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'This is Dayton's year' for hall of fame
Local NBA players, former UD teams and coaches will be honored at Ohio event.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Two years into its existence, the Ohio Hoop Zone Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum may need a separate Dayton wing.
Several more Dayton-area standouts will be inducted tonight at the Columbus Convention Center.
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Among the 26 individuals and teams to be honored are ex-University of Dayton coaches Tom Blackburn and Don Donoher. So are Don May, Jim Paxson Jr., John Paxson and Ron Harper. UD's 1962 and 1968 NIT championship squads are among the teams being inducted.
"We've got a heckuva class coming in here Saturday night," said Don Henderson, the hall's co-founder and a 29-year coach at Springfield North High School. "This is Dayton's year, isn't it? They were selected by our committee, so they've got to be worthy."
Last year's inaugural class included Bill Hosket Sr., Bill Hosket Jr. and the 1928-30 Stivers championship teams.
Donoher was selected to speak for the inductees. The deceased inductees will have representatives, while most of the others will be in attendance.
Of course, Harper, a Detroit Pistons assistant coach, and John Paxson, the Chicago Bulls general manager, were battling in the NBA playoffs until the Pistons ousted the Bulls on Thursday.
Henderson said each would try to make it. Either way, Henderson said the stories will fly at fast-break pace.
"It's a great class," he said. "We hope to honor these people and give them their just due."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-6951
or mgokavi@DaytonDailyNews.com.
