach 1987-92, West Texas A&M, Head Coach 1992-97, Texas-Pan American, Head Coach 2004-13, Howard College, Head Coach 2013-15, Texas Tech, Director of Basketball Operations 2015-16, Little Rock, Assistant Coach 2016-2021, Texas Tech, Associate Head Coach 2021-present, Texas Tech, Head Coach
Hausen to Villanova
Amarillo High star Brendan Hausen will head to Philadelphia after graduation in 2022. He committed on Sept. 27 to play basketball at Villanova University.
Entering his senior season, Hausen already is the Sandies’ all-time leading scorer despite a COVID-shortened season his sophomore year. He averaged 17.6 points as a junior along with 3.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists per Brendan Hausen game as Amarillo High reached the Class 5A state semifinals, where they fell to Dallas Kimball, 60-56, in overtime. Coach Jason Pillion’s team finished 24-4.
Hausen has been a member of the Panhandle-Plains Basketball Super Team his sophomore, junior and senior years.
He is the son of Benji Hausen, an AHS assistant coach who took the McLean girls to the Class 1A state title game in 2010, and Stefanie Andrus Hausen, who played basketball at the University of Texas and was on two AHS state championship teams in 1993 and 1994. His brother, Braden Hausen, is a 6-6 Sandie sophomore. His sister, Bennett, is in the sixth grade. The 6-4 Brendan Hausen announced Villanova as his choice after taking an official visit to the school Sept. 15-17. He is ranked as a four-star recruit and according to 247Sports.com, is the No. 11 shooting guard and No. 95 prospect in the nation. He picked the Wildcats over Oregon, Oklahoma, Arizona State, Texas Tech and Nevada. He had 23 college offers, according to The Villanovan student newspaper, and was the second player to sign with Villanova’s 2022 class.
Wildcat Coach Jay Wright scouted Hausen in Amarillo. ”He came in here and was wild with how I led my team and how selfless I was doing these little things that sometimes takes guys three years to learn at Villanova,” Hausen told Larissa Liska
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of KFDA-TV. “He said that I looked ready to go and I should fall right into place at Villanova.”
First, Hausen’s goals include a District 3-5A championship and a state championship, according to Kooper Holman of the AHS student newspaper, The Sandstorm. For now, he’s committed to his teammates.
“It is a brotherhood for sure, a different bond than any other team I have ever been a part of,” Hausen told Holman. “It goes along with how great the culture has been over the years Coach Pillion has built.”
Lance Lahnert, right, interviews thenMcLean girls coach Benji Hausen after McLean’s regional playoff win over Lorenzo in 2010 at Levelland. The young guy watching is Hausen’s son, Brendan. The dad now is an assistant coach at Amarillo High, and the son has committed to play basketball at Vanderbilt after becoming AHS’s all-time leading scorer. (Photo by Mike Haynes)
Baptist Bears win title
Baylor’s 86-70 victory over Gonzaga in April 2021 was the first time a Baptist school had won the NCAA Division 1 men’s basketball national championship, Paul Putz pointed out in a story for Christianity Today magazine.
Putz is a staff member of the Faith and Sports Institute at Baylor. He said after the big win, fans “chimed in on Twitter with churchy quips, saying the team played ‘like there’s a potluck after’ and joking about a Baptist team being able to go to ‘the big dance.’” The historican wrote that Catholic schools have won the NCAA tournament 10 times since it began in 1939 while Protestant schools have won four, and that’s if you count Duke, which began as a Methodist school.
On the women’s side, Protestant schools have a 3-2 edge over the Catholics in championships, with Baylor winning all three of the Protestant titles.
Linda Livingstone, Baylor’s president, played basketball in 1978 for Oklahoma State and is ranked in the OSU record book for field goal percentage in a season and career.
Putz didn’t forget the winningest Baptist school, Wayland, located in Plainview:
“…the Baylor women are not the first Baptist school in Texas to dominate the sport. Back in the 1950s, the famed Flying Queens of Wayland Baptist established a dynasty that few have matched before or since. Playing before Title IX opened up opportunities for women to play organized competitive college sports, the Wayland Baptist women competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), a collection of semiprofessional teams and colleges. From 1953 until 1958 they reeled off 131 consecutive wins.”
Baylor also played in the NCAA championship game in 1948, and Putz said a key player was Robert “Jack” Robinson, who preached at revivals while at Baylor. Robinson later became a Baptist minister. He played on the 1948 Olympic team, which won gold in London. When the Fellowship of Christian Athletes began in 1955, Robinson was one of six ex-athletes on FCA’s first advisory board.
Putz wrote that Baylor head coach Scott Drew’s father, Homer Crew, also was a longtime FCA supporter and coached at two Christian colleges, Bethel and Valparaiso. Scott Drew “told Sports Spectrum that he enjoys the freedom he has at Baylor to publicly share his Christian faith and incorporate Christian ideas and practices into the program,” Putz wrote.
And while some supposedly Christian schools show little of their faith-based origins, Baylor’s Bears made it clear with their “culture of JOY” theme. “The JOY acronym stands for ‘Jesus, Others, Yourself,’” Putz wrote, “and is a variation of the popular ‘I Am Third’ slogan used by numerous Christian coaches. But the word ‘joy’ also operates on its own, symbolizing the mutual delight and celebration with which the team plays.”
Luke Siegel inspired families nationwide
Luke Siegel, the 15-year-old Lubbock boy whose fight for survival after a 2015 golf cart accident when he was 9 inspired people across the nation, died Aug. 19 from complications of COVID-19. A celebration of life service took place Aug. 28 at Texas Tech’s United Supermarkets Arena.
Luke was the son of Jenny Siegel and Tim Siegel, a former Texas Tech and Lubbock Cooper tennis coach, who started the Team Luke nonprofit organization to advocate for golf cart safety and help families dealing with child brain injuries. Team Luke, based in Lubbock, merged in 2018 with an Austin charity to become Team Luke Hope For Minds. Through the organization, Luke’s story has been told to a national audience through ESPN and others, giving inspiration for other families in similar circumstances. In 2021 alone, Team Luke Hope for Minds has supported 95 families and granted more than $350,000 to children in need.
