Author: Mark Maynard

Managing editor of Kentucky Today, the digital newspaper of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, since July 2017. Worked 42 years for The Daily Independent in Ashland, Kentucky, the last 12 as managing editor and editor and the previous 30 in the sports department, including 17 years as sports editor. President of Amy For Africa, a faith-based Christian ministry serving Uganda. I'm a husband to Beth and father to Stephen and Sally, grandfather to Brooks and Addy.

It’s a 3-party as 52 Holy Family takes on 58 Booker T. Washington

ASHLAND, Ky. – Before 1952 Holy Family and 1958 Booker T. Washington laced it up for a simulation basketball game in the tiny Irish gym, they were introduced to the 3-point line.

“You mean if I shoot behind that circle you’re going to give me three points?” asked Holy Family scoring star Fred Simpson. “My man, you might as well start counting by three! This is where I shoot from all the time.”

Simpson picked up a basketball, made sure he was behind the stripe, and swish!

BTW players liked the look of the 3-point stripe, too. Marshall Banks and Wilbert Barrow immediately started trying to find the range from there.

“Oh man!” said Marshall Banks. “I love this 3-point shot!”

“Me too,” Barrow said. “Just make sure you save some shots for me, Marshall. Now don’t forget. Pass the ball!”

He proceeded to connect on three consecutive from behind the arc

Coaches Father Edward Haney and Wilmer West were briefed about the 3-point rule so they didn’t have time to draw up any new strategy. But it wouldn’t matter much for these two freewheeling offensive teams. This game promised to have some scoring.

Simpson and Tom Fitzsimmons were two of the best scorers in Holy Family history and BTW’s 58 team won 23 games that season with a high-scoring offense led by Marshall Banks, Barrow, Jack Smith, James Keeton and James Banks.

True to form, the game started out with a lot of offense and not much defense. The Irish, behind Simpson and Fitzsimmons, jumped ahead 24-16. Simpson made four triples and he was just getting warmed up.

BTW rallied a little but trailed 40-34 at the half. If the Irish had taken better care of the basketball, they would have easily led by double figures. The Hornets used a halfcourt trap and forced 15 turnovers and managed to keep it close.

“Defense was the key to keeping us in the game,” West said. “We got too darn comfortable shooting that new-fangled shot. I told the guys before we started that we needed to play our game and not worry about that 3-point gimmick. That shot will never make it.”

BTW turned up the defensive intensity a little more in the third quarter but still tailed 59-56 entering the last eight minutes. Marshall Banks was finding the range from behind the arc against his coach’s wishes, making all four of his attempts.

The Hornets led only once at 9-7 through three quarters but they were getting closer and closer.

Meanwhile, Simpson and Fitzsimmons were doing what they do best – shoot and score. They would finished with a combined 56 points and Simpson bombed in 8-for-17 from 3-point range which was much to his liking.

“I love this 3-point shot!” Simpson said after the game. “If we’d have had that when I played, my average would have been twice as good.”

“Nobody ever had to convince you to shoot,” Fitzsimmons said. “I’m surprised I got any touches.”

Actually, Fitzsimmons took 25 attempts to Simpson’s 23.

BTW pulled within 59-58 when James Banks scored on a breakaway but Jack Gossett and Simpson had back-to-back buckets to make it 62-58 and then Gossett drilled a 3-pointer to make it 65-58.

“I thought we were in great shape right there and maybe ready to go on a run and end this game,” Haney said.

However, Tyrone Fitzpatrick and Barrow ignited a 10-2 run that tied the game at 67 and then gave BTW the lead at 68-67 when Thomas sank two free throws. Marshall Banks then got a steal at midcourt and after working the ball around got open behind the arc and let fly with his fourth 3-pointer and it was nothing but net. That brought the lead to 71-67.

“We put together a nice little spurt there,” West said. “I had to apologize to Lawrence. When he took that 3-pointer I was saying ‘No! No! No!’ and when it swished I said ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’’’

But it wasn’t over as Fitzsimmons scored on back-to-back trips to retie the game at 71. It went back and forth over the last two minutes until it was tied at 76 and the Hornets had possession. West called for a timeout and set up his strategy – it was going to be a 3-pointer from the deep corner with Marshall Banks if the plan worked.

They broke the huddle and the Irish were leaning on Banks, who raced to the corner to get away. He saw Barrow breaking hard down the middle and managed to whip a perfect bounce pass into his hands for a wide-open layup at the buzzer. BTW had pulled it off, 78-76, in a game with offensive fireworks from both sides.

Simpson scored 31 and Fitzsimmons 25 with 11 rebounds. Simpson had nine rebounds. Gossett had eight points and 10 assists. The Irish certainly fell in love with the 3-point shot, making 10 of 26 attempts.

