Category: 2016

The second Annual  Donna Murphy Award was presented to Emma Young of East Jessamine High School during the 2016 Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony on March 15th in the Bluegrass Ballroom of the Lexington Center in Lexington, KY.

“This was a very difficult decision. Each candidate was exceptional in her own right, but I could only select one.” said Donna Murphy. Nineteen nominations were submitted from across the state to Donna Murphy for this prestigious award for senior female basketball players who exemplify the meaning of being a great student athlete.

Emma Young, a senior at East Jessamine High School, has played varsity basketball for four years and has signed to play for Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Young averages 25 points and 11 rebounds per game with 3.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game. She broke the school record for points scored in a single game scoring 40 points against Collins in January. According to her coach she is on track to break the all-time scoring record for her school.

Emma was recently named a candidate for 2016 Miss Kentucky Basketball and the 2016 Regional Player of the Year for Region 12. Along with excelling on the court, Young has held a part time job since her sophomore year and is a DARE Leader and helps to support the organization All God’s Children in Nicholasville. She currently has a 3.46 GPA and hopes to graduate with honors as the first person in her biological family to graduate high school.

“The game of basketball is fun and has taught me so much more than I could ever imagine”, said Young regarding her experience at East Jessamine High School. “I have become a leader, learned responsibility and realized that hard work and dedication pay off. These life skills will prepare me for the future. I hope to be one day become a nurse or social worker so that I can help people. In both of these professions, I will need to work hard to build relationships and have the dedication to do so. Through playing basketball I have worked my way to college and learned skills that will last a lifetime.”

Donna L.J. Murphy played basketball at Newport High School from 1972-76 and went on to become an All-American. During her senior year she was named Kentucky’s first Miss Basketball in 1976, averaging 35 points and 20 rebounds. She was awarded the Ted Sanford Award for being named the MVP of the 1975 Kentucky state tournament after she scored 67 points and grabbed 50 rebounds in two games. More than a great high school basketball player, Murphy was also the State AA high jump champion in 1974 and named All-region in volleyball before graduating fifth in her class. As a highly recruited student-athlete, she chose to attend Morehead State University and graduated magna cum laude twice, with a BA in Communications/ Journalism with Teacher Certification, and a MHE in Counseling.

Murphy remains a highly decorated high school and college student-athlete and a member of eleven Hall of Fames, including the Kentucky Basketball Hall of Fame. Murphy was also the first female student-athlete to have her jersey retired at Morehead State University and Newport High School. She was the first forward drafted in the Women’s Professional Basketball League in 1980 and went on to play for the St. Louis Streak. After her playing career she transitioned to coaching. She has held coaching positions at the collegiate level and also coached Pro-Am, high school, middle school, AAU and Exposure basketball. Murphy is currently a Professor at Bluegrass Community and Technical College and oversees the Diversity Outreach Services and Intramural Sports. In her free time she is a basketball skills trainer.

The 5th annual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Award Ceremony serves as a fundraiser for the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, who has announced Mr. Kentucky Basketball since 1954 and Miss Kentucky Basketball since 1976. KLEF’s mission is to prevent and cure blindness. For more information contact KLEF at 502-583-0564 or go to http://www.kylionseye.org.

The Third Annual Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones Award will be presented to two great multi-sport high school athletes during the 2016 Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony, sponsored by Friends of Coal, on March 15th in the Bluegrass Ballroom of the Lexington Center in Lexington, KY starting at 6 PM.   Ray Zuberer, III from Owensboro Catholic High School and Landon Young from Lafayette High School were both selected as recipients for the award as both athletes had outstanding credentials.

Nominees were submitted from across the state to the Jones family for this prestigious award for senior multi-sport athletes who excel equally in their classroom and contribute greatly to their community.

“All of the nominees were very deserving and it was an extremely difficult decision,” said Wallace “Wah” Jones, Jr. “It came down to these two nominees and we just couldn’t choose one over the other, so we decided as a family to give the award to both of these great young gentlemen.”
Ray Zuberer, III, a senior at Owensboro Catholic, has played football, basketball and baseball during his high school career.  Zuberer has signed to play baseball for Western Kentucky University in 2017.  His impressive stats as a quarter back earned him the title of the 2015 KHSAA 2A Player of the Year, throwing over 100 touchdown passes in two years. Zuberer is the current team leader in all statistical categories for his baseball team with a .416 batting average.  He has had 116 hits, 26 doubles, 8 triples, 57 RBI’s, 83 runs, and 47 stolen bases in his 94 games played.  Zuberer considers hitting the game winning shot in the basketball regional tournament semifinals to send his school to the finals to be one of his greatest athletic achievements. “The best thing about my athletic career has been being around my teammates, coaches, teachers, students and the OCHS fan base,” said Zuberer.  “It has been an honor and a privilege to be associated with and to get to play for Owensboro Catholic High School.”

Landon Young, a senior at Lafayette High School, has participated in football, wrestling and track during his high school career, while maintaining an impressive 4.33 GPA. Young has signed with the University of Kentucky to play football, rejecting offers from Alabama, Auburn and Ohio State.  For his excellence in football Young was invited to participate in the 2016 US Army All-American Bowl and was named a Five Star prospect by Rivals and 247 Sports.  In 2015 he was a part of the Kentucky state championship runner-up team and has been named 1st Team All-State twice in his career as an offensive tackle.   In wrestling he is a three time city champion, a three time region champion, the state runner up in 2015 and the KHSAA State Wrestling Champion in 2016 finishing with a 19-0 record on the mat.   Young’s endeavors in track and field led him to be a two time state champion in discuss, a state champion in shot-put and he was named the 2014 Gatorade Kentucky Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Young has been an officer in Lafayette’s Future Farmers of America chapter and is also a member of the Beta Club and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones, Sr. was a two-sport All-American at the University of Kentucky, playing for legendary coaches Adolph Rupp and Bear Bryant, winning two national championships and an NIT.  Jones is the only player at the University of Kentucky to have his jerseys retired in both sports.  In addition to basketball and football, Jones was a pitcher with the Wildcats and a member of the UK track and field team.  He won a gold medal in the 1948 Summer Olympics with Rupp’s “Fabulous Five” and the Phillip 66ers.  After college Jones went on to play in the National Basketball Association with the Indianapolis Olympians. During his tremendous athletic career Jones was the image of sportsmanship and is respected throughout the world.

All sports fans are welcome to attend the 2016 Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Awards Ceremony sponsored by Friends of Coal. Tickets are on sale now at http://www.mrandmisskybasketball.com or by calling 800-232-5308. General admission tickets are $10 and VIP tickets which include dinner are $50.  For questions or to purchase a table (seats 10) call KLEF directly at 502-583-0564 or 800-232-5308.

The 5th annual Mr. and Miss Kentucky Basketball Award Ceremony serves as a fundraiser for the Kentucky Lions Eye Foundation, who has announced Mr. Kentucky Basketball since 1954 and Miss Kentucky Basketball since 1976.  KLEF’s mission is to prevent and cure blindness.  For more information contact KLEF at 502-583-0564 or go to http://www.kylionseye.org.