Luke suffered a traumatic brain injury in the accident in July 2015. Not guaranteed to survive, he continued to fight through the next six years, beating the odds one time after another in his recovery. He spent 45 days in the ICU and had multiple surgeries and procedures. He then spent four months in a rehab facility. This August, he was hospitalized with pneumonia after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
Texas Tech Athletics established the Luke Siegel Fund that will be allocated to the Red Raider men’s tennis and baseball programs – two of Luke’s favorite sports – each year and to a scholarship in his memory. Tech also is honoring Luke at the McLeod Tennis Center and at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.
“Luke Siegel left a lasting legacy that not only inspired this community but those across the country,” Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt said. “While we mourn his passing, we cherish the lessons Luke taught us on love, faith and most importantly, strength. His memory will not soon be forgotten, and we will continue to honor Luke for many years to come.”
The Texas Tech and Lubbock Christian basketball teams were among many that took notice of Luke’s situation, sending him prayers and good wishes among other acts of kindness. Before some Tech men’s games, the Red Raiders each touched Luke’s hand as he sat in his wheelchair and they proceeded to the court.
Don Williams and Adam D. Young listed in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal some of the athletes and coaches who responded compassionately to Luke’s story, including New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and basketball broadcaster Dick Vitale, who both visited Lubbock for fundraising events. Others were tennis stars Roger Federer and Andre Agassi, baseball pro Elvis Andrus, former NFL quarterback Jim Kelly – whose own son, Hunter, died at age 8 of globoid-cell leukodystrophy and who began an organization to fight that disease – and former Tech quarterback and coach and current Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Tim Siegel was a child in New Orleans and had taken Luke to Saints games. When Brees heard of Luke’s plight, he invited the Siegels to New Orleans. The All-Pro also spent time with the family in Lubbock and wrote the foreword for Tim Siegel’s 2019 book, “It’s In God’s Hands.”
Former Tech quarterback and Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has worn a Team Luke Hope for Minds wristband during games, including the 2020 Super Bowl that the Chiefs won. A Kansas City television station, Fox4, reported on Luke’s death and his involvement with Mahomes.
After Luke’s death, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association wrote, “The college tennis community mourns the passing of Luke Siegel. He will remain a light of hope and an inspiration for many.”
Following is Luke’s obituary:
Luke Robert Siegel was born on April 18, 2006, in Lubbock, Texas, to Tim and Jenny Siegel. Luke passed away Thursday, August 19, 2021, at the age of 15, following a brief illness, with family by his side. Luke loved being with his friends, playing baseball, everything Texas Tech, playing catch with his dad, and watching the New Orleans Saints.
Luke’s life changed on July 28, 2015, when he sustained a severe brain injury at the age of nine. For the past six years, he continued to fight. He underwent several surgeries and daily therapies. His family strived to give him the best life by including him in every aspect of their lives, including taking him to Saints games, Texas Tech football and basketball games, and Lubbock Cooper volleyball games to watch his sisters compete. He went on daily walks with his faithful companions by his side. Luke was the youngest member to be initiated into the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity.
Luke is survived by his parents and sisters Alex Dragich, her husband Matt, Kate Siegel, and Ellie Siegel, all of Lubbock. He is survived by three very special nephews: Tommy, Cal, and Miles; grandparents Robert and Gloria Siegel of Kenner, Louisiana; Jerry and Sue Swetnam of Lubbock; Jody Barrett of Austin; and great-grandmother Glenda Barrett of Cotton Center. He was preceded in death by his “Gammy,” Lindy Swetnam, and grandfather, Donald Barrett.
Luke taught us all the true meaning of never giving up. He was the greatest fighter and helped us all to put one foot in front of the other.
The family would like to extend a great deal of gratitude to all of those who cared for and treated Luke over the past six years. Special thanks to his three loving nurses: Astrid, Cindy, and Melissa.
The family of Luke Siegel celebrated his life at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 28, 2021, at the United Spirit Arena. His family host a time of fellowship and remembrance from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, August 27, 2021, at Lake Ridge Chapel and Memorial Designers.
Luke Siegel
“If someone tells a boring joke and no one laughs at it, you could laugh at it.” ~ Luke
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This photo from KFDA-TV in Amarillo shows a candlelight vigil at Pampa’s Harvester Field on Oct. 20 after two White Deer middle school students and a Pampa middle school student were killed in an Oct. 18 automobile accident. Another Pampa student was seriously injured.
Panhandle supports White Deer, Pampa
It happened in football season, not basketball, but communities around the Texas Panhandle confirmed their connection when three area young people were killed and another was injured in an early-morning automobile accident Oct. 18.
Aydan Mooney, 12, and Kooper Preston, 13, both of White Deer, and Luis Nevarez, 13, of Pampa did not survive the rollover of a pickup truck near White Deer around 2:15 a.m. that Monday, and Laykon Fuqua 13, of Pampa suffered serious injuries, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The response on social media and at schools and towns across the region was immediate, with observances at football games the following weekend and events such as a candlelight vigil at Pampa’s Harvester Field. Fundraisers for the families were started in the days after the accident.
As emcee Jon Mark Beilue says each year at the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame ceremony, Panhandle people compete vigorously against each other in sports but come together against outside opponents and especially in times of tragedy.
Girls rule, book says
On Facebook March 6, 2021, Dr. Rickey Harman posted some facts that helped put the girls state basketball tournament in perspective.
Harman pointed out that Nazareth, Brownfield and Canyon were representing the Panhandle/South Plains region in San Antonio in 2021 and that such representation wasn’t unusual. According to his 2020 book, Where Girls’ Basketball Rules: The Panhandle and South Plains of Texas, the region has dominated UIL girls state tournaments since 1951:
“This part of the state with 9% of the schools has won nearly 40% of the state championships.
“This part of the state has played in nearly 60% of the state championship games.
“Every year since 1951 there has been at least one Panhandle/ South Plains team playing in a state championship game.
“Only in 5 tournaments (1956, 1960, 1973, 1975, and 2006) did a Panhandle/South Plains team not win a state championship.
“In 1987 and 1991 this part of the state won all 5 state championship games.”
