OBCA

 Five men will be inducted into the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame during a June 4 ceremony at East Central University in Ada.

Tim Bart, past president of the OBCA, announced the 16th class of Hall of Fame inductees: Clyde Barkley, Ken Bruno, Robert Griffin, Eddie Sutton and John Turney.

The five coaches will be honored at an 11 a.m. luncheon in the Ballroom of the Memorial Student Union on the campus of East Central University. Tickets are $15. Contact Ja Havens at East Central, 417.576.7190, or jhavens@ecok.edu.

Coinciding with the Hall of Fame event is the OBCA All-Star Weekend. Three games involving graduating seniors from every classification will be played Saturday at the Kerr Activities Center.

The incoming class increases the number of Hall of Fame members to 95.

The inductees:

Clyde Barkley has spent all 39 years of his coaching career at his high school alma mater, Inola. In 37 years as head coach, Barkley has won 637 games, including the 1998 Class 3A state championship.

Despite retiring from the classroom, he remains the head coach at Inola.

He has served as president of the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association, coached in the 1996 All-State game and the 2000 Faith 7 Bowl, and was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015. 

Ken Bruno coached and taught for 33 years, almost half of that time in Bartlesville where he lives today.

Beginning his career in 1964, the Tulsa Will Rogers graduate had high school stints at Avant, Dewey, Tulsa Metro Christian, Hominy and Copan.

During 16 years at Bartlesville, he coached in the 1980 All-State game and the 1984 Faith 7 Bowl. He also guided Bartlesville to seven state golf championships.

Robert Griffin coached at eight Oklahoma high schools, plus two more in Kansas, during a 31-year career.

A Tishomingo High School graduate, he began his coaching journey in 1955 at Morrison, and had stops at Drumright, OKC Southeast, Tishomingo, OKC Crooked Oak, Alva and Chandler. In his 14-year stint at Guthrie, he led his teams to state championships in 1967 and 1968 with a runner-up finish in 1966. He coached in the 1967 All-State game and won 22 conference titles.

Eddie Sutton used a seven-year coaching stint at Tulsa Central as a springboard to an 800-win college career.

In 36 years as an NCAA Division I head coach, he compiled a record of 806-326, becoming the fifth coach with 800 victories before retiring in 2008.

With Creighton, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oklahoma State, he became the first coach to guide four schools to the NCAA tournament. He left Central in 1966 to launch the basketball program at College of Southern Idaho.

John Turney spent 27 years as an educator, including 20 years as a head basketball coach. 

He taught and coached at nine state schools, beginning with Cooperton in 1959 and concluding at Ames in 1986. Along the way, he made stops at Hollister, Arapaho, Dill City, Boise City, Keyes, Wakita and Olive.  

He posted a record of 383-124, which included the 1971 Class A state championship at Wakita. He coached in the 1983 All-State game. His son Randy was inducted in 2013.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

CONTACT

Tim Bart

Bartlesville High School

918.327.1855

Or

Ja Havens

East Central University

417.576.7190

Monday May 9 at John Marshall HS

6:00pm-8:00pm. Cost is $10.00