COLUMBUS - Eighteen outstanding athletes, coaches, and contributors will enter the Ohio High School Basketball Hall of Fame, along with three outstanding high school state championship teams.
The Class of 2023 will be enshrined on Saturday, Jun. 10 in Columbus.
Among the individual inductees for the Class of 2023 are former Hiland boys' basketball coach Perry Reese, Jr., longtime basketball official Joe DeRosa, high school and college basketball champion Mike Phillips; Upper Sandusky girls' basketball coach Andra Bell; NBA veteran Jim Brewer; NBA champion Norris Cole; Ohio Northern men's basketball coach Gale Daugherty; high school standout and college basketball coach Geno Ford; Ms. Ohio Basketball and college standout Amber Gray; record-breaking athlete Eric Hayes Zinn; Rice head coach Don Knodel; Ohio State women's basketball star Nikita Lowery Dawkins; Gallia Academy basketball standout John Milhoan; Tipp City girls' basketball coach Tom Rettig; Defiance College star Bill Szabo; Ohio State captain Robin Tucker; barrier-breaking athlete and coach Cleo 'Chico' Vaughn; and Euclid basketball standout Al Vilcheck.
The three teams to be recognized will be the 1967 Strasburg High School boys' basketball state champions, as well as the 1982 and '83 Zanesville Bishop Rosecrans girls' state championship squads.
Reese, a former assistant coach under 2016 Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Huggins, was the first African-American head coach in Berlin Hiland's program's history. Reese overcame racial and religious barriers to lead the Hawks over 16 seasons, which included 11 conference championships, five state tournament appearances, and a state final victory in 1992 that earned the Hawks their first state title in school history.
Reese died in 2000 at the age of 48.
A North Canton native, DeRosa is one of two people to have officiated in both the NBA Finals and the NCAA Men's Final Four.
The Lowellville High School and John Carroll University grad spent 22 years officiating in the NBA, refereeing over 1500 regular season games, 150 playoff contests and 11 NBA Finals games. After retiring from NBA officiating following the 2010 Finals, DeRosa returned to referee college basketball in the Southeastern and Big 12 Conferences.
DeRosa, 65, was one of three officials selected to work the 2012 NCAA Men's Division I Final Four game between Louisville and Kentucky. He also officiated the 2014 National Championship between Kentucky and Connecticut, and the 2015 National Championship between Duke and Wisconsin.
DeRosa's son, JB, is also a basketball referee who has worked in the NCAA and the NBA.
Phillips was a proficient scorer and rebounder through every level of competitive basketball. In 1974, he led Akron Manchester to a perfect 26-0 season and the Ohio state AA basketball state championship. His 2573 career points rank 7th-most in Ohio high school history.
The 6-foot-10 Phillips would then move on to the University of Kentucky, where he would team with 6-foot-11 Rick Robey as the "Twin Towers" that helped he Wildcats win the 1978 NCAA national championship. Phillips earned All-SEC Second Team honors in 1976, followed by Third Team finishes in 1977 and '78.
Phillips was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1978, but never played in the NBA. He would play for six years in Spain's Liga ACB league, where he helped FC Barcelona win the ACB league championship in 1981.
Phillips died in 2015 at the age of 59.
The 1967 Strasburg-Franklin High School boys' basketball team captured the school's first ever state championship by finishing at 27-0 and beating Arcanum, 54-47, in the Class A state championship at St. John Arena in Columbus.
The Tigers, who were coached by fellow honoree Huggins, averaged 80 points per game in the pre-three-point line era. The Tigers were led by record-setting forward John Studer, as well as fellow seniors Ed Yackey and Charlie Jones and junior Ed Rusk. All four players were named to the All-Tuscarawas First Team that season. Other players like Gene Bayer and sophomore Butch Haswell also contributed to the Tigers' success that season.
The Tigers finished the regular season at 18-0, scoring 80 or more points nine times. The Tigers would then reach the state semifinals, where they would rally from a 14-point halftime deficit to Dale Southeastern Ross and win, 55-54, on a buzzer-beating jumper by Rusk.
Studer was named the Class A Player of the Year, while he and the entire squad were inducted into Strasburg-Franklin's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class in 2015.
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