Nazareth, seeking its 25th state title, fell in the 2021 finals to undefeated Dodd City. The Swiftettes’ 24 championships still is the state record. Canyon and Brownfield did prevail, with Canyon taking its 20th title, second in the state to Nazareth, and Brownfield winning its second championship. The first was in 1988, during Sheryl Swoopes’ time with the Lady Cubs. Harman listed some other area teams with multiple girls titles, including Levelland with seven, Abernathy, Claude and Sudan with six each, Slaton with five and Amarillo High, Plainview and Spearman with four each. He also noted that Lubbock Cooper lost in overtime in the 2021 state semifinals and that Panhandle lost by 5 in the state semifinals.
Where Girls’ Basketball Rules is available for $16.95 at amazon.com. Its author graduated from Happy High School in 1964. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from West Texas State University and his doctor of education degree from Texas Tech University.
Cheerleaders from Claude and McLean joined in support of the White Deer and Pampa communities at an Oct. 22 football game after two White Deer students and a Pampa student were killed in an automobile accident and another Pampa student was injured. The cheerleaders from both schools wore “#WDSTRONG” T-shirts. Schools all over the region offered similar support.
The Memphis Grizzlies announced Aug. 25 that the team acquired guard Jarrett Culver and forward Juancho Hernangomez from the Minnesota Timberwolves for guard Patrick Beverley. In addition, the Grizzlies waived wing Sean McDermott.
Culver (6-6, 195) appeared in 97 games with 42 starts for the Timberwolves and averaged 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 20.7 minutes in two seasons with Minnesota. The 22-year-old graduate of Lubbock Coronado was selected by Phoenix with the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft after helping Texas Tech to the 2019 NCAA championship game as a sophomore.
Hernangomez (6-9, 214) has appeared in 257 games (57 starts) and has career averages of 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds in 16.4 minutes over his five-year NBA career with Denver and Minnesota. A native of Madrid, Spain, the 25-year-old was drafted by Denver with the 15th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Beverley (6-1, 180) has appeared in 468 games (384 starts) and holds career averages of 8.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.14 steals in 27.6 minutes in his nine-year NBA career with Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers. The 33-year-old Chicago native was acquired by Memphis from the Los Angeles Clippers via trade on Aug. 16.
McDermott (6-6, 195) appeared in 18 games off the bench for the Grizzlies as a rookie last season and averaged 2.2 points and 1.1 rebounds in 8.8 minutes. Undrafted in the 2020 NBA Draft out of Butler University, the 24-year-old native of Anderson, Ind., also competed in six games for the NBA G League’s Memphis Hustle.
Story from the Memphis Grizzlies
Jarrett Culver
NJCAA honors Swoopes
Sheryl Swoopes, who was a star at Brownfield, South Plains College, Texas Tech, the U.S. Olympic team and the WNBA, added another accolade to her resume as she was inducted into the inaugural National Junior College Athletic Association Foundation Hall of Fame.
A two-time All-American and all-region selection for the South Plains Lady Texans during her two years in Levelland, Swoopes tallied 1,381
Sheryl Swoopes drives toward the basket for South Plains College three decades ago. (Photo courtesy SPC Sports Information)
points (25.6 ppg), was named the National Junior College Player of the year in 1991 and still holds eight school records. During the 1989-1990 season, she led South Plains to a 27-9 record and a sixth-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament while earning all-tournament honors.
Following her time at SPC, Swoopes played at Texas Tech under Hall of Fame coach Marsha Sharp. Swoopes continued her success for the Lady Raiders, leading them to their first-ever NCAA National Championship in 1993. She scored 47 points in Tech’s national title win over Ohio State.
Swoopes was named the consensus National Player of the Year after averaging 28.1 points a game. She went on to set 30 NCAA women’s basketball records, including four Final Four records and four NCAA championship records.
Following her illustrious career in Lubbock, Swoopes moved on to play for the Houston Comets of the WNBA. She was named most valuable player three times, was a two-time scoring champion and a six-time all-star and led the Comets to four WNBA championships.
Swoopes also won three Olympic gold medals with the USA national team – in Atlanta in 1996, in Sydney in 2000 and in Athens in 2004. She was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. (Story by SPC Sports Information)
Book more than a bio
More Than A Coach, the book on which legendary former Canyon and Nazareth coach Joe Lombard collaborated with former Amarillo Globe-News sports editor and columnist Jon Mark Beilue, went on sale in the summer of 2021.
The book is an autobiography of Lombard from his time growing up in Indiana to relocating to Texas to play basketball at Wayland Baptist to coaching at Nazareth and Canyon to his retirement in April 2020 at age 67. But it also includes coaching insight, advice, philosophy and Christian faith aimed at general readers and some specifically for coaches.
Each chapter is followed by a “Timeout With Joe,” which offer guidance from offensive and defensive sets – complete with court diagrams – to a “Timeout” outlining his faith journey. A “Timeout With Babs” shows how vital the influence of his wife, Babs Lombard, has been. She gave up her own coaching job – after winning a state championship at Hale Center – to focus on their children and also to serve as Joe’s statistician, team counselor and basketball adviser.
Lombard, whose basketball teams won 19 Texas state championships while piling up a 1,379-133 record – a 91.2 percent winning percentage – has been inducted into multiple halls of fame, including the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2016 and in the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 2021. Beilue called him “– “the greatest high school girls basketball coach there ever was – and ever will be.”
In the 2020-21 season, Lombard served as a volunteer assistant
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(Continued from previous page) to his successor at Canyon, his son Tate Lombard. The son got the official credit for the Lady Eagles’ 2021 state championship.
More than once, the book mentions a statement that stuck in Lombard’s mind.
“Billy Graham has said that coaches will influence more people in one year than most will in a lifetime,” he says. “I don’t take that for granted, and it became a top priority. I feel we are chosen. This is our purpose. This is our passion and our gift. We are planters of seeds for young people.”
In More Than A Coach, Lombard summarizes his journey: “…there’s my youth growing up in basketball-crazy Indiana, the leap of faith to come to Texas, the courage to change careers, the importance of family, and the sustaining faith I have in Jesus Christ.”
