The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame on Wednesday proudly inducted Jerry Armstrong, part of Texas Western’s 1966 national championship team and a longtime Missouri high school basketball coach, as well as Malta Bend and Mizzou standout Charlie Henke, Drury University’s Nate Quinn, Missouri State Lady Bear Jeanette Tendai and the 1990 Raytown South High School Boys Basketball Team.
Jerry Armstrong, North Harrison & Texas Western
Jerry Armstrong played at North Harrison High School, where he earned all-conference three years, all-district two years and All-State his senior year. A 6-foot-5 standout, he led North Harrison to the state championship game in 1962 before falling to Bradleyville, 59-49. Armstrong then went on to play for Texas Western in El Paso. There, he became part of one of the most memorable teams in college basketball history. The 1966 team won the NCAA championship, fielding an all-black starting lineup in the finals against the Kentucky Wildcats, then coached by Adolph Rupp, who did not integrate his team until 1972. Armstrong did not play in in the NCAA title game but later was quoted as saying that, had he played, Texas Western and coach Don Haskins, would never have made such a historical statement. The 2006 movie “Glory Road” was based on that team. However, Armstrong played a key role in the tournament semifinals, holding Utah’s Jerry Chambers to only a few points in the second half after Chambers scored 24 before halftime. Armstrong was a three-year letterman at Western and went on to coach at Trenton, King City, Richmond and Mansfield high schools in Missouri. In 21 years, his teams won seven conference titles and made the state playoffs six times. His King City team reached the state semifinals in 1987 and finished third. Overall, Armstrong was 329-195 before retiring in 1996, and is an inductee of the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Charlie Henke, Malta Bend & Mizzou
Charlie Henke (pronounced HEENK) was one of the first great “big men” in the University of Missouri basketball history and later became a successful high school basketball coach. He graduated in 1957 from Malta Bend, just west of Marshall. Henke was a three-year starter, plus earned All-State, All La-Saline Conference and all-district. As a senior, he averaged a conference-best 23 points and 23 rebounds. He went on to become a consensus All-American by the Associated Press, United Press International and Helms Foundation and was a senior co-captain at Mizzou in 1961. Additionally, he earned All-Big Eight honors in 1960 and 1961 when he led the Tigers in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. Henke is all over the Mizzou record books. His career 1,338 points stood as the team record until 1973 and, although that figure now ranks 20th, Henke achieved the total in only 74 games – whereas 15 players ahead of him played in at least 105 games. Meanwhile, his career scoring average (18.1), career free throws attempted (554) and free throws made (396) are all sixth-best in school history, while his career rebounding average (9.8) is fifth best (based off 725 rebounds). Additionally, Henke’s 24.6 single-season scoring average in 1960-1961 and his 11.5 rebounds the year before rank, respectively, second and sixth all-time in program history – with the scoring average leading the Big 8 that season. Henke, a fourth-round draft pick of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers, played one season for the Kansas City Steers of the American Basketball League. He later was a basketball coach from 1966 to 1996, working for Nevada (1966-1970), Mehlville (1970-1975) and Carrollton (1975-1996) high schools. He was inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007 and is part of Mizzou’s All-Century team.
Nate Quinn, Drury University & Hillcrest High School
Nate Quinn was one of Drury University’s best ever on the basketball court and later coached the Hillcrest High School boys basketball program for 14 seasons. Many remember that he rose to prominence between 1976 and 1980 at Drury as Quinn helped the Panthers win the 1979 NAIA national championship. That figure is now fifth-most in Drury history but actually stood as the program’s second-most until the early 1990s. When he graduated, Quinn also held the second-most career assists (514) and the sixth-most points in a single season (569) in program history. He was voted NAIA All-American honorable mention in 1980 and twice earned First Team All-District 16 honors, with an honorable mention all-district during his junior year. At Hillcrest, Quinn was an assistant coach on the Hornets’ 1984 state championship team and then was head coach the next 13 seasons. He became Hillcrest’s career leader in wins with a 223-145 record, including a school-record mark of 26-2 in 1992. Eventually, he went into administration, serving as assistant principal at Hillcrest for seven years and then three years as principal at Jarrett Middle School. He then was Coordinator of Cultural Diversity and Expanded Learning Opportunities with Springfield Public Schools for six years and, in recent years, has served as a Missouri State University professor in the Educational Administration Graduate Program.
