Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame
There was excitement and anticipation in the Southwestern basketball program as the Lynx prepared for the1968-69 season. When the team opened the season at the University of Tennessee at Martin and defeated the Skyhawks 86-72, the Southwestern faithful knew this group of Lynx was going to be special.
Every great team must have strong leadership and a post presence, and Eddie Hart provided both attributes for the Lynx. As Head Coach Don Duckworth went on to say, “Eddie was the only kid I ever coached who didn’t shoot enough.” For his great floor leadership, attitude and play at center, Eddie Hart was named the Most Valuable Player for the 1968-69 squad. Offensively, 6’6” forward Ken Andrews could do it all. “Ken was an offensive machine” said Coach Duckworth. “He could shoot and rebound as good as any player I ever coached.” The Lynx employed a three-guard offense utilizing the great ball handling, shooting and defensive skills of Jim Gannon, Jim Meeks and Jim Moss. Gannon and Meeks were local players, having developed their skills at Memphis University and Collierville High Schools. The Lynx had perhaps the best sixth man in basketball in Ron McAfee, another local star from Hillcrest High School. Also seeing significant playing time was Tom Shoffner and Eric Cardwell.
There were lots of firsts for the 1968-69 basketball team. The 22 wins were the most in the college’s history and the Lynx won 17 straight home games. En route to capturing the College Athletic Conference (CAC) title, the team went undefeated (8-0) in the conference, defeating Sewanee, Centre, Washington and Lee and Washington University. The crowds were good early in the season, but after the Lynx demolished Sewanee 81-65 and began their 12-game winning streak, students, faculty, staff and local fans packed Mallory Gym the rest of the season. The Lynx closed the season with five straight home wins, avenging an early season loss at Union by defeating the Bulldogs 77-68.
Other members of the squad were: Bill Richardson, Gary Goodman, Carlyle Johnson, George Taylor, Steve Schmidt, Kevin Rando, Tommy Palmer, Matt Wood and Reed Click. Bill Waters served as the Assistant Coach, John Walters and Larry Parson as Trainers, and Jackie Rutledge as the Manager.
In a season-ending recap of the season, Bobby Ervin from The Commercial Appeal wrote, “It was a very good year for the Southwestern basketball team:
Which fought its way to a remarkable 22-3 record; Which cut a path through the bigger scholarship schools; Which proved it could win just for fun; Which was too tough to surrender.”
In recognition of their great season, Rhodes is honored to induct the 1968-69 Southwestern Basketball Team into the Rhodes Athletic Hall of Fame this 19th day of October, 2012.