Marshall Banks was 7-for-9 shooting and made all four of his 3-point attempts and both free throws for 20 points. Jack Smith had 13 points and seven rebounds and Barrow had 16 points and five rebounds. Keeton collected eight points and seven rebounds.

BTW was an efficient 6-of-12 on 3-point attempts.

“I guess I could learn to like it,” West said of the 3-pointer. “We sure couldn’t stop Freddie. He was on fire out there. Those two guys (Simpson and Fitzsimmons) are a handful.”

Real life

Holy Family’s 1952 team was 23-11 and eliminated in the first round of the district by Russell. It was the junior year for Fred Simpson and Tom Fitzsimmons, who went on to have high-scoring senior seasons as well.

Booker T. Washington’s 1958 team was 23-9 and stunned Ashland in the district tournament. They lost the next night to Russell and didn’t make it to the regional tournament. But the win over the Tomcats was a sweet one. They would integrate with Ashland four years later.

1958 BOOKER T. WASHINGTON (78) – Thomas 1-4 0-0 2, M.Banks 7-9 2-2 20, Smith 6-13 1-2 13, J.Banks 3-9 0-2 6, Botts 1-3 0-3 2, Barrow 6-18 2-4 16, Keeton 2-2 4-4 8, R.Brown 1-3 0-0 2, Fitzpatrick 3-4 0-0 6, Dan Brown 0-1 0-0 0, Don Brown 1-2 1-2 3. FG: 31-58. FT: 10-19. 3FG: 6-12 (L.Banks 4-4, Barrow 2-7, R.Brown 0-1). Rebounds: 38 (Keeton 3, L.Banks 5, Smith 7, J.Banks 3, Botts 3, Barrow 5, Thomas 7, R.Brown 2, Fitzpatrick 1, Don Brown 2). Assists: 19 (Keeton 5, L.Banks 4, J.Banks 2, Botts 1, Barrow 1, Thomas 1, R.Brown 3, Fitzpatrick 2). PF: 16. Turnovers: 19.

1952 HOLY FAMILY (76) – Gossett 3-9 0-0 8, Simpson 10-23 3-3 31, Fitzsimmons 11-25 3-5 25, Roll 2-7 0-0 4, Clark 3-8 0-0 6, Wheatley 1-1 0-0 2. FG: 30-73. FT: 6-8. 3FG: 10-26 (Gossett 2-5, Simpson 8-17, Fitzsimmons 0-1, Roll 0-2). Rebounds: 40 (Gossett 4, Simpson 9, Fitzsimmons 14, Roll 8, Clark 4, Wheatley 1). Assists: 12 (Gossett 10, Clark 1, Wheatley 1). PF: 25. Turnovers: 22.

1958 BTW                         16         18         22         22     –         78

1952 HOLY FAMILY      24         16         19         17      –        76

 

Lots of Irish eyes on 1967 vs. 1980 Holy Family matchup

ASHLAND, Ky. – All week long the talk was of the battle between two of Holy Family’s best basketball teams.

Who would prevail between the Irish teams of 1967 and 1980?

They both had reputations to uphold and the attention was building before Game Day. Several area schools offered to let the Irish use their gymnasiums because of the anticipated crowd, but they kept it in the Irish bandbox anyway. People were wall to wall and the noise was unbearable.

“We wanted the popcorn money,” said Bill Bradley, an interested onlooker. “There was a lot at stake.”

Coaches Bill Carroll of the 67 Irish and Mike Sherman of the 80 Irish were going to have a hard time communicating with the players.

The game was a sellout the day before it was scheduled so a closed-circuit viewing party was going to be allowed at the Knights of Columbus. There may have been some blurred vision in there – from the closed circuit, I mean – and they had to lock the doors. The overflow venue was already overflowing.

Both teams were careful what they said before the game but it was clear they both wanted this one.

The 67 Irish came up firing and took a 16-8 advantage over the stunned 80 Irish, who seemed a little shaken by the crowd.

“I’ve never seen so many people in this gym,” said Art McCullough, the slick-shooting forward. “I mean they were right on the floor with us. It was hard to tell where the out-of-bounds line was because of people spilling onto the floor.”

It was going to be an uphill fight for the 80 Irish, who trailed 32-23 at halftime after the poor first quarter.

“I took two timeouts in the first quarter and they were either not listening to me or couldn’t hear me, I’m not sure which one,” Sherman said. “We needed some time to settle down and we did in the second half.”

The biggest deficit of the game came at 34-23 when John Layne drilled an 18-footer to begin the second half. But the game started to turn after that for the 80 Irish, who seemed to get their footing behind point guard David Layne, who finished with 12 points and six assists.