Jeanette Tendai, Glendale High School & MSU Lady Bears
Jeanette Tendai was the first woman, in any sport, whose jersey was retired at Missouri State University. A 6-foot forward/center for the Lady Bears, Tendai scored 1,769 points in her career between the fall of 1982 and March 1986, graduating as the program’s all-time leading scorer (she now ranks sixth). Tendai, who also was the third Lady Bear ever to score 1,000 career points, was a two-time All-American. Additionally, the Glendale High School standout was the Lady Bears’ first All-Gateway Conference pick as a sophomore in 1984, when she shattered the then-school record for scoring (597 points) in a single season en route to earning honorable mention All-America honors. Her 21.4 scoring average remains the fourth-best single-season mark in MSU history, and the highest for any Lady Bear not named Jackie Stiles. Tendai was a three-time all-conference selection, earning first team honors as a sophomore and junior before receiving second team recognition in 1985-1986. She also owns the third-best career field goals converted (726) and the fifth-most field goal attempts (1,468) in school history. In high school, Tendai was a three-time All-Ozarks selection and all-district as well. She was All-State as a senior after leading Glendale to a 26-1 record and the state quarterfinals. Tendai, who recently retired after a 30-year career in education, is working as an educational consultant, providing school districts assistance in the areas of human resources and educational leadership.
Raytown South High School’s 1990 Boys Basketball Team
The Raytown South High School Boys Basketball Team that won the 1990 Class 4 state championship is arguably the best in state history. Led by Missouri Sports Hall of Fame coach Bud Lathrop, the Cardinals finished 31-0 and featured future two Division I recruits in Jevon Crudup, who starred at Mizzou and was a second-round draft pick of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, and Chris Lindley, a Kansas Jayhawks commit. However, Lindley lost a foot in a train accident midseason. Crudup scored at least 50 points four times that season, shooting 60 percent from the field. That winter was special all around the Kansas City area, as the metro featured eight D-I commits, including several at Lee’s Summit, whose only three losses that season were to Raytown South. The Cardinals beat Vashon in the Final Four and then capped their season with a 66-47 victory against De Smet at the Hammons Student Center in Springfield. The team also featured Jesse Battles, Steve Aldrich, Scott Fidler, Deric Cofield, Bryan Harris and Andy Nicholson in the rotation. Other team members included Les Saunders, Ryan Nicholson, Vince Leigh and Sonny Williams. Assistant coaches were John Hursman and Kurt Morrison. Lindley, who went on to work for a non-profit in Lawrence, Kan., passed away at age 34 in 2007.
FILBERT FIVE — WOMEN
Bethany Creed (Ash Grove/Drury): Creed enjoyed one of the most prolific prep careers while at Ash Grove, scoring 2,760 career points – the 11th-highest total in Missouri history. She went on to play at Drury University, helping the Lady Panthers to a 122-12 record between 2002 and 2006. That included an NCAA Division II national runner-up finish in March 2004 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance her senior year. She concluded her career among Drury’s all-time leaders in free-throw percentage, rebounding, assists and steals.
Kami Scrivner Eddington (Mount Vernon/Pittsburg State): Eddington played at Mount Vernon from 1998 to 2001, becoming a two-time All-State selection in Class 3 and a three-time All-Joplin Globe selection. Eddington, who was an ESPN The Magazine All-Academic second team selection, left Mount Vernon as its career leader in several categories — scoring (2,503), points per game (22), field goals made (941), free throws made (578), free throw percentage (78). She finished with 746 rebounds and and a 6.5 rebounding average. At Pittsburg State, she was a four-year letterwinner and earned postseason honors all four years from the MidAmerica Intercollegiate Athletics Association, including a first team selection after her senior year. She also earned All-South Central Region twice. Career-wise at Pitt State, Eddington ranks sixth in points (1,559), is one of only four players to score more than 1,500 points and grab more than 500 rebounds (531), is 10th in assists (248), sixth in steals (161) and second in single-season free throw percentage (88 percent).
Tag Morris (Blue Eye HS/Missouri State/Evangel): Morris was a four-year starter at Blue Eye High School, finishing her career with 2,259 points, 1,223 rebounds, 531 steals and 513 assists – all school records. She was a two-time First Team All-State selection, three-time Southwest Central League MVP, the 2005 Miss Show Me runner-up, set the Missouri high school state record for points per game as a freshman and helped Blue Eye win two district championships. As a senior, the 5-10 guard led Blue Eye to a 25-3 record and the SCL regular season and tournament championships, earning MVP honors. That season, she averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five steals, earning McDonald’s All-America nomination. She also was the class valedictorian, a four-year starter in softball and three-year starter in volleyball. Morris was beset by knee injuries at MSU before finishing her career at Evangel.
