All- Star Fever Hits Bowling Green

Bowling Green, Ky. –  It’s summer basketball time, and Bowing Green is gearing up for the Anthem Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Classic on June 16.  Several events are planned including the induction of two local favorites into the Kentucky All-Star Hall of Fame, a luau and the basketball battle with our neighbors to the north.

Mr. and Miss Basketball

Steffphon Pettigrew and Rebecca Gray, Mr. and Miss Basketball, respectively, were at the All-Star Press Conference held June 6 in the Hall of Champions in E.A. Diddle Arena. 

The 6-foot-5, 190-pound Pettigrew finished his Elizabethtown High School career with more than 2,200 points, averaging 33.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game this season. Pettigrew led the Panthers (17-11) to the 17th District semifinals, where they lost to North Hardin, 64-58, despite Pettigrew’s 31 points and 13 rebounds.

Pettigrew maintained a B average in the classroom. He volunteers with his community’s youth basketball program, remains active in his church youth group and participates in a reading mentorship program for underprivileged children.

After weighing offers from several Division I schools including University of Kentucky, Duquesne University, WKU, the University of Massachusetts, Bradley University, Tulane University, Morehead State University, Middle Tennessee State University and Eastern Kentucky University, Pettigrew decided he would be wearing Hilltopper red next season.

Gray finished her high school career as Scott-County’s all-time leading scorer surpassing former college and WNBA star Ukari Figgs.  She had 2,907 points, 707 rebounds, 380 steals and 492 assists.  Gray averaged 25.6 points per game in the 2006-2007 season, including a 53-point performance against Fern Creek.  She also scored 19 points to lead the East to a 92-79 victory over the West in the 2007 Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches’ East/West Senior Charity All-Star Game.

Gray was in the top 10 percent of her class with a 3.8 grade point average.  Next season she will be wearing #5 for the University of North Carolina Tarheels.  She is one of three national recruits going to the Tarheels, which Scout.com has named the fifth best 2007 recruiting class in the nation.       

State Farm Legends Luncheon

Local State Farm agents Ginger Cleary, Curt Gammons, Tony Rhoades, Jonathan McDaniel, Patti Dillard, JR Wade and D.C. Clement teamed up to sponsor the 2007 State Farm Legends Luncheon.  The luncheon will be at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center on June 15 at noon.  Tickets are still available for $20. 

This year’s legends include Clarence Glover, Louis Stout, Clem Haskins, Veronica Cook, Kami Thomas Howard and Laura Ogles Rhea.  The Keynote speaker will be Cameron Mills.

The Legends
              Clarence Glover
                            Clarence Glover graduated from Caverna High School in Horse Cave, Ky. He participated in basketball and baseball, earning All-State and All-American honors in basketball and wore the #2 jersey as a 1967 Kentucky All Star. He helped lead the Hilltoppers to the 1971 NCAA Final-Four, set a Mid-East regional tournament rebound record, and is listed as number (#5) on the all-time NCAA tournament rebound chart of players with five or more games during a single NCAA tournament. Glover was drafted #1 by the Boston Celtics. As a high school teacher and coach he was named Massachusetts Division III Basketball Coach-of-the-Year, and coached in the All-Star Boston Shootout. His honors include WKU All Centennial Basketball Team (February 10, 2007), Barren County Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (April 13, 2004), the Tiger Woods Foundation Award (presented by Tiger Woods – October 27, 1998), and the Alpha Award (presented by the United States Secretary of Labor - 1997)

              Louis Stout
                            Louis Stout was a 1959 all-star from Cynthiana and one of the best offensive players to come out of central Kentucky. The three-time all-state selection averaged 31 points and 24 rebounds as a senior and was named to every statewide all-state team. Stout scored 1,922 points during his high school career and was the first person at Cynthiana High School to have his jersey retired. He has been serving KHSAA for 28 years, including his duty as commissioner. Stout has also been recognized by the ASA as a Hall of Fame umpire in softball. He was inducted into the KHSAA Hall of Fame in 1999.
             
              Clem Haskins
                            Clem Haskins played for Taylor County High School and was a member of the 1963 all-star team. After a successful college career at WKU, Haskins was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the NBA draft. He went on to play nine years in the NBA with three teams—the Bulls, the Phoenix Suns and the Washington Bullets. He retired in 1976 after recording 6,743 points in his NBA career. Haskins then returned to WKU as an assistant coach and was later named head coach. He was hired by the University of Minnesota in 1986. Haskins led the Golden Gophers to a Final Four appearance in 1997 and won the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award the same year.

              Veronica Cook                 
                            Veronica Cook was a 1991 all-state selection from Franklin-Simpson High School. She went on to become a Lady
Hilltopper from 1992-1995. She currently is a top-10 record holder in six categories and is a member of the 1,000 Point Club with 1,164. Her extensive offensive records include games played (132), games started (99), field goal percentage (.502), three-pointers made (123), three-point attempts (304), and three-point percentage (.405).