To order a copy locally, call 806-681-1264. Donations of any amount will be accepted that go to the Tatum Tough Foundation, a local nonprofit organization to benefit families of childhood cancer. Books can be ordered for $25 at amazon.com.
Cooper leaves Wayland job for Red Raiders
Like new Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams, Rick Cooper has been the top man for the West Texas A&M Buffaloes and the Wayland Baptist Pioneers. Now Cooper is on Adams’ Red Raider staff as the men’s basketball chief of staff.
Cooper had been working as the Wayland athletic director since 2014 following an illustrious coaching career where he earned 546 victories as the head coach at WTAMU and WBU. He is the all-time winningest coach in both programs’ histories, racking up a Rick Cooper 152-47 record at Wayland before going 394-195 leading WT. As an administrator at Wayland, Cooper was named the 2017-18 Sooner Athletic Conference Athletics Director of the Year.
“I’m thrilled to be a piece of something special that coach Adams is putting together here,” said Cooper, who is in the WT and WBU halls of fame. “I’ve known Coach Adams for a long time and know that he is going to do a great job leading this program. I’m here to help him in the process. I’m a basketball junkie who has coached college basketball almost all of my life. This is a great opportunity for me, and I can’t wait to help the entire staff as we continue building this program into one of the best in the nation.”
Adams said, “We have developed a lot of trust between each other over the years. We’ve worked together in the past and have a great friendship. He’s someone who understands how to build a great program and work with people. Rick is a great addition to our program because of his experience and ability to handle anything that comes his way.”
A Bridgeport, West Virginia, native and Wayland graduate, Cooper began his career as an assistant at Idalou High School before returning to WBU in Plainview, where he worked as an assistant for five years for Ron Mayberry and then Adams. With Adams leading the program and Cooper on staff, the Pioneers reached the NAIA national finals. Cooper took over the program in 1987 before moving to Canyon to become the WT head coach in 1993.
Cooper coached the Buffs for 20 seasons, achieving a .693 winning percentage. WT won four Lone Star Conference Championships under his leadership, advanced to 10 NCAA national tournaments and had an Elite Eight appearance. He was selected as the LSC Coach of the Year six times, tabbed as the South Central Region Coach of the Year twice and was the 2011 Clarence Gaines National Division II Coach of the Year.
Before beginning his coaching career Cooper played at Wayland, where he averaged 13.4 points and 5.3 rebounds a game. He ended his playing career with 1,209 points, which ranked 14th in program history at the time. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at WBU.
Cooper joined Adams’ staff along with associate head coach Baqrret Peery, assistants Corey Williams and Talvin Hester, strength and conditioning coach Darby Rich and player development director Darryl Dora. Adviser Sean Sutton was retained from the previous staff and remains in the role that he’s worked in the past four seasons.
Story by Texas Tech Athletics
Brewer on Belgian team
Brittany Brewer has made a splash with her new team in Belgium.
Brewer, an Abilene Wylie and Texas Tech graduate, was named the Top Performer for the first leg of the EuroCup Women Qualifiers for her play with the Liege Panthers in Belgium. In a 98-57 win over the Ulriken Eagles in Munich, Germany, the 6-5 Brewer scored 27 points and brought down 17 rebounds. Liege is the the women’s Top Division.
Before joining the Panthers, she had averaged 7.8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in four games for M.Haifa in the Israeli D1 league.
Brewer led the Texas Tech Lady Raiders through her senior season Brittany Brewer
(Continued from previous page) in 2019-20. She averaged 16.6 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.4 blocks as a senior and was selected by the Atlanta Dream in the second round of the WNBA draft, the 17th player taken overall. In limited playing time for Atlanta, she averaged .8 points and 1 rebound in 2020.
Brewer was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and an honorable mention All-American in 2019-20. She was one of the Final Five contestants for the Lisa Leslie Award for the nation’s top center. She was the only Division 1 player to average at least 15 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in 2019-20.
Brewer also was a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year and was on the Big 12 All-Defensive Team after ranking No. 2 in the nation in blocks with 127, a Tech record. She was the first Lady Raider to record a tripledouble in 22 years, scoring 12 points with 14 rebounds and an NCAA-record-tying 16 blocks against Louisiana-Monroe on Dec. 22, 2019.
Brewer broke two Big 12 records during the conference tournament in 2019: (1) a Big 12 tournament record for points in the first round with a career high of 40 points and 15 rebounds against Oklahoma; 21 of her 40 points came in the first quarter; and (2) a record for most field goals in a first-round game at the Big 12 tournament with 16 baskets, tying her career high.
Brewer was a silver medalist with USA Basketball in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, the first Lady Raider to earn a medal for the USA in the Pan Am Games. She averaged 4 points and 3.7 rebounds to help the USA to a 4-1 record.
Duncan represents LSC
Lubbock Christian University’s NCAA Woman of the Year nominee Ashton Duncan was one of 153 student-athletes nationwide selected as a conference-level nomination as the Lone Star Conference nominated her for the honor.
Duncan completed her fourth season as a member of the national champion Lady Chaps and will return as a graduate member for a fifth season in 2021-22. The Lubbock native and twoterm LCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee president started in all 23 games in 2020-21 and averaged 11.7 points a game. Ashton Duncan
She led the Lone Star Conference and ranked fourth nationally with 69 three-pointers for the season, leading to her second consecutive season of All-LSC honors. She averaged 3.0 three-pointers a game (ranked second in the LSC and 12th nationally), and the 69 three-pointers gave her 180 in her career, which ranks sixth all-time in program history (eight away from moving into fifth).
In the classroom, Duncan claimed LSC Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll honors for each semester during the 2020-21 school term. She has claimed conference academic honors since her first semester at LCU (Heartland and Lone Star Conference).
Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.
Duncan was one of 36 NCAA Division II student-athletes receiving conference-level nominations. In September, the Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives of the NCAA membership, chose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. Nine finalists were to be announced this fall, and the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics was to select the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year from those nine.
