A great turnout for Meet the Bulldogs

Don’t think I ever really remember a “bad” one, but this past Friday night’s Meet the Bulldog and Wall of Fame induction was certainly one of the best in memory.

A great crowd came out to enjoy the festivities Friday night as we took our first look at the young people who will be representing Clinton County this season on the basketball and cheerleading squads.

Of course the night closed with the inductions of our newest Wall of Fame members, Tony Sloan (Class of 1955), and Jessica Cummings (Conner) (Class of 2006).

Both were very gracious recipients and during their brief acceptance talks, both talked about the importance of being involved in organized sports and how that experience had continued to influence them throughout their adult lives.

“Basketball is the greatest game in the world” Tony Sloan remarked during his brief comments, before closing with “Remember, your coach knows more than you know.”

Tony Sloan

Jessica Cummings Conner

“Should have practiced more”

When he learned that a former teammate of his, Tony Sloan, was about to be honored by being inducted onto the Wall of Fame, Louis Brummett took time out to give me a call last Thursday morning to express his pleasure that Tony was being honored.

Brummett, who is currently third on the Clinton County High School Bulldog All -Time scoring list – behind Keifer Dalton and Kenneth Conner – graduated in 1955 with Sloan, and grew up as a childhood neighbor to the Sloan family in Albany.

“Be sure to tell Tony how happy I am for him,” Brummett instructed me ( I did), before he set off on a collection of stories about playing basketball in the 1950s.

Brummett, who was named to the Wall of Fame himself in the second class of inductees back in 1999, played for three different Bulldog coaches beginning with Richard Murphy, then one-year coach Don Bales and finally for W.A. “Bill” Kidd for his 1955 senior season.

In one story he talked about last week, Brummett recalled getting a basketball for Christmas when he was probably in seventh grade, and spending every available moment outside practicing shooting. His dedication prompted an uncle to tell him one afternoon that he was spending too much time practicing basketball.

“Looking back, I should have practiced more,” Brummett told me during our telephone conversation. “There’s no telling how good I could have been if I had practiced more.”

Brummett has sent me a collection of his high school basketball playing memories and readers can look forward to the sharing of those memories in the next week or two in the Clinton County News.

Carrying a little extra weight

Injuries are a dreaded but common experience for athletes of all sports, and some are more serious than others.

Some even bring a chuckle or two when explained.

Bulldog guard Colin Langford is sporting a little extra weight for the next few days as we get ready to head into the two pre-season scrimmages that are just ahead.

Seems Colin, while trying to settle a disagreement with some friends and teammates, was involved in a street ball dunking contest near his home last week on a lower than regulation basketball goal.

Apparently, that goal had already lived an existence of stress from years and years of dunking because on Colin’s dunk – which turned out to be the last ever for this particular goal – the pole snapped, bringing the entire goal and backboard down on his head.

The long line of stitches are just barely visible near his hairline and should be gone by the time the season starts.

Boys will be boys, but with the season starting in less than two weeks, the boys need to be a little more careful.