Count retired Logan County High School principal Bob Nylin as one of those who believes Artis Gilmore deserves a spot in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Personally, one of my greatest basketball memories was a game at Louisville's Freedom Hall matching Jacksonville University's Artis Gilmore and Western Kentucky University's Jim McDaniels, two of the greatest 7-footers ever. Big Mac, who has been hospitalized for pneumonia recently, led the Toppers to a win over the powerful Dolphins.
Nylin played against Gilmore while Nylin was a member of the University of Miami team. The year after Gilmore not only led Jacksonville to the Final Four but also to the championship game against Bill Walton's UCLA Bruins, Nylin transferred to JU and tried to fill the void left by Gilmore, which was a tough job. Nylin says, "I just got to know him during the summers when he would come back and play. He is, as Mike Dunlevy said,'The strongest guy I ever played with or against.” He should have been in the Hall of Fame years ago. The stats speak for themselves.

The NBA All-Star Game is in Dallas this weekend. The last time it was there, Gilmore was one of the centers on the West squad, joining Hakeen Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson as back-ups for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar against famed big men Moses Malone, Robert Parrish and Patrick Ewing. He hasn't been invited to this year's event, nor is he in the Hall of Fame.
NBA.com recently noted: "Frankly, the 7-foot-2 gentle giant from Chipley, Fla., might be the Hall's most glaring omission, given his statistical achievements and a diverse career in which he starred at the college level, in the old American Basketball Association, in the NBA and even for a season in Italy at the end, before the international game became a viable option for U.S. players. Scan the list of the pro game's greatest scorers, combined NBA/ABA, and Gilmore's standing -- and neglected status -- becomes evident. Twenty-three seasons after his final NBA game, he still ranks 20th in all-time scoring (24,941). All 19 players ahead of him on the list either are Hall of Famers or soon will be (Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant). The same can be said for the next 14 behind him, including Ewing, Charles Barkley, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, David Robinson and Kevin Garnett.
"Gilmore holds the NCAA career mark for rebounds (22.7 a game). He was the ABA's Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1971-72, a five-time All-Star selection and the pivot man on the Kentucky Colonels 1975 championship squad. When the ABA got absorbed into the NBA, Gilmore was the coveted No. 1 pick in the dispersal draft. Over his 12 NBA seasons -- six with Chicago, five in San Antonio and one split as a teammate of Michael Jordan with the Bulls and Larry Bird with the Celtics -- he set the league record for highest lifetime shooting percentage (59.9).
"Remember, the joint in Springfield is a basketball Hall of Fame, honoring participants and contributors from all levels. Few have checked as many boxes in their careers as Gilmore -- we haven't even mentioned his all-world Afros and set of sideburns, part of the game's fun 'old school' look."

The LoJo

This year's Superbowl was my all-time favorite. The one with the Titans would have topped it if they had won, but this one was so special with the Drew Brees and New Orleans Saints storyline. If Logan Countian Joseph Jefferson had still been a Colts player, then I would have been sad for him. But New Orleans is my favorite city south of Nashville, and the people of that city have suffered greatly.
The Saints' winning it all this year is appropriate, since it's been the Year of the Clean-Living Quarterback. Brees is the pacesetter, but it was also the season that Arizona's Kurt Warner played his final NFL game and that Texas' Colt McCoy and Florida's Tim Tebow set examples on how to be the best while living Christian lives. We should all be better people for having been in their (televised) presence so often.
ESPN has run repeatedly an interview with Dr. James Andrews of Birmingham, the world's most famous sports orthopod. And, as always, there's a Logan County Connection. Dr. Andrews has performed surgery on Kara Haley, the former Lady Cougar post player who is a senior roundballer at Kentucky Wesleyan.

The LoJo

Two cousins have been featured in a national hunting magazine. Ashley McIntosh and Devin Chastain are pictured with their kills in a “Special Collector's Edition” of Awesome Whitetails.
Ashley's deer had a 14-inch rack, “26-inch main beams, long tines, four of which tape between 11 and 9.5 inches, and a 19.63 inch inside spread.” The deer's typical score was 168.37 and 161.2 net. “Three additional abnormal points, totaling 12.5 inches, increase the final non-typical score to 173.63,” the magazine tells those in the know on deer scoring.

A 2008 graduate of Logan County High School, Ashley was hunting just east of Russellville with her dad, Tommy McIntosh, on the opening day of the '08 November gun hunting season. They had no success in the morning but the big buck appeared that afternoon in the same woods near their home.
“By the time I grabbed my rifle and turned around, the deer was right on top of us,” she told the magazine. “Antlers were the first thing I saw and they seemed to be sticking in every direction.” The deer was so close she had trouble using the scope of her New England Firearms single-shot .243. “When I finally fired, the buck took one or two steps and fell over.”

