Edited: March 29, 2010

Five With Ties To North Coast To Be Inducted to Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame

CLEVELAND -- Ann Gilbert, Don Henderson, Nan Nichols, Frank Shannon and Tom Toohig will represent the NCAC in the the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame's (OBHOF) class of 2010. The class comprised of 10 coaches, five college players, a club owner and a game official, as well as several team honorees, will be inducted on Saturday, May 22 at the Columbus Convention Center. The ceremony is open to the public and tickets can be purchased here.

Gilbert, a native of Elyria, Ohio, was a two-time Kodak first-team All-American, a two-time NCAC Player of the Year, the Honda Division III Athlete of the Year and the Champion USA/WBCA Player of the Year in 1991 during her career at Oberlin after transferring from Ohio University. In her first season at Oberlin, she led the nation in scoring (31.1 points per game) and was the nation’s second-leading scorer in her second and final season for the Yeowomen (31.3 ppg). Gilbert set the NCAA Division III record for points in a game with 61 against Allegheny, Feb. 6, 1991. She is still the Oberlin record holder for points in a season (778, 1989-90), field goals in a game (28), field goals in a season (319) and free throws made and attempted in a game (13-of-17 vs. Case Western Reserve, Jan. 6, 1990). In just two seasons as a player at Oberlin, she registered 1,527 points to become the school’s leading scorer, a record that stood until 2002. 

All told, Gilbert set 24 school records and 10 conference records as a player and still holds 10 standing NCAA Division III records. She received an invitation to compete for the U.S. team in the 1990 Pan Am Games trials in Colorado Springs. Oberlin retired her jersey in 1994 and in 2001 she was inducted into the Oberlin College Athletic Hall of Fame.

After her playing career, Gilbert began coaching at Oberlin as an assistant coach with the women’s basketball team in 1992-93 and was an assistant men’s basketball coach in 1993-94, before assuming the women’s basketball head coaching duties in 1994. She is still the winningest coach in Oberlin women’s basketball history as the Yeowomen made six appearances in the NCAC postseason tournament during her tenure. Gilbert assisted in the development of eight separate All-NCAC players including the 1999 All-NCAC Newcomer of the Year. After Oberlin, Gilbert headed to the Division I level as she served as an assistant coach at Michigan State for five seasons. Currently, Gilbert is the head coach at Eastern Michigan University and has compiled a 47-42 record in three years.

Henderson spent 36 years as a teacher of mathematics and coach for the Springfield City Schools. He is best known for having coached the boys basketball team at Springfield North High School for 29 years (1960-1989), but he also was head baseball coach for 22 years. His basketball teams had two undefeated regular seasons, won six Western Ohio League championships and four district titles. In one three-year stretch, the Panthers had a 65-5 record. North had five all-state players in Henderson’s tenure. Two were Ohio players of the year. An all-state high school basketball player himself, Henderson spent four years (1947-50) in the Air Force after graduation from Cadiz High School. He entered Wittenberg University in 1950 and earned eight letters in baseball, basketball and football. He was elected into the Wittenberg Hall of onor in 1996. He was elected to the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1991. Henderson is co-chairman of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.

Nichols, one of the early leaders in the women’s sports movement, had a dramatic impact on women’s athletics, both at The College of Wooster and on the national level. Along with her colleagues, she built a broad-based varsity athletic program for women at Wooster, one that would become a model for other colleges and universities throughout the United States. Nichols first came to Wooster as a physical education instructor in 1962 but she left after one year to pursue her master’s degree at Bowling Green State University. She came back to Wooster for good in 1965 and her return marked the
beginning of varsity athletics for women. As head women’s basketball coach, she guided the Fighting Scots to three national tournament appearances, one conference championship, and an overall record of 186-131. As head women’s swimming and diving coach, she led the Scots to a remarkable 70-8 dual-meet record, even though she had never been a competitive swimmer. Nichols served as Wooster’s Director of Women’s Athletics for 21 years between 1974 and 1995. Outside of Wooster, Nichols served as chairperson for the Midwest Association for Intercollegiate Sports for Women and the Ohio Athletic Conference Committee on Women’s Sports. She also played a major role in the establishment of the Centennial Conference for women as well as the NCAC. In 1996, Wooster Created the Nan Nichols Classic as a way of honoring the long-time coach and administrator. The NCAC recognized Nichols achievements by naming its women’s basketball tournament most valuable performer trophy after her, beginning with the 2009-10 season.

Shannon was two-sport athlete at Wittenberg where he set the school scoring record in basketball and had a two-year record of 14-4 as a baseball pitcher. However, it was in coaching basketball that Shannon left his biggest impression. Known for the up-tempo style of his teams in an era when most coaches favored a deliberate game, he had great success both in high school and college. Shannon began coaching at Olive Branch High School in Clark County where he comprised a record of 83-18 in four seasons. In 1951, Olive Branch consolidated into Tecumseh High School, he took over as the head coached and tallied a four-year record of 84-14 with three district championships. Shannon accepted the head-coaching job at Ohio Wesleyan in 1958 and at the time the Battling Bishops had not had a winning record in six years. He turned the program around and won 214 games before he retired in 1979. Shannon coached the Battling Bishops to a record of 21-3 in the 1961-62 season and today that record still stands as the highest winning percentage in a season.

This winter, Toohig completed his 12th season as supervisor of men's basketball officials for the NCAC and its subsidiary, the Intercollegiate Officiating Association. He was a collegiate basketball official for 29 years, including 26 seasons in Division III. Toohig was a high school official for 46 years and worked his first game in 1969. He was chosen to officiate more than 20 regional tournaments and the state tournament on three occasions. In 1990, Toohig was called upon to teach the mechanics of three-person officiating for the Ohio High School Athletic Association. He was an assigner of high school officials for 30 years and still assigns officials for 12 colleges.

-- story by Jeff Miller