2024 Class to Be Honored April 20

• Sylvia Crawley Spann got her start at Steubenville High School, where she averaged 17.9 points and 19.4 rebounds per game during her senior season in 1990. She landed at the University of North Carolina, totaling 1,158 career points. Crawley went on to a pro career and was Team USA’s Women’s Basketball Player of the year in 1995. She continued her career coaching at both the college and professional levels.
   
• Don DeVoe developed his coaching prowess under the leadership of fellow OSU teammate Bob Knight, when he served as his assistant coach at Army. He went on to serve as the head coach at Virginia Tech, followed by stints at Wyoming, Tennessee, Florida and Navy.
   
• Craig Ehlo spent seven seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 1987 to 1993, garnering 5,130 points, 2,285 assists and 2,267 rebounds. He hit a career-high 31 points three times in his pro career while playing against Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and Ron Harper.
   
• Jack Greynolds found great success at both Revere and Barberton High Schools. His Barberton Magics won the 1976 state championship and were runners up twice. He is being honored posthumously.
   
• Tyrone Hill, a product of Withrow High School (1986) went on to become Xavier University’s all-time leading rebounder and spent 14 years in the NBA, scoring 7,532 points and corralling 6,854 rebounds.
   
• Dan Hughes, a Fort Frye High School and Muskingum University (1977) graduate, has had a tremendous coaching career in the WNBA. He led the Seattle Storm to two championships and is second in all-time wins for a WNBA coach.
   
• Thurman Leggs, Jr. is a Dayton-area basketball official known across the country for helping many referees get their start. He’s been wearing the stripes for nearly 30 years, 23 of them as an NCAA official. He refereed the 2007 NAIA Division II Women's National Championship along with several conference championships.
   
• Kirk Martin is being celebrated for his successful coaching career with the Southeastern High School girls team as well as his accomplishments as head coach of the Cedarville University women’s team. He won a state title for Southeastern in 1996 and an NCCAA (National Christian College Athletic Association) Championship in 2008, along with two NAIA Division II national runner-up finishes, and seven conference championships. He guided the team to NCAA Division II status during the 2012-13 season, finishing their first active year 20-10.
   
• Mel Nowell is a product of the storied Columbus East High School teams (1958) who went on to play for Fred Taylor at Ohio State, starting every game of his career and contributing greatly to the Buckeyes’ historic 1960 NCAA Championship.
   
• Bev Obringer was a standout player from Marion Local High School who went on to great success at University of Cincinnati from 1985-89. Among her many achievements, she holds the UC record for blocked shots, at 142 and still ranks second for rebounds (977) and fifth for points scored, at 1700. She went on to have a successful 8 year professional career playing overseas in Europe, Chile, and Australia.
   
• Lauren Prochaska holds the NCAA record of 70 consecutive made free throws, which she set during her senior season at Bowling Green State University in 2011. The Jonathan Alder High School star logged 2,290 career points, a record for both men and women at BGSU.
   
• Bob Von Kaenel has amassed 741 wins as head coach at Dover High School in Tuscarawas County. He has spent 44 years coaching, achieving state runner-up status in 1988 while coaching Tusky Valley, and with Dover 1998. His 2004 team made it to the OHSAA semifinals. A three-time Associated Press Coach of the Year (1988, 1995, 1997), Coach Von Kaenel was enshrined in the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association in 2016 and has served in a leadership role for the OHSBCA since 2001.

The 1976 AAA State Champion Barberton High School Boys team also will be honored. The team went 26-0 en route to the state title, beating the Middletown Middies, 82-70. The lineup for the Magics, led by head coach Jack Greynolds, included Mark and Marty Bodnar, who went on to play for the University of Michigan; Carter Scott, who landed at Ohio State; and Fred Grisby, who went on to play at the University of Akron.

“We’re excited to celebrate another class of tremendous athletes, coaches and contributors in 2024,” said Executive Director Sheila Fox. “Ohio has a wealth of talented men and women who’ve impacted the game. We exist to tell their stories and honor their accomplishments.”

Visit the Ceremony section of the website to purchase tickets and learn more. 

For sponsorship and advertising opportunities, contact sfox@ohiobasketballhalloffame.com.

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Founded in 2005, the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame recognizes the remarkable achievements of both male and female athletes across high school, college, and professional basketball – along with phenomenal coaches and individuals who’ve impacted the game along the way. 

Together with a dedicated collection of coaches and basketball enthusiasts, Doc Daugherty and the late Don Henderson led the charge to establish the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame with a mission of preserving legacies, celebrating greatness, and honoring excellence.

Our annual Induction Ceremony, hosted in Columbus, celebrates basketball and its rich legacy. As of 2023, we’re proud to have recognized 284 individual inductees representing over 30 Ohio colleges and universities and 120 Ohio high schools. 

The list of charter members of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame reads like a Who’s Who of some of the sport’s most recognizable figures: Wayne Embry, Jerry Lucas, Katie Smith, Jimmy Jackson, Oscar Robertson, Clark Kellogg, Bill Hosket Jr., Fred Taylor, Paul Walker, Jay Burson, John Havlicek, Bob Knight, Nate Thurmond, et al.