Category: 2019

The 2019 male inductee is Coach Ed Diddle.  Coach Diddle was the inaugural coach of the Kentucky All-Stars and coached from 1940 to 1956.  Diddle became the first coach in history to coach 1,000 games at one school, Western Kentucky University.   When he retired in 1964, he was the winning-est coach in college basketball history with 759 wins. Coach Diddle’s 42 seasons (1922-64) at Western Kentucky holds the NCAA record for seasons coached at one school, he is a member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, the WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni, and the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame. During games he would wave, toss, and chew on this towel, and even cover his face in times of disappointment. His red towel is now part of WKU’s official athletic logo.

The 2019 female inductee is Carly Ormerod Bell, 2005 Miss Kentucky Basketball from Sacred Heart High School.  She led Sacred Heart to three consecutive state championships from 2002 through 2004, scoring 1,789 career points.  She went on to play at the University of Kentucky and is now a Physician’s Assistant specializing in orthopedics at the Louisville Orthopedic Clinic and Sports Rehab Center.

The 2019 Founders Coaching Award goes to Coach Randy Napier, Perry County Central High School Girls Basketball Coach since 1994.  Coach Napier began his career at MC Napier High School in 1980. He moved to Perry County Central in 1994 where he is still currently coaching.

In 2017 Coach Napier became the winning-est girls’ coach in Kentucky high school basketball history with over 800 wins and counting.  During his thirty five years of coaching, his teams have won over 80% of their games. His 1994 M.C. Napier team presented him with the ultimate prize, a Sweet 16 championship.  His teams have won 9 regional championships during his current tenure at Perry County Central.

The 2019 Ralph Beard Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Derek Anderson, 1992 Kentucky All-Star and graduate of Doss High School.  Anderson played college basketball at the Ohio State University and the University of Kentucky. In 1996, Anderson helped the University of Kentucky win the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship as part of a team that featured nine future NBA players.  He was first selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the 13th overall pick to the 1997 NBA draft.