              Kami Thomas Howard
                            A 1982 all-state selection from Warren East High School, Kami Thomas Howard went on to become a key member of WKU’s first ever Final Four team in 1985. Her senior season saw the Lady Toppers rack up 32 wins, the highest ever in the school’s history. She is currently ranked in Western’s career top 10 list in 10 different categories, including games played (128), starts (120), field goals (709), free throws (378), free throw percentage (.797), assists (335), and minutes per game (27.4). A four-time All- Sun Belt Conference selection, Howard was the 1986 WKU Athlete of the Year and was inducted into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

              Laura Ogles Rhea
                            Laura Ogles Rhea was a 1983 all-star team member from Allen County-Scottsville High School, even though she sat out the majority of her junior season due to her parents’ death. At the end of her high school career she became a Lady Hilltopper and was part of the 1985 and 1986 Final Four teams. She currently holds the record for most games played at WKU (134) and is second on the leaders’ list for free throw percentage (.808). Rhea has been recognized as a member of the WKU Centennial Team. Following her college career, she served as a member of the Kentucky All-Star selection committee and was the head of the committee from 1991-1992.

Keynote Speaker
              Cameron Mills
                            Former University of Kentucky basketball player Cameron Mills will be the keynote speaker at the 2007 Legends Luncheon that honors the elite basketball players of the past as well as the current all-star teams. 

Mills was born on December 10, 1975 in Ft. Walton, Fla. Two years later his family moved to Somerset, Ky., where his father, who had played at the University of Kentucky in the late sixties, took a coaching job.

Cameron Mills grew up participating in church activities in various denominations and at age seven he asked Jesus into his heart. He played soccer and baseball but showed early promise at basketball. The summer after seventh grade his family including his younger brother, Collier, moved to Lexington. That summer, also, the family welcomed two sisters into the family by adoption.

In 1990, Mills was part of the freshman class of a brand new high school, Paul Laurence Dunbar. He made the varsity basketball team that year and went on to the final game of the state basketball tournament both his junior and senior years. Recruited by many Division I schools he chose to walk on at his father’s alma mater and play for Coach Rick Pitino at the University of Kentucky.

He was part of UK’s 1996 NCAA championship team and was awarded a scholarship for the next two years. During UK’s run back to the final game in 1997 Mills played a major role hitting 61 percent from the field (63 percent from the three-point line). In 1998, under Coach Tubby Smith, he hit a pivotal shot against archrival Duke to send UK back to the Final Four for the third straight year. He hit two clutch three-pointers during the second half of the championship win against Utah. Mills is still UK’s all-time leader in three-point percentage for a season at 53.2 percent and for a career at 47.4 percent.

Though basketball has been a big part of Mills’ life, his calling since he was 12 has been ministry. In June 1998, he began Cameron Mills Ministries, Inc. Since then Mills has been speaking to schools, youth groups, and churches. He has held revivals and spoken at Christian music festivals, and college chapels.

Kentucky All-Star Hall of Fame Inductees
                 
This year’s Kentucky All-Star Hall of Fame Inductees both spent some time on the Hill, and one of them is still there.

Mary Taylor Cowles played forward for Marshall County High School and was Kentucky’s Miss Basketball in 1987.  During her high school career she averaged 18.1 points per game and pulled down 9.3 rebounds per game.  Cowles played for the Lady Hilltoppers from 1987-1991.  She received the WKU Coaches’ Award, was named Sun Belt MVP and was named WKU’s Female Athlete of the Year in 1991.  During her career at WKU she scored 1,072 points and had a .499 shooting percentage.  She finished her career on the Lady Hilltoppers’ Top 10 List in four categories.  In 1995, Cowles returned to the Hill as an assistant coach and worked her way up the coaching ladder.  She has been the Head WKU Women’s Basketball Coach since 2002.

Jim “Big Mac” McDaniels is another giant in WKU basketball history.  The 7-foot Allen County-Scottsville product was Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball in 1967 and one of the most sought after recruits in the nation that year averaging nearly 40 points per game.  During his days on the Hill, McDaniels shattered record after record including total points scored (2,238), points per game (27.6), rebounds (1,118) and rebounds per game (13.8).  He was named to several All-American Teams during his college career and led the Hilltoppers to two NCAA appearances, including the Final Four in 1971.  McDaniels went on to play for seven years in the ABA and NBA, and he was the first person to sign a $1 million sports contract.

Anthem Kentucky/Indiana All-Star Classic

A luau will be held at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 15 at the Hampton Inn on Three Springs Road.   Come out and spend some time getting to know the Kentucky All-Stars and enjoy the tunes of DJ Cindy Cossey and food from BBQ Junction.