Ashley has been going hunting with her dad since she was 8 and killed her first deer at age 11. Sharon McIntosh, who heads Rusellville Christian School, is the mom who has to keep her hunters warm and the deer meat edible.
Sharon's sister, Pam Allen, is the grandmother of Devin Chastain, now a senior at Todd Central High School. He is also pictured with the big buck he downed in November 2008. The 14-pointer's rack had great height because of exceptionally long tines, four of which tape between 13.87 and 9.87 inches. The typical score was 165.12 and after adding in the 19.87 inches of abnormal points, the final non-typical score is 185.
The impressive whitetail had been discovered via a trail camera in the late summer. Devin saw two smaller bucks on that morning before catching sight of the big guy. He was ready with his Remington Model 700 .270.

“By the time I got my rifle up, the buck had moved out of the beans and within several yards of entering the woods,” Chastain told the magazine. “I mouth grunted to stop the deer and quickly fired. When I looked up, the deer was gone.”
Devin, who had been hunting with his uncle, Terry Chastain, called his dad, Neil Chastain, and they found the deer dead.
Devin's mom is the former Dena Allen and was an LCHS cheerleader in her teen years.

The LoJo

Members of the All-SKY football team have been named. The honorees from Russellville and Logan County were honored during the Clash of the Cats recently. Logan's players had already been honored at LCHS, but RHS Principal/Coach John Myers gave them a chance to be applauded in public again.

The Cougar honorees who came on the floor were members of the basketball team. The second team All-SKY Cougars present were defensive endPhillip Stratton, receiver Reuben Rawlings-Watson and defensive back Jonathan Barbee. Not present were second team backThomas Washington, a senior, and two honorable mention players, junior quarterback John Logan Dockins and senior linebacker Cameron Collier.

Two Panthers were first team All-SKY. They are junior running backs Damien Elam and Devonta Bryant. Second team selections were end Dudley Bouldin, defensive lineman Josh Cates, defensive back Victor Hampton and quarterback D.J. Quarles. Honorable mention Panthers were linebacker Darren Murphy and defensive ends Kevin Temple and Layton Bush. Bouldin, Cates, and Murphy are seniors. The other players return for another campaign.

The LoJo

Mark Woodcock, who is in charge of diamond sports officials, says the Kentucky High School Athletic Association is in need of fast pitch softball and baseball officials. “The KHSAA is looking for some good sports. Be a part of the action,” he says.
If you're interested, call Woodcock at 270-846-8994 for details.

The LoJo

A Logan Countian who drew national attention last year has come home for a new career. Bryan Fuller, whose ironman work on the pitching mound propelled Campbellsville University to the NAIA World Series and made him a household name on ESPN for a while, is now employed by First Southern National Bank in Russellville.
A 2005 graduate of LCHS, he earned a degree in business administration/accounting at Campbellsville last spring. He worked as a payroll specialist for Connected Nation for a while before joining FSNB in December.
Adding to an eventful 2009, Bryan and his sweetheart from LCHS, the former Jessica Inscoe, were married last summer.
In case you've forgotten the details, you can read the story of Fuller's pitching performance in the archives of The LoJo. Go to Articles and then May 2009. It's under Sports.

The LoJo

A former Lewisburg Elementary School student is on the verge of deciding where to play his college football. Christian Mullins, who has played three sports well for LaRue County County High School, was a young Ranger while his dad, Paul Mullins, was principal. Paul left Lewisburg to be principal at Caverna, and has been the LaRue principal for several years.
Christian was named first-team all-conference safety. He recorded 84 tackles, 64 of them solo. He had six interceptions and a fumble recovery.

His basketball has also been successful. The Hodgenville newspaper recently noted, “Senior wing Christian Mullins scored a season-high 17 points and hit 3-of-4 3-pointers to lead the homestanding LaRue County Hawks to a 50-47 come-from-behind win over the Adair County Indians on Tuesday.
Mullins also had eight rebounds and one steal as the Hawks (8-6) turned a three-point halftime deficit into a two-point lead going to the fourth quarter.”

He has narrowed his choices to Campbellsville University and Georgetown College. Eastern Kentucky University and Lindsey Wilson College were also possibilities.

The LoJo

Casting his college lot on the first day of the football signing period was DaJuan Brown, the high school all-star from Murfreesboro. The son of Logan County High School graduate Renee Flowers, he will play football for Tennessee Tech in nearby Cookeville.