Maddi Chitsey (Crisler) was LCU’s nomination in 2020, and she made it all the way to the final selection as one of nine finalists from 605 school nominations. It was the closest a LCU student-athlete has come to achieving the top honor. (Story by LCU Athletics)
Washington State head coach Kamie Ethridge, who played at Lubbock Monterey and Texas, makes a point with an official during an NCAA college basketball game. WSU earned its first ranking ever in the Associated Press women’s college basketball poll, entering at No. 25 on Jan. 11, 2021. (AP Photo by Collin Andrew)
Ethridge lifting WSU
Kamie Ethridge’s Washington State team may have finished 12-12 in 2020-21, but one of the Cougars’ achievements was a first for the program. WSU’s women’s basketball team never had cracked the NCAA Division 1 Top 25, but after Ethridge’s group beat No. 7 Arizona, 71-69, in overtime on Jan. 10, they were ranked No. 25 in the Associated Press poll.
Her team also qualified for the NCAA tournament, the first time for Washington State in 30 years.
Ethridge, a standout player at Lubbock Monterey and the University of Texas and the Cougars’ coach since 2018, told the AP, “I honestly didn’t know we’d never been ranked. I heard a lot about the lows we’ve experienced and talked to our team about the fact we have no banners.
WSU sent 5-11 the rest of the way in the tough Pac 12, but the ranking still was a first.
Ethridge has experienced plenty of basketball highs. She was a high school All-American at Monterey, leading the Lady Plainsmen to the Class 5A state championship in 1981, and in 2011 was inducted into the Lubbock ISD Athletics Hall of Honor. (Continued on next page) Basketball News 53
Basketball News
(Continued from previous page)
At Texas, she was an All-American again and helped the Longhorns to a 34-0 record and the national championship in 1986. She won the 1986 Wade Trophy as the nation’s top college women’s basketball player. In 2019, the University of Texas retired her No. 33 jersey, the first time the school had so honored a female athlete.
She won a gold medal on the U.S. Olympic team in 1988 at Seoul, Korea and was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
Fredericksburg success
Garet von Netzer, the former Amarillo Globe-News publisher who started this magazine along with partner Danny Andrews 49 years ago, can claim some coaching success with his daughter, Kristin McKinnon.
The father and daughter have teamed up for several years to coach girls youth basketball teams at Fredericksburg. Their teams have won tournaments and championships around the state and country.
Now some of their girls are playing for the Fredericksburg High School Battlin’ Billies and are making a mark in the UIL playoffs.
In the 2021 Class 4A playoffs, Fredericksburg’s girls defeated Gonzales, 72-29, in bidistrict, Sweeny, 99-58, in an area game, Navarro, 63-42, in the Region 4 quarterfinals, and Robstown, 57-24, in the regional semifinals before falling to Boerne, 56-51, in the regional finals. Boerne then lost to Hardin-Jefferson, 7354, in the state semifinals, and Hardin-Jefferson lost in the state championship game to Canyon, 56-55.
The Billies had been ranked No. 2 in the state before the Boerne game and finished the season 27-2.
The Fredericksburg girls had made it to the state semifinals in 2020, falling to Argyle, 49-38.
All of the Fredericksburg players were among the first girls that von Netzer and McKinnon started coaching several years before. Von Netzer said the girls worked hard through the years on fundamentals, doing ball-handling drills around cones and chairs. He said he and his daughter stressed effort over winning.
“I asked them several times early on, ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen in sports?’ They of course replied at first, ‘To get beat!’ I corrected them repeatedly that ‘No, the most important thing in sports is to never get out-hustled.’ They took that to heart and play exceptionally hard, including now.”
Of the 2020-21 high school team, he said, “Our girls are playing well, very unselfish and very intense, very fundamentally sound, high basketball IQ.
Madison McKinnon
“So it’s a treat for Kristin and me to watch these girls emerge on the scene.”
McKinnon’s daughter, Madison McKinnon, was a freshman on last year’s team, usually the first player off the bench, and has been rated highly by recruiting services.
Von Netzer operates the family ranch near Fredericksburg. Kristin McKinnon is a physical therapist and officiates Division 1 college basketball.
Tech star in NBA G League
Matt Mooney one of the stars of Texas Tech’s 2018-19 team that came just short of the NCAA national championship, is playing for an NBA G League expansion team, the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico, or Mexico City Captains.
The Capitanes acquired rights to Mooney Oct. 12 in a trade with Raptos 905 in exchange for Mexico City’s 2022-23 G League first-round draft pick.
After going undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft, Mooney joined the Atlanta Hawks’ summer league roster. He then signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Memphis Grizzlies but was waived and joined the roster of the Grizzlies’ G League affiliate, the Memphis Hustle.
Mooney’s teammate Jarrett Culver was traded this August from the Minnesota Timberwolves, who drafted him in 2019, to the Grizzlies.
In January 2020, the Cleveland Cavaliers signed Mooney to a contract under which he would split time between the Cavaliers and their G League team, the Canton Charge. On Jan. 20, 2020, he made his NBA debut, recording 2 points, a rebound and an assist in three minutes against the New York Knicks before being waived.
In January 2021, Mooney was listed on the Raptors 905 roster. He averaged 11.6 points and 5.7 assists.
Mooney was visiting Lubbock in October and working out at the Womble Basketball Center when KCBD sports director Pete Christy interviewed him on the Tech campus. Mooney said the Capitanes will be based in Fort Worth for the upcoming season. He told Christy he had other G League and overseas opportunities but thought the Mexico City team was where God was leading him.
Mooney said his G League season will be over by January 2022, and after that he’ll look for other opportunities such as playing overseas.
Matt Mooney
Many Texas Tech fans were disappointed and disgusted when, on April Fool’s Day 2021, Chris Beard announced he was leaving the Red Raiders to become the head coach at Big 12 rival Texas. It was a huge letdown after Beard had led Tech to the NCAA title game in 2019.
Plenty of the Tech faithful have marked Feb. 1, 2022, on their calendars; that’s when Beard will bring “the enemy” to Lubbock’s United Supermarkets Arena for a conference matchup, exactly 10 months after he announced he was “Gone to Texas.”
Beard did attempt to explain his decision by posting the following to “Red Raider Nation,” ending with his trademark “4:1,” which means “The mental is to the physical as four is to one.”