“We did a great job in the first half and a poor job in the second half,” Carroll said. “

John Layne put the 67 Irish in front 41-33 but eight straight points from David Layne tied the game at 41 halfway through the third quarter. It was going to be a tight affair the rest of the way and the crowd was getting rowdy.

The game was tied three more times at 45, 53 and 57. The 67 Irish built a 57-54 advantage before Dave Michalak connected on four consecutive free throws to put the 80 Irish in front 58-57.

“Clutch free throws from Dave,” Sherman said. “This game had a little bit of everything.”

Tom Davis answered for the 67 Irish with a putback, powering it in over Dan Phillips, to make it 59-58 with 43 seconds remaining. Davis finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The 80 Irish chose to run the clock down and did so with perfection. Dave Layne’s ballhandling was aided by McCullough, who would pop out when he got into trouble. They also used two timeouts to run the clock down to 10 seconds.

Following the last timeout, the strategy was set with McCullough, who had 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting, primed to take the potential game-winner. He fired up a heavily contested shot from the wing that bounced high off the rim. It went up so high that several of the 67 Irish mistimed their jumps. Phillips snuck between Davis and Maynard Thomas and managed to get his left hand on the ball and tipped it in. The 80 Irish had pulled it off, 60-59, as fans poured onto the floor.

“Well, our last-second play didn’t work out like we planned but big Dan got the tip in there and made us a winner,” Sherman said.

Michalak had 13 points and five rebounds and Phillips eight points and eight rebounds for the 80 Irish. Thomas had 14 points and John Layne added 10 points, six rebounds and five assists for the 67 Irish.

“Disappointing loss because we led for nearly the whole game,” Carroll said. “Not sure how this simulation works, but my teams didn’t blow 11-point leads. You need to upgrade your computer. Our defense was good, not great, but that’s a good team. They had some firepower. That was a lucky bounce on Artie’s miss but give Phillips credit for hanging with it.”

Real life

Holy Family’s 1980 team was a special one, finishing 28-6 and reaching the 16th Region final for the 10th – and last time – in school history. The Irish fell to Ashland, 56-48. They had snapped the Tomcats’ four-and-a-half year winning streak against region competition with a victory in the 64th District final.

Holy Family’s 1967 team was a good one in a year when Ashland and Russell were both extra good. They stunned the Tomcats in the AIT but fell to them in the district finals by 27. The Irish finished 24-9.

1967 HOLY FAMILY (59) – J.Layne 4-10 2-2 10, Brislin 0-3 2-2 2, Morris 4-10 1-3 9, Davis 7-17 3-3 17, Thomas 6-8 2-4 14, Uhron 1-3 0-0 2, Borgerding 2-2 1-3 5. FG: 24-53. FT: 11-17. Rebounds: 26 (J.Layne 6, Brislin 1, Morris 3, Davis8, Thomas 4, Uhron 2, Borgerding 2). Assists: 14 (J.Layne 5, Brislin 4, Morris 3, Davis 1, Uhron 1). PF: 16. Turnovers: 11.

1980 HOLY FAMILY (60) – D.Layne 5-8 2-2 12, McCullough 7-10 2-2 16, Stewart 2-8 2-2 6, Michalak 3-7 7-8 13, Phillips 4-6 0-0 8, Bailey 1-3 0-0 2, Bauer 1-2 2-2 4, Bradley 0-1 0-0 0, Tussey 0-1 1-2 1. FG: 22-46. FT: 16-18. Rebounds: 33 (D.Layne 4, McCullough 4, Stewart 7, Michalak 5, Phillips 8, Bailey 2, Bauer 2, Bradley 1). Assists: 16 (D.Layne 6, McCullough 6, Stewart 3, Michalak 1). PF: 15. Turnovers: 11.

1967 HOLY FAMILY       16       16       13        14       –            59

1980 HOLY FAMILY        8        15      22        15        –           60

 

Oh brother! Bradleys duel in Holy Family simulation special

ASHLAND, Ky. – It was a brotherly battle – maybe the only good reason for this game to be played – between Holy Family boys basketball teams from 1973 and 1981.

Call it the Bradley Bowl.

With Bill and Joe Bradley on opposite teams, the two Fighting Irish teams laced them up one more time in a simulated game.

Neither team was that memorable during their own season, but this game had some of its own Twilight Zone twists. For instance, Bill Bradley the player in 1973 was going against Bill Bradley the coach in 1981.

“Boys, make sure we shut down No. 12,” coach Bradley told his 81 Irish, referencing his number instead of himself. “I know what that guy is like and he’s a killer.”

“You mean Keller, coach?” Tom Adkins asked, referring to 73’s Miles Keller, the leading scorer.

“No, pay attention!” coach Bradley said. “I’m talking about the skinny guard. He’s money for them.”

It was that kind of weird night.

