Several named to Mountain Classic Hall Of Fame
Now that the WYMT Whayne Supply Mountain Basketball Classic has come to a close, we take a look back at some of those who helped make the classic possible in the last 25 years.
Former WYMT Sports Reporter Jay Crawford and former Clay County Tigers Basketball Coach Bobby Keith worked closely at the start of the Mountain Classic.
While Crawford was one of the first to cover the event, Keith and his 1988 team became a cornerstone in the classics history.
Both were honored for their service this past weekend in the Mountain Classic Hall of Fame.
“It’s a huge honor for me, to come back and go in with the Clay County team, with Bobby Keith and to see Richie and Russ, and all the guys again it was so much fun covering those teams,” Crawford said.
Keith said to watch the classic grow over the last quarter of a century has been unbelievable.
“It is something else now, it may be the biggest thing in all of eastern Kentucky,” Coach Keith said.
And something he agreed to take part in for the children of eastern Kentucky.
“I tell you my dad was a coal miner and I never could have gone to college except for a basketball scholarship and so, when they told me they were gonna give the nine scholarships I said we will be a part of it,” Coach Keith said.
The impact that the classic continues to make on the region is something that Crawford says makes this honor so special.
“It is just a really special honor to go into the hall of fame of a tournament that has made such an impact on the mountains of eastern Kentucky,” Crawford said.
In addition to celebrating 25 years and those who have helped make the Mountain Classic possible, classic organizers also celebrated the more than two million dollars that have gone to students in the region during the last quarter of a century.
