From Perry Wallace to Ted McClain, The Tennessean's 1960s All-Decade boys basketball team
The Tennessean sports department begins a look into its archives beginning today.
The best high school basketball players from the Nashville area will be honored in the upcoming weeks through an all-decade team series, beginning with the 1960s. We are first releasing the boys basketball all-decade team from the 1960s.
Nashville became a hotbed for high school basketball in the 1960s, which coincided with Nashville schools being desegregated. That is evident with the dominance of Perry Wallace, Ted McClain and others.
Each all-decade team — there will be girls all-decade teams released as well — will include 15 players and a coach of the decade.
Marlin Alsup
Tullahoma | Center (1961)
UPI All-State ... the 6-foot-3 Alsup led Tullahoma to the state tournament as a junior ... extremely athletic athlete who played every position on the court ... Midstate's state second-leading scorer who averaged 27.9 points as a senior ... developed into one of the state's top college prospects ... signed with Tennessee Tech but ended up playing at Belmont where he became the team's captain, leading scorer and most valuable player as a senior ... inducted into Belmont athletics hall of fame.
Earl Carwile
Livingston | Center (1965)
Two-time AP All-State ... Carwile, a 6-5 center, was The Tennessean's Midstate Player of the Year as a senior even after being slowed by an ankle injury ... led Livingston to a No. 3 ranking in the state as a senior ... two-time Tennessean All-Midstate ... averaged 24.2 points and 15.4 rebounds as a senior and 16.1 points and 15.0 rebounds as a junior ... at 200 pounds he was a force under the basket ... led Livingston to a 21-2 record as a senior ... three-year starter ... played in the TSSAA East-West All-Star game.
James Douglas
Pearl | Forward (1967)
AP and UPI All-State ... Douglas was a 6-4 forward and Nashville Interscholastic League Player of the Year as a senior ... averaged 22.8 points and 20.0 rebounds ... helped lead Pearl to a No. 1 ranking and the championship ... Tigers were 31-0 in his junior season and 26-3 in his senior season ... team captain in his junior and senior seasons ... 1,200 career points ... called a "muscular mauler" by Tennessean sports writer Bob Teitlebaum ... district and region tournament MVP ... had 24 points and 15 rebounds in the TSSAA East-West All-Star game ... played at Memphis State where he averaged 15.7 points for his career ... selected by Buffalo in the 1971 NBA Draft.
Charlie Jordan
Murfreesboro | Forward (1965)
AP All-State ... Jordan, a 6-5, forward, led Murfreesboro to the state championship and a 32-0 record as a senior (first team in state to finish undefeated since Hume-Fogg in 1948) ... leading scorer (75 points) and rebounder (57) in the state tournament ... state tournament MVP ... had a knack for being a big-time performer. In a game against Gibbs when both teams were vying for the No. 1 spot in the state, Jordan scored 25 points ...... averaged 15.1 points and 11.9 rebounds.
Clyde Lee
David Lipscomb | Center (1962)
AP All-State ... Lee was a 6-9 center and NIL Player of the Year as a senior ... two-time All-City ... averaged 27.1 points and 20.0 rebounds as a senior ... became the NIL's fourth-leading single-season scorer despite being hampered by a sprained ankle ... improved scoring average by 10 points from his junior to senior season ... 1,345 career points ... became an All-American and two-time SEC player of the year at Vanderbilt ... played 10 seasons in the NBA and was an All-Star in 1968 ... jersey No. 43 retired by Vanderbilt ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame.
Ray Maddux
Stratford | Center (1969)
Two-time All-State ... the 6-8 center led Stratford to the state tournament three straight seasons and a No. 2 ranking in the state in 1969 ... NIL Player of the Year as a senior ... averaged 28.2 points per game as a senior and scored nearly 1,500 career points ... "Ray's got the best outside touch for a big man, he has a great temperament for the game itself and is probably the best rebounder I've ever had," said legendary Stratford coach Charlie Anderson ... became the most highly recruited college prospect of all-time from Nashville ... contacted by more than 100 college recruiters by the midway point in his senior season ... played at Vanderbilt where he was a three-year starter ... Metro Nashville Public Schools Sports Hall of Fame.
Ted "Hound" McClain
Pearl | Guard (1967)
Underclassman starter alongside Perry Wallace and James Douglas on the 1965-66 Pearl team considered by many to be the best high school team the state has ever produced ... that team went 31-0 and broke the color barrier by winning the TSSAA championship in the first integrated state tournament ... scored 91 total points in the state tournament including a game-high 28 in the championship game ... played at Tennessee State where he became the program's second all-time leading scorer with 2,309 career points ... All-American in 1970 ... selected in the second round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks ... played eight seasons in the NBA/ABA ... 1974 ABA All-Star ... 4,669 career points and 1,627 rebounds as a pro ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame ... Tennessee State Athletics Hall of Fame.
Jimmy "Monk" Montgomery
Kittrell | Forward (1963)
Set the state career scoring record with 4,013 points, a record that is still in place today ... the 6-4 forward averaged 29.1 points per game as a senior ... AP All-State ... two-time All-Midstate ... led Kittrell to three straight state tournament appearances ... scored 51 points in a region tournament win over Rockvale as senior ... became one of the state's top college prospects and signed with Auburn ... made 19 consecutive shots in a game against Kentucky at Rupp Arena ... averaged 11.7 points and 3.9 rebounds for his college career.
Dave Richardson
Stratford | Forward (1967)
AP and UPI All-State ... two-time All-Metro ... became the NIL's second all-time leading scorer with 1,497 career points ... 6-7 forward averaged 16.8 points and led Stratford to its first NIL and District 19 title as a junior ... started his senior season slow due to a leg injury but finished strong averaging 19.0 points per game and sparking a heated recruiting battle between Vanderbilt and Tennessee ... signed with the Commodores after being considered the best big man to come out of Nashville since Clyde Lee (1962).
