#Ole miss sports hall of fame tad smith how to#

The honoreed were announced Friday (April 14) in a ceremony at the Gertrude C. Thomas, Margaret Lynn Walker and Morgan B. Bryant, Andy Flores, Kelly Li and Preston McWilliams, and (bottom, from left) Rabria M. Click here.The 2023 Hall of Fame members at the University of Mississippi are (top, from left) Preston D. You can help support Mississippi sports history and the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. He had them right then.Īs with Pete Maravich, Kennedy was warmly received. Some of my friends thought it was more like putting a chicken in a fox house.” “Some compared it with inviting a fox to a henhouse. “I know there was some controversy about my being invited here,” RFK told the students. Who would have thought it? RFK speaking in Oxford? My great friend Ed Ellington - now a federal bankruptcy judge in Jackson, then an Ole Miss law student, eloquently introduced Kennedy. The event was supposed to have been held in Fulton Chapel but the students’ demand to attend led to it being moved to the then-brand new Ole Miss Coliseum, later named for Tad Smith, the long-time athletic director. Kennedy, fewer than four years removed from the Ole Miss riot and his acrimonious dealings with Ross Barnett, came to the brand new Tad Pad to speak. “I hope we can carry some of that over,” said Andy Kennedy, and he should.Īctually, the ultimate visiting “team” was also named Kennedy. You come in to this kind of dumpy looking, little place and then all the sudden you can’t hear yourself dribble. I’ve always thought opponents were caught somewhat off-guard. When the place is packed, the sound can be suffocating. Stefan Moody.Īll in all, the Tad Pad has been a fantastic homecourt advantage. The Provine Posse, Jason Harrison, Michael White and Keith Carter, Rahim Lockhart, Andy Kennedy’s first team that improved dramatically, won the SEC West and gave Ole Miss basketball renewed hope. Later, he was a National Coach of the Year, taking Ole Miss to the Sweet 16. All Rod became was one of the best players in the SEC and one of the best in Ole Miss history. Ed Murphy, one of my favorite people, didn’t think Barnes was good enough to play for him at Delta State and then inherited him when Murphy came to Ole Miss. Van was a sports writer’s dream, a pearl of a quote every time he opened his mouth and drawled. I remember Van Chancellor’s splendid women’s teams and so many gifted, well-coached players. We thank him for it, we love him for it,”Gov.

#Ole miss sports hall of fame tad smith how to#

“ChuckieMullins showed us a lot about how to live. “The most courageous football player, I’ve ever known,” Billy Brewer called Chuckie. I remember the moving memorial service for Chuckie Mullins on May 8, 1991. Go to, search for Chris Jackson and Gerald Glass, and sit back and enjoy. Nobody who was there will forget the night of March 4, 1989, when then-Chris Jackson went for 55 points, Gerald Glass for 53 and the Rebels defeated LSU in double overtime 113-112.

I’ve often wondered what might have happened had Weltlich not left for Texas. Pad? Sean Tuohy passed, Roger Stieg set picks and rebounded, John Stroud and Elston Turner scored - and everybody defended. Who can forget Bob Weltlich’s teams, which put on basketball clinics at the Tad He was co-captain as a junior, captain as a senior and was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. He remains the school’s fifth all-time leading rebounder, although he played just three years of varsity ball. That’s how good.Ĭoolidge Ball, the first African American player at Ole Miss, wasn’t nearly as flashy or as talented, but will be remembered for his effort, his consistency, his will, his character and his integrity. How good was Pete? Ole Miss fans cheered an LSU player. I remember driving from Hattiesburg, either ’68 or ’69, to see Pete Maravich. I’ve seen some really good basketball and I’ve seen some that has long been forgotten. It has been the butt of many jokes, some deserved.īut, for Ole Miss basketball, it has been home, albeit leaky, since 1966.Ĭan’t tell you how many games I’ve seen there, but memories abound. It will be like trading in a ’66 Dodge Dart for a 2016 Mercedes.įew tears will be shed for the Tad Pad. 7, Alabama comes to town and the Rebels move to the long-awaited Pavilion at Ole Miss. The Ole Miss Rebels gave us one last Tad Pad memory Tuesday with an overtime victory over Troy before a loud, packed house. On Jan.