Kayli Combs Price (Branson/College of the Ozarks): Price was All-State in Class 4 in 2005 and 2004 as well as All-Ozarks at Branson, leading the team to district titles her junior and senior years, with the 2004 team reaching the state quarterfinals. Price played for the C of O for three years (2006-2009) and set seven school records, all after transferring from Missouri State, where she was selected to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team and played in the NCAA Tournament. In her time in Point Lookout, the Lady ‘Cats won 98 games, were NAIA national runner-up twice and reached the semifinals all three years, plus were undefeated in the Midlands Conference and at home in each of her three seasons. Price was the Conference Player of the Year, plus a three-time first team all-conference, and part of three conference championship teams. When she graduated, she was the sixth-leading scorer in Lady ‘Cat history (1,672). Combs was a third team All-American in 2007 and, in 2008 and 2009, was a First Team All-American and First Team All-Tournament Team. Her number (25) was retired at the end of her career.
Casey Garrison Powell (Bolivar/Missouri State): Powell was a four-time All-State selection and three-time All-Ozarks at Bolivar High School and finished her prep career as the No. 10 scorer in Missouri girls high school basketball history, averaging 23.1 points a game. She led the Lady Liberators to three state tournament appearances as well as the first Central Ozark Conference title in school history (March 2007). She averaged 25.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4.2 steals a game as a senior. At Missouri State, Garrison became only the sixth player in Missouri Valley Conference women’s history to earn All-MVC first team honors four consecutive years. She finished with 2,271 points, third-most in conference history and second in MSU history behind Jackie Stiles. She also led the Lady Bears to three WNIT appearances and was the 2010 MVC Player of the Year.
FILBERT FIVE – MEN
Tim Brown (Rogersville/Drury): As a senior at Rogersville High School, Brown was All-State, All-Ozarks, All-Central Ozark Conference and all-district as he averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 assists. At Drury from the fall of 2005 to March 2008, he played in 174 games, starting in 118, including three NCAA Division II Tournaments. Overall, he scored 873 points and had 453 assists. Among his significant contributions was helping the Panthers win their first Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title in 2008, which led to a berth in the NCAA Division II national tournament and a 25-6 record. Brown was voted to the All-GLVC Tournament team that season after setting the assists record for the tournament.
Daniel Cutbirth (Hurley/Evangel): Cutbirth was a 6-foot-2 guard who graduated from Hurley in 1998, having scored 2,958 points. He made 1,184 field goals and played in 108 consecutive games. Along the way, he earned First Team All-State honors as a junior and senior, All-Ozarks his senior year and was all-conference all four years, including first team honors his final three seasons. Additionally, Cutbirth was a three-time all-district. He then helped Evangel win the 2002 NAIA national championship, with Cutbirth named the NAIA Tournament MVP. He was a two-time NAIA All-American, Co-Player of the Year and three-time first team in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Cutbirth scored 2,146 points.
Junior Roweton (Halfway/SBU/Drury): Roweton was a standout basketball player for Halfway in the late 1950s, graduating in 1959. He was a key player on Halfway’s Class S state runner-up team in 1958 and then, as a senior, averaged almost 27 points a game. He remains the last Halfway player to have played all four years in college. Roweton played two seasons at Southwest Baptist before finishing at Drury University, where he started every game as a senior and was assigned to guard the other team’s best scorer. Roweton assisted the Parkview High School boys basketball program from 1965 to 1973, a time when the “Jolly Green Giants” won the state title in 1965 and placed second in the state the next season. Roweton later coached the Bolivar girls to the 1982 Class 3 state title (the team was 28-2) in his only season, and coached the Bolivar boys briefly in the late 1990s.
Corey Stone (Reeds Spring/College of the Ozarks): Stone was a 2004 graduate of Reeds Spring High School, where he was a four-year starter for the basketball team. He was a two time first team All-Central Ozark Conference selection and all-district as a senior. He finished his career as the second-leading scorer in school history. Stone played at College of the Ozarks from 2004 to 2009, helping the Bobcats win the NAIA Division II national title in 2006 and finishing as runner-up in 2009. He was a three time all-conference selection, an NAIA All-Tournament team and an NAIA All-American as a senior.
Tim West (Skyline/State Fair CC/Nebraska): West was a First Team All-State selection as a sophomore, junior and senior and a two-time All-Ozarks at Skyline-Urbana High School. He is the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,004 points from 1974 to 1977. At State Fair, he was All-Region in March 1978 and, a year later, was All-Region as well as the Player of the Year and a Juco All-American. He averaged 21 points and 12 rebounds a game, plus shot 55 percent from the field and 80 percent at the free-throw line. At Nebraska, he was honorable mention All-Big 8 and the Big 8 Newcomer of the Year in 1979-1980, despite being an undersized, 6-foot-5 small forward. West played in 24 games there, averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and shot 53 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free-throw line.
