Column By Brian Hoffman – Sports Editor
It’s getting close to basketball season and I can already hear the balls thumping on the hardwoods. I watched an NBA exhibition game Monday– yes, I’m that crazy– and the college and high school seasons will be here before you know it.
Lord Botetourt has announced an event on December 18 that features an interesting lineup of games at the high school gym. An all-day, five-game card will feature John Battle against Altavista at noon, followed by Goochland against Narrows at 1:45 p.m., Hickory against Fluvanna at 3:30 p.m., Monacan against host Lord Botetourt at 5:15 p.m. and Liberty Christian against Parry McCluer at 7 p.m.
That’s a great day of basketball, but there’s a thread that sews all these games together. Every game will feature a head coach that is an alum of Emory & Henry College, assembled by Lord Botetourt’s Andrew Hart. The event is named the “Bob Johnson Classic” in honor of the late Wasps coach.
Bob Johnson served Emory & Henry College as its men’s basketball coach and athletic director for almost 30 years. The winningest coach in program history with 370 victories over 27 seasons, Johnson is one of the legendary mentors in the history of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. He was selected as a member of the 2009 class of the Emory & Henry Sports Hall of Fame.
Known for his strict military discipline, Bob inherited a program in 1980 which had not had a winning season in 13 years. In his fifth season, the Wasps began a string of 12 years in which they won 12 or more contests, six of which were 20-win campaigns. E&H reached the ODAC Tournament Finals five occasions, qualified for five NCAA Division III Tournaments and made it to the Sweet 16 in 1988 and 1993.
Johnson was the recipient of many awards, including three ODAC Coach of the Year awards, three NCAA Division III South Region Coach of the Year honors and he received the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Division III Service Award in 2007.
On January 19, 2008, Emory & Henry dedicated the playing surface inside the John Rutledge King Center gymnasium as the “Bob Johnson Court.” In 2009, the ODAC ensured that Johnson’s legacy would be a lasting one across the league, designating the annual coaching award for men’s basketball the “Bob Johnson Coach of the Year.”
Johnson died of cancer in 2009 just two days shy of his 63rd birthday, but his legacy lives on in the number of coaches who learned under Bob. All 10 coaches in the “Bob Johnson Classic” are Emory & Henry grads, including the following and their graduating class: Mike Cartolaro (1983) of Parry McCluer, Steve Posey (1987) of John Battle, RJ Spelsberg (1998) of Monacan, Casey Johnson (2000) of Altavista, Heath Bralley (2001) of Fluvanna County, Patrick Bailey (2001) of Narrows, Preston Gordon (2004) of Goochland, Paul Redgate (2005) of Liberty Christian, Andrew Hart (2009) of Lord Botetourt and Brett Pearman (2014) of Hickory.
I always enjoyed seeing Bob when he came to Salem to play Roanoke College or work a camp, and his impact on the players he coached is obvious as his spirit lives on in the men who carry on his passion for basketball and life in general.
CORRECTION
In last week’s golf article concerning Ashton Harper and the Pure Insurance Championship in Pebble Beach, Calif., the statement “tying for fifth place in the event” was somewhat misleading. While Ashton was fifth “overall,” he tied for second place in the Boys First Tee Division and by PGA scoring the boys and girls were in different divisions and were given separate leaderboards and awards.