“I wanted to wait a few days since my decision to gather my thoughts and express my appreciation for all of you. My time at Texas Tech has been more than I could have ever dreamed of. I can unquestionably tell you that I have put all my heart and energy into the basketball program from the first day I arrived on campus as an assistant coach to the past five years having the honor to be your Head Coach. Our program reached remarkable heights that I always knew were possible but wouldn’t have come to fruition without every one of you buying into our process.
“Attempting to thank everyone who has been a part of the incredible journey is a daunting task but I have to acknowledge that nothing that was achieved could have been done without our players and their families who put their unwavering trust in us. They are the foundation of everything that we were able to achieve and I’m forever grateful to every single one of them. Our program was supported by the Texas Tech administration who worked every day with me to develop our vision into a reality. To Dusty Womble, words cannot express my extreme gratitude to you. You are a man I’ve learned so much from about life and hold our friendship as sacred as anything I have in my life. We built something incredibly special in Lubbock with the backing and passion of the B.O.N.E. group, Air Raiders, all Tech students, alumni and everyone in the Lubbock and West Texas community. We felt the love on the court every game and from the community every day.
“I wish Red Raider Nation nothing but the best moving forward. Thank you for your unwavering support through the years. I am forever grateful.
“C. Beard 4:1”
Bryan Lintner retires
Bryan Lintner has retired after a long coaching career that began at Wheeler and ended at Hereford with 17 years assisting Joe Lombard at Canyon in between.
Lintner, a graduate of Amarillo High School and Texas State University, began his coaching career at Wheeler. Then he served as an assistant to the legendary Lombard at Canyon for 17 years, where he contributed Bryan Lintner to multiple state championships. He moved to Bushland, where his girls teams went 61-29 and won three district championships with a perfect 24-0 league record.
He took the head coaching job at Hereford in 2018 and led the Lady Whitefaces to the regional quarterfinals two of the three years he coached there before retiring.
Lintner’s assistant Lisa Taylor was promoted to head coach for 2021-22. “Coach Lintner is a true West Texas basketball coach and I came from Central Texas, so the style of basketball is a lot different,” Taylor told Larissa Liska of KFDA-TV in Amarillo. “He kind of showed me the ropes about how they play out here and what it takes to win.”
Lintner’s coaching and teaching career spanned 37 years. Leland Bearden retires
Leland Bearden has retired after 31 years of coaching, the last two as the Ropes girls mentor.
Bearden announced his retirement in March 2021.
Before Ropes, he had coached at Sands, Smyer and Seminole. His total win-loss record was 753-224 for a .771 winning percentage. He had been ranked fourth on Leland Bearden Panhandle-Plains Basketball’s “300 Club” behind Joe Lombard, Chuck Darden and Danny Wrenn.
Bearden’s Ropes Lady Eagles finished 20-6 last season with a 6-2 mark in District 6-2A. They won bidistrict and area games before ending their season in the regional tournament.
At Smyer, Bearden’s Lady Cats won state championships in 2010 and 2011. They won district nine times and played in the regional tournament 12 times.
Bearden told Pete Christy of Lubbock’s KCBD-TV that he planned to sell real estate after his school career.
Ellis to Angelo State
Alesha Ellis, coach of the Wayland Flying Queens the past eight years, in June accepted the head coaching position for the Angelo State women’s basketball team, which competes in the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and is based in San Angelo.
Ellis, who played under former coach Marsha Sharp at Texas Tech, had a 189-52 record at Wayland. Her teams won four Sooner Athletic Conference tournaments and Alesha Ellis qualified for the NAIA tournament every year. She led the Flying Queens to a program-record 31 wins in 2019-20.
Andy Ellis, her husband and her assistant at Wayland, also is an assistant at Angelo State. He also played basketball at Texas Tech.
Alesha Robertson, later Ellis, helped Plainview High School to three Class 4A state championships and will be named to the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 for her time playing for the Lady Bulldogs.
She received several All-Big 12 honors at Texas Tech and is eighth on the Tech all-time career scoring list with 1,571 points.
Texas Panhandle and South Plains schools are well-represented on the 2021-22 Angelo State Rambelles roster, which includes Wayland transfers Blakely Gerber of Nazareth, Payton Brown of Roosevelt and Tayjanna McGhee-Pleasant of Tascosa, Tynli Harris and Taylor Moravcik of Shallowater, Madeline Stephens of Monterey and Kyla Cobb and Neely Wood of Canyon.
Basketball News
Junior Coffey also great in basketball
Junior Coffey, whose stellar football career began at Dimmitt and who became a respected thoroughbred horse trainer, also achieved great things in basketball.
Coffey, who died Aug. 31, 2021, at age 79 in Federal Way, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, made his athletic mark as a running back for the Dimmitt Bobcats, the University of Washington and the Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. And according to Jon Mark Beilue in the book, “Pride of the Junior Coffey Plains,” “…his name always will be known locally as the first black student in the Texas Panhandle to integrate the previously all-white football fields and basketball courts of the UIL public schools. In many ways, Coffey was the Jackie Robinson of high school athletics in the Texas Panhandle…”
Coffey was the first African-American athlete to play in the state boys basketball tournament, according to Scott Hanson in The Seattle Times. His Dimmitt team made it to the state finals twice, where they finished as the runner-up both times. The Bobcats lost to Linden-Kildare, 52-44, in the 1960 Class 2A finals after the score was tied at 44 in the fourth quarter. Coffey, 6-foot, 195-pound junior, scored 8 points with 5 rebounds. Hal Ratcliff led Dimmitt in that game with 27 points and 9 rebounds.
In the 1961 Class 2A finals, Dimmitt fell, 60-36, to Buna. Coffey led the Bobcats with 19 points and 2 rebounds. In a 6031 win over Needville in the semifinals, he had scored 23 points with 13 rebounds. In 1961, he was the only unanimous selection to the 2A state tournament team.
“He’s undoubtedly the best athlete I ever saw in high school, both physical and mentally,” said Dimmitt football coach Johnny Ethridge.