Vic Rouse
Pearl | Forward (1961)
Helped lead Pearl to the 1958, 1959 and 1960 black national high school championships ... the 6-6 forward helped Pearl string together a 54-game win streak over his sophomore and junior seasons ... went on to play at Loyola Chicago where he rejoined Pearl teammate Les Hunter ... the duo led Loyola Chicago to the 1963 NCAA championship ... in the championship game Loyola erased a 15-point deficit with 10 minutes left in regulation and knocked off Cincinnati in overtime. Rouse made the winning basket known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the Basketball World,” after rebounding a Hunter miss as time expired ... 1,169 career points and 982 rebounds at Loyola ... jersey No. 40 retired by Loyola ... selected in the 1964 NBA Draft by the Cincinnati Royals ... invited to the White House by President Barack Obama in 2013 along with Loyola teammates to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the NCAA Championship ... Nashville Public Schools Sports Hall of Fame.
Boots Scott
DuPont | Guard (1960)
AP All-State ... won the inaugural Tennessean NIL Player of the Year award in 1960 ... 5-10 guard led DuPont to three consecutive NIL championships and the state tournament semifinals as a sophomore ... averaged 19.5 points per game as a senior ... married Gail McGowan of DuPont, who was the inaugural NIL Girls Player of the Year ... also played golf and was the 1960 high school state champion after posting a record 145-total for 36 holes at Shelby Golf Course ... finished runner-up along with East's Junior Ward as The Tennessean's 1960 Athlete of the Year to Father Ryan football star Art Guepe Jr. ... played golf at MTSU ... went on to become Beech's first basketball coach ... Beech Athletics Hall of Fame ... DuPont All-Sports Hall of Fame ... Beech's court is named in Scott's honor.
Cliff Shegogg
Nashville Christian Institute | Forward (1966)
The Tennessean All-Big 5 first team ... averaged 32.3 points and 16.2 rebounds as a senior and 27.2 points as a junior ... 6-5 forward led the Crusaders to the 1965 district tournament semifinals and scored 34 points in a 70-62 loss to Pearl ... Tennessee East-West All-Star game ... when describing Shegogg's leaping ability at the East-West All-Star game one coach said, "Everytime Shegogg jumps you can read 'Converse' on the bottom of his shoes." ... received 73 college scholarship offers ... played at Colorado State where he averaged 16.1 points and 5.0 rebounds for his career ... led Colorado State to the Elite Eight of the 1969 NCAA Tournament ... selected in the seventh round of the 1970 NBA Draft by Buffalo ... also played for the Texas Chaparrals in the ABA.
Bill Swain
Madison | Forward (1964)
All-American ... AP All-State ... NIL Player of the Year ... 6-5 forward averaged 22.7 points and won the NIL scoring title ... "The opposition never fails to at least double-team Bill defensively and he is still leading the league (in scoring)," Madison coach Bill Brimm said at the time ... three-year starter ... made The Tennessean All-City team as a sophomore despite a major knee surgery ... declared ineligible for the first half of his junior season for participating in a church league. Without him Madison got off to a 1-6 start ... had 27 points and 20 rebounds in his first game back ... repeated as an All-City player the next two seasons.
Perry Wallace
Pearl | Forward (1966)
Parade All-American ... AP and UPI All-State ... All-Metro ... 6-5 forward led Pearl to the 1966 state championship and a 31-0 record the first year year the TSSAA was desegregated ... led Pearl to the 1963 National Negro tournament championship ... averaged 12.0 points on a well-balanced scoring team and 18.9 rebounds per game as a senior ... jumped high enough to put his elbow on the rim ... received more than 80 college basketball scholarship offers including Kentucky, Tennessee and Vanderbilt ... became the first Black basketball player to receive an SEC scholarship when he signed with Vanderbilt ... Vanderbilt's second all-time leader in rebounds per game (11.5) ... 1970 All-SEC second team ... selected in the fifth round of the 1970 NBA Draft by Philadelphia ... jersey No. 25 retired by Vanderbilt ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame ... Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame ... U.S. Basketball Writers Association Courage Award named in his honor ... 25th Avenue South on Vanderbilt's campus renamed in his honor.
Jimmy Young
Montgomery Central | Guard (1967)
UPI All-State ... All-Midstate ... prolific shooter ... 6-0 guard averaged 19.0 points per game as a freshman, more than 25 as a sophomore and junior and 33.4 as a senior when he led the state in scoring ... 3,098 career points ... led Montgomery Central to a 20-1 record as a senior ... TSSAA East-West All-Star game ... his father Jim Young Sr. was the school's coach ... played at Murray State where he scored 1,128 career points and led the Racers to the NCAA Tournament in 1969 ... set the program record for single season free throw accuracy (89.6%) in 1969-70, which still stands today ... two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference ... Murray State Athletics Hall of Fame ... returned to Montgomery Central where he coached the boys basketball team for 47 years and compiled more than 500 wins before retiring in 2019.
Coach
Cornelius Ridley
Pearl
Played football, basketball and baseball at Pearl, earned a basketball scholarship to Lane College then returned to Pearl as the boys basketball coach in 1960 ... led the Tigers to the National Negro tournament championship in 1960 and 1963... led the Tigers to the 1966 state championship and a 31-0 record the first year year the TSSAA integrated ... all five starters averaged double-figures scoring ... career coaching record, which included a stints at Maplewood and Whites Creek, was 684-171 ... Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame ... TSSAA Hall of Fame.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville area 1960s All-Decade high school boys basketball team