Once the game started, all bets were off. With a nicely played second quarter, the 81 Irish outlasted the 73 Irish, 67-63. David Selby, who collected 21 points and 12 rebounds, scored the last four points after the 73 Irish had pulled within 65-63 on a driving basket from Mike Stewart with 1:21 remaining.

Selby’s last basket came with 51 seconds to play but neither team scored the rest of the way.

As for the Bradley battle, it was a pretty good one. Joe outscored his big brother, 17-15 and also had five assists. Bill made all seven of his free throws and had four assists as well.

“Kudos to Joe,” said Bill Bradley the player after the game. “He got after us pretty good. Of course, it looked like he had the refs in his back pocket. I think he got about 10 fouls tonight.”

“Great effort from Joe tonight. He was clearly the best Bradley on the floor,” added Bill Bradley the coach. “He learned a lot from watching me over the years.”

Neither team played great but did enough to keep it interesting. A decisive second quarter when the 81 Irish held a 20-12 advantage proved to be the difference. Their biggest lead was 11 points but the game was tightly played.

Miles Keller scored 21 points with seven rebounds and Stewart collected 12 points and five rebounds.

John Sweeney joined Joe Bradley and Selby in double figures with 10 points.

“Nothing to write home about in this game,” said 73 coach Bill Carroll. “I hope you can find some of my better Holy Family teams for me to fantasy coach in the future.”

A matchup between 1967 and 1980 Holy Family teams is next on the docket.

Real life

Holy Family’s 1981 team finished 12-18 in coach Bill Bradley’s inaugural season. They did have some moment, including taking Ashland to overtime before losing 71-69 in the district tournament.

Holy Family’s 1973 team finished 13-17 and averaged only 49.3 points per game but allowed only 54 as coach Bill Carroll squeezed everything he could out of them. Fairview eliminated the Irish in the district.

1981 HOLY FAMILY (67) – Wittich 2-5 1-1 5, Sweeney 3-9 4-6 10, J.Bradley 8-12 1-4 17, Selby 9-16 3-4 21, Adkins 4-10 1-3 9, Henderson 1-3 1-2 3, Mureen 1-3 0-0 2. FG: 28-50. FT: 11-20. Rebounds: 32 (Wittich 2, Sweeney 3, J.Bradley 3, Selby 12, Smith 2, Adkins 6). Assists: 12 (Wittich 4, Sweeney 3, J.Bradley 5). PF: 27. Turnovers: 14.

1973 HOLY FAMILY (63) – Lynch 3-6 2-4 8, Stewart 4-4 4-6 12, Keller 7-13 7-9 21, B.Bradley 4-10 7-7 15, Layne 3-5 0-0 6, Brislin 0-3 1-3 1, Claxon 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 21-43. FT: 21-29. Rebounds: 28 (Lynch 5, Stewart 5, Keller 7, B.Bradley 5, Layne 2, Brislin 2, Claxon 2). Assists: 12 (Stewart 1, Keller 3, Bradley 4, Layne 4). PF: 20. Turnovers: 14.

1981 HOLY FAMILY      13       20       17       17         –            67

1973 HOLY FAMILY      13       12       17       21         –            63

 

‘Tomcat Tales’ mixes fictional games with real-life tradition

When the 2020 Kentucky high school basketball season abruptly ended without putting down one dribble in the Sweet Sixteen, my heart ached for those 16 schools who had fought so valiantly to earn a place among the state’s elite. They were denied the opportunity to play out their dreams on the Rupp Arena floor because of the coronavirus that paralyzed the world.

It was heartbreaking for each of the regional champions but maybe especially so for the Ashland Tomcats, who had been perfect to that point. They were all dressed up with a 33-0 record and no place to go.

The Tomcats displayed a throwback kind of teamwork that had everybody wanting to watch them play and comparing them to some of the best in Ashland history.

But how would they do against the best of the best?

Sweet 16 games for the 2020 State Tournament were played through computer simulation and stories written using my sportswriter background to “report” the outcomes.

You’ll have to read Tomcat Tales to find out what happened at the Sweet 16 and many more games!

No high school in Kentucky has the tradition of the Ashland Tomcats. They have won 33 regional championships, four state championships, been runner-up four times and a national champion. They were the first team in Kentucky to 2,000 victories – hitting that milestone during the 2020 season. They have more wins than any team in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Tomcat Tales will take readers to 1928 when the Tomcats ruled the state. They have battles with the 1961 Tomcats that won the state championship and even the 2020 Tomcats that were striving to match the record. Every regional champion since 1953 is represented at least once, along with a lot of other years.

Tomcat Tales lets your imagination run wild. Go back in time with me to honor some of the greatest basketball players and coaches to ever walk the streets of Ashland, Kentucky.

It may even make for a perfect dream ending.

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