Coffey wanted to play football in the Southwest Conference, but the SWC wasn’t recruiting African-American players yet. He had scholarship offers from Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington, Nebraska, Ohio State and Iowa and chose Washington, where former Phillips coach Chesty Walker was on the staff and recruited him.
With the Huskies, Coffey was All-Pac 8 three times with 1,604 yards in his career, at the time No. 2 on Washington’s all-time list. Green Bay selected him in the seventh round of the 1965 draft, and he played his first pro seasons primarily on special teams as the Packers won the NFL championship. “Vince Lombardi said he was the most valuable special teams player that they had,” Coffey’s wife of 55 years, Kathy, told The Seattle Times.
The new Atlanta Falcons selected Coffey in the 1966 expan56 College sion draft, and he led the Falcons in rushing in 1966 and 1967. He missed the 1968 and 1970 seasons with knee injuries, which convinced him to retire in 1971. He had 2,037 yards rushing, 487 yards receiving and 15 touchdowns in his NFL career.
Coffey had worked at a racetrack near Seattle while attending the University of Washington, and while in the NFL, he started buying racehorses. He became a trainer and had horses in 3,820 races with 625 wins from 1976 to 2018, when his health declined. He usually was among the top trainers in win percentage at Longacres and Emerald Downs racetracks. He was inducted into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in 2015.\
Wilda Hutcherson Redin: ‘Mrs. WBU’
Wilda Hutcherson Redin, 99, of Plainview, died on Jan. 26, 2021, after a battle with complications from the COVID-19 virus.
Wilda was a longtime supporter of Wayland Baptist University and its athletic program.
Because of the pandemic, there was only a private family graveside service under direction of Kornerstone Funeral Directors in Plainview.
Wilda was born March 11, 1921, to Rollie Adelbert and Olive Mae Hewett in Harrison, Arkansas. She grew up in Iowa and Missouri, moving to Texas in 1937. She graduated from Cotton Center High Wilda Hutcherson Redin School in 1938, then completed Lippert Business College in Plainview. It was when she and her twin sister, Wilma, took jobs in a bakery that she developed her love for cooking. She was known for being a great cook throughout her life.
On May 7, 1942, Wilda married Claude E. Hutcherson in Clovis, New Mexico. They lived on the family farm in Hart, later moving to Plainview when Claude established Hutcherson Air Service. Beginning in 1949, the Hutchersons sponsored Wayland Baptist University’s women’s basketball team. They used their private airplanes to fly the team to out-of-town games, which resulted in the name, the Hutcherson Flying Queens The Hutchersons provided financial support and transportation as well as opening the doors of their home to all the players. In addition, they established endowed scholarships for the Flying Queens.
In 1971, Wilda and Claude were principal donors for the new physical education complex at Wayland which now bears their name. Hutcherson Physical Education Center, known as the “Hutch,” is the home of Wayland athletics.
Claude died in 1977. Ten years later, Wilda married former Flying Queens coach Harley Redin, whose wife, Winona, died in 1984.
A lifetime supporter of Wayland, Wilda was awarded WBU’s doctor of letters degree in 1991. She was inducted into the Wayland Baptist Athletics Hall of Honor Class of 1992. At the 2016 annual meeting of the Hutcherson Flying Queens Foundation, Plainview Mayor Wendell Dunlap read a proclamation declaring September 10, 2016, Wilda Hutcherson Redin Day in Plainview, Wilda quietly remained a driving force behind many gifts to Wayland, continuing to support projects benefiting the Hutcherson Physical Education Center including renovating the lighting system, updating the Harley Redin Hall of Honor, remodeling the entrance to Hutcherson Center and replacing floor level bleachers.
In 2015, a plaque honoring Wilda and Claude was installed in the Walk of Fame at the historic Fair Theatre in downtown Plainview.
She was a member of First Baptist Church of Plainview.
Wilda’s list of achievements includes earning her private pilot’s license, involvement in the Texas Chapter of the International Flying Farmers, recognition as a Texas Flying Farmers Queen, volunteering with the “Pink Ladies” Hospital Auxiliary and memberships in Toastmasters International, the Women’s Division of the Plainview Chamber of Commerce and the Order of the Eastern Star.
An accomplished seamstress, she enjoyed painting and firing ceramics and was an amazing cook. Throughout her life, she loved to cook and entertain in her home. An avid reader, up until December 2020, she read at least one or more books weekly.
Wilda is preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Claude E. Hutcherson and Harley J. Redin; her sister, Wilma Seipp; her brother, Delbert Hewett; her step-daughter, Marsha George; her granddaughter, Constance Hutcherson; and her grandsons, Kerry George and Danny George.
Survivors include her brother, Ernest Hewitt and his wife, Louise, of Redding, California; her son, Mike Hutcherson and his wife, Suzy, of Lubbock; and her stepsons, Van Redin of Austin and Kenny Redin and his wife, Cathy, of Austin.
Also surviving are her grandchildren: Taylor Hutcherson of Austin, Abbi Hutcherson Maher and husband, John, of Nashville; Michael Claude Hutcherson of Spicewood; Ronda Hutcherson Stockmeyer and husband, John, of Enid; Jacqueline Redin and Ryan Redin of Austin; Barry George and wife Rhonda of Hart; Cynthia Gerber and husband, Greg, of Nazareth; and Heather Peery and husband Mike; Sally George Mroczkowski and husband, Conrad; 13 great grandchildren and 10 great great grandchildren.
A charitable donation in Wilda’s memory can be made the charity of your choice or to the Hutcherson Flying Queens Foundation, a nonprofit, tax-deductible organization, at HFQ Foundation, 2913 B Lovell Dr., Austin, TX 78723. Online donations can be made at flyingqueensfoundatin.com/donate.
Tex Nolan made mark on Texas Panhandle
George “Tex” Nolan was born on July 13, 1941, to Emmitt and Myrtle Nolan in Shamrock. He entered his heavenly home on January 17, 2021. Tex was baptized May 4, 1952, and was always deeply committed to his faith.
Services to celebrate Tex’s life took place Jan. 21, 2021, at Hillside Christian Church in Amarillo to allow social distancing for the many who were friends to Tex. Tex Nolan
Tex was a 1959 graduate of Lefors High School. He married Pat McDowell on June 18, 1960. They attended Oklahoma Panhandle State University, where Tex graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education. He began his coaching career in 1963 at Robert E. Lee Junior High in Pampa. He always believed junior high was where the best coaches needed to be to make the biggest impact on students.
