Catching up on overdue sports happenings:
Pedro makes his choice
Former Russellville basketball star Pedro Bradshaw has chosen a college basketball program for the third and what he believes final time. The most honored player in RHS history, Bradshaw has decided to become part of the Bellarmine University team for his final two seasons.
Bellarmine has been one of the most dominant teams in NCAA Division II basketball for many years. Scott Davenport is one of the nation’s best coaches at any level. His Knights have won at least 28 games the last three years. They have played in the national tournament 11 straight seasons. Recently the Louisville school announced plans to move up to Division I as part of the Atlantic Sun Conference, which is the home of Lipscomb University, the NIT runner-up this year.
Pedro started his college career at Belmont University but left after a semester without having played in a game. He enrolled in Eastern Kentucky University and was required to sit out a year. He saw some action for EKU in the spring semester but announced plans to transfer after the season.
Bradshaw has been declared the leading scorer and rebounder in Panther history. He was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in 2017.
He is the second former Panther to become a Bellarmine Knight. Hall of Famer George Hill played for the college for three years from 1961-64 before giving up the sport to concentrate on becoming a medical doctor, which he did.
Clayte to play for Spaulding
Also headed to Louisville for college sports is Clayte Weathers, who finished a good career in basketball and baseball for Todd Central this year. He will play basketball for Spaulding University. The Logan County Cougars learned the hard way in a regular season game what a good long-range shooter he can be.
Clayte is the son of Russellville teacher and assistant basketball coach Robbie Weathers and Melissa Atkins Weathers, one of the first standout softball players for RHS in the early days of the sport who is director of food services for the Todd County schools. Clayte’s sister Jordan plays softball and basketball for the Lady Rebels.
During his high school career, Clayte got great support from his grandparents, Jan and Rodney Seay, and his great-aunt and uncle, Pam and Russell Jones, all of Russellville.Sta
Spaulding sports proved to be good for former Logan County High School baseball stars Ian Woodall and Matt Harper.
Stamps to join Pardue at Todd
Also in Todd Central basketball happenings, we earlier announced that Dennis Pardue is returning to Elkton to coach Rebels basketball. Pardue—an Auburn native and current resident—enjoyed much success both as coach of the Rebels and head coach of the Russellville Panthers. After leaving RHS, he became coach at Garrard County. He had great support from Rusty Clark, a former Russellville banker who was a star athlete at Garrard County as a boy. His last superintendent there was Paul Mullins, now the Logan County superintendent.
Todd officials were hopeful of hiring Pardue back when he left Garrard. Rumor was one of the primary reasons they took the boys basketball coaching position away from native son Calvin Head was to have an opening for Pardue.
It didn’t work out well for Todd, since Dennis opted for a coaching job in Montgomery County, Tenn. instead.
RHS benefitted mightily, though, because then-Principal Kim McDaniel and then-Athletic Director Nathan Thompson hired Calvin to be the Lady Panther basketball coach. With Thompson’s blessing, Head was soon named athletic director. When the need arose, he also accepted the position of softball coach.
Calvin Head breathed life into RHS Athletics in his brief stay there before he became girls basketball coach at Bowling Green High. He was involved in every phase of sports at Russellville; he and LCHS Athletic Director Greg Howard were not only alike in that involvement, but they both were great about keeping the media informed about what was happening at their schools with almost daily press releases. Coach Howard still does that, but Calvin is gone. his Facebook newsletter, “The R Club.”
But back to Pardue: he will make Todd Central basketball relevant in the region again, based on his record. In 20 seasons as a head coach, he has an overall record of 322-213. During his previous tenure as the Rebel bench boss from 1998-2004, he went 105-56 with three district championships, even though this was during the greatest era in Russellville basketball with the Panthers reaching four straight regional finals, winning three of them and making it to the Sweet Sixteen’s Final Four two straight seasons. Pardue’s Rebels reached the regional finals the following year, led by Pardue and great player Mike Wells.
His friend and fellow Auburn resident Jeff Stamps announced recently that he, too, is returning to Todd as Pardue’s assistant. Stamps coached at Auburn Middle School before coming to coach at RHS in the 90s. He had some good seasons as the head coach of the Lady Panthers. Then he went to Todd Central to coach and teach. In recent years he’s been traveling with Pardue to Clarksville Kenwood High School where they taught and coached. Now they’ll be commuting a shorter distance to Elkton.
Adler joining Lady Cougar staff
Two successful coaches of girls basketball are combining forces. Dedra Adler has been named assistant coach on Coach Finley Baird’s Lady Cougar staff. Baird has an impressive postseason worksheet in her five years at the LCHS helm. She is 12-5 in postseason play. Her teams have won not only the 13th District championship four of those five years but also a game at region each season.
Baird was one of the stars of the first Lady Cougar team in 1983. Coach Jim Thompson’s team reached the regional finals before losing to a Warren Central team which went on to win the state championship. It was Finley’s second straight year in the regional finals, since Coach Tim Owens’ Auburn Lady Tigers reached the championship game in the last non-consolidated basketball game ever played by a team in the Logan County School System.
Finley went on to play well for Lindsey-Wilson, which was a junior college then. Afterwards she made the WKU Lady Toppers as a walk-on. Coach Paul Sanderford’s Lady Toppers—led by Olmstead’s Lillie Mason and Clemette Haslins & Melinda Carlson of that 1983 Warren Central team—reached the NCAA Final Four.
Dedra ‘DK’ Basham Adler was a standout player for the Lady Cougars in the late 90s before playing college basketball in Illinois. She was head coach of the Russellville Lady Panthers from 2005-13. In the previous five years, the program had suffered a record of 23 wins and 98 losses. They had not been to region in seven years.
In her first year as head coach, the Lady Panthers had a winning record, were Class A Regional Runner-up and advanced to the KHSAA regional tournament. She also reinstituted a girls Jr. Pro basketball program and the Lady Panthers were always competitive during her tenure.
In the six years since she resigned that position, she has taught at LCHS and supported her family’s sports achievements. Her daughter, Brea Croslin, is about to enter her eighth season as a varsity softball starter and is headed to the University of Illinois to play Big 10 softball. DK’s husband, Todd Adler, was state football coach of the year two seasons ago and his Cougars were named Team of the Year.