In 1966 he moved to Sunray to become an assistant coach. Tex also taught history, a subject he took as seriously as athletics. He taught several classes and seldom if ever looked at a note. He later became the head track coach, and his teams won three district championships and one regional championship. He received his master’s degree in education at Northeast Louisiana University in 1971.
In 1981, Tex moved to Dalhart, where he was an assistant football coach as well as the head track coach. His Dalhart teams won four district championships and three regional championships. While in Dalhart, Tex and Pat had a student who asked if he could live with them for his senior year due to instability at his home. Tex and Pat welcomed Charley Tiggs into their home for the year and enjoyed having an addition to the family.
Charley said, “That year opened up possibilities that I’m not sure I would have ever considered.” Charley went on to Texas Tech University to run track and earned a bachelor’s degree in deaf education and a master’s degree in higher education/ student affairs.
In 1989, Tex became assistant principal and then principal at Highland Park. In 1991, he became assistant athletic director for Amarillo ISD, and in 1996 he succeeded Sonny Lang as athletic director. During his time as athletic director, he oversaw the renovation of Dick Bivins Stadium, which included the nation’s second FieldTurf surface as well as a new press box facility and dressing rooms.
On Jan. 13, 2001, Tex suffered complete liver failure due to Hepatitis B. He was placed as priority one on the transplant list and received a liver transplant on Jan. 16, 2001. His donor liver came from a 13-year-old boy in Houston who had bacterial meningitis.
“I’m so thankful to that family and stay in contact with them,” Tex said. “Not a day goes by I’m not thankful.” He attributed his return to health and return to the job he loved to faith in God and the support of family and friends. Tex became a spokesperson for organ and blood donation by giving talks, attending blood drives
Basketball News
(Continued from previous page) to thank donors and working with the donor registry.
In 2006, Tex was inducted into the Texas High School Athletic Director Hall of Honor. During Tex’s 13 years as athletic director, AISD teams won 16 state championships. Tex retired from the position on June 30, 2009, totaling 46 years in public education.
In 2011, Tex was inducted into the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame as member No. 154. He was very proud of this honor to be included with other outstanding sports personalities from the Texas Panhandle.
Tex was a member of Coulter Road Baptist Church and served on several church committees. After retirement, he felt a strong need to give back to the medical community. He became a standardized patient for the Texas Tech Medical School and Pharmacy. He greatly enjoyed his days working with the future doctors and pharmacists. Tex also served on the WTSU College of Nursing and Health Sciences Advisory Board. He was impressed with the outstanding state and national recognition these programs earned.
Tex and Pat continued to attend AISD sporting events of all kinds. Tex followed all AISD student-athletes who went on to participate at the collegiate level and beyond. He was genuinely interested in the lives of every student he had known and was always so touched when a past student reached out to catch up with him or if he happened to randomly run into past students.
Tex Nolan loved life and made the most of every day. Nothing was dearer to him than his family. Sundays were for family lunch and an afternoon of fun with the grandkids. “Grandan” taught them to shoot marbles, throw tops, and play dominoes. The scorecard was proudly displayed on the refrigerator until the next week’s champion was determined. Some of his greatest joy was watching his grandchildren compete in athletics.
Tex is survived by his wife of 60 years, Pat, his daughter Kris and husband, Michael David, his son Dodd and wife, Jennifer Nolan, all of Amarillo; his grandchildren, Halie and Mitchell Sims, Micah and Brian Smith, Nolan and Lauren David, Samantha Nolan, Cole David and fiancée Abby Keister, and James and Carson Castleman; and four great-grandsons: Zayden, Michael and Hunter Smith and Paxton David; his sister-in-law Barbara and Butch Northcott of Canadian; and several special nieces and nephews.
Tex is preceded in death by his parents, a sister, Oma Lee Brillhart, a brother, Gilford Nolan, and two nephews, Robert Sims and Mart Brillhart.
A scholarship was established in Nolan’s honor, and donations can be sent to Steve Brunson at First United Bank, 1 First United Bank Parkway, Amarillo, TX 79119 or LifeGift – West Region, 5812 64th Street, Lubbock, TX. 79424.
Richardson boosted Stratford, Canyon
Joel D. “Jody” Richardson, 74, a longtime coach and teacher at Canyon, died on June 22, 2021. Services were at First Baptist Church in Canyon with Dr. David Lowrie, pastor of First Baptist Church of Decatur, and the Rev. Gene Jones officiating. Burial was at Dreamland Cemetery.
Richardson was born June 27, 1946, in Amarillo to Roscoe B. and Lee Richardson. Jody Richardson He lived in Canyon and Umbarger and graduated from Canyon High School in 1964. He played basketball at West Texas State University before graduating with a master’s degree in education.
He married Susan Hotchkiss on Aug. 15, 1970, in Floydada. He was a teacher and coach at Stratford for eight years before moving to Canyon, where he taught and coached at Canyon High School and Canyon Junior High until his retirement in 2011. He continued his involvement in Canyon athletics for several more years.
Richardson enjoyed following his grandkids as well as golf and basketball. He was a deacon at First Baptist Church of Canyon, an Education Credit Union board member, a member of WT’s T-Club for men’s basketball and a member of Kappa Alpha fraternity.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Survivors include his wife of almost 51 years, Susan Richardson of Canyon; three sons, Kevin Richardson and wife, Darcie, of San Angelo, Kurt Richardson and wife, Jennifer, of Spearman and Kris Richardson and wife, Brooke, of Canadian; nine grandchildren, Tyler, Jacob, Cooper, Kinleigh, Bryson, Braxton, Kaylee Rhea, Kason and Kambree; and two brothers, Jerry Richardson and wife, Gena, of Canyon and Rick Richardson of Canyon.
The family suggested memorials to Opportunity Plan Inc., P.O. Box 1035, Canyon, TX 79015 for the Jody Richardson Scholarship Fund for furthering the education of his grandchildren.
