Fifty years ago, Allen County senior Jim McDaniels enjoyed a remarkable senior season for the Allen County Patriots, capping off a two year stint in which the 7’0” big man rewrote the Patriot record books. In 62 games with the Patriots, McDaniels scored 2,133 points---an unbelievable 34.4 points per game. During his senior season of 66-67, “Big Mac” poured in 38.6 points per game. It is estimated that McDaniels grabbed about 25 rebounds each game.
After leading Allen County to a remarkable 33-2 record, McDaniels was named Kentucky’s “Mr. Basketball.” in the spring of 1967, an honor that earned him an automatic selection to the Kentucky All-Star team in their series with Indiana. In the second of the two game series, McDaniels scored 42 points---breaking the All-Star series record----and establishing a mark that has not been surpassed in the 80 games that have been played in the next 40 years.
McDaniels play during high school would be followed by a remarkable career at Western Kentucky University. After leading WKU to the 1971 Final Four, McDaniels left Western having played in 81 games, scoring 2,238 points and finishing with a 27.6 points per game average. He also recorded 1,118 rebounds for a 13.1 rebounds per game mark. McDaniels was a three-time All-American. In 1991, McDaniels was selected as a member of Western’s first Athletic Hall-of-Fame and earlier this year, he was named as a member of the WKU’s All-Centennial basketball team.
McDaniels was a charter member of the Allen County-Scottsville Athletic Hall-of-Fame in 2009. Below are three articles from the files of The Citizen-Times that provide a look at the life of Jim McDaniels.
(Feature article from The Citizen-Times, April 2012, Used with permission)
(by Don Meador)
Over 45 years have passed since Jim McDaniels played his last high school basketball game for the Allen County Patriots.
It was spring of 1967. Lyndon B. Johnson was president. The American space flight program was mourning the loss of astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward Higgins White, and Roger Chaffee---the Apollo One crew killed after a fire breaks out in their Apollo spacecraft during a launch pad test. Gas was 33 cents per gallon. The United States continued to send troops to southeast Asia for the escalating Vietnam War.
In the sports world, Green Bay won Super Bowl I, the Philadelphia 76ers were on their way to a NBA (National Basketball Association) title as a new professional basketball league called the ABA (American Basketball Association) was being birthed and the UCLA Bruins defeated the Dayton Flyers to win the NCAA basketball tournament. On a side note, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers finished the 1967 season with a 23-3 record, losing in overtime to Dayton (669-67) in the first round of the 23-team NCAA tournament.
McDaniels’ spring of 67 was a history-making time---capping a high school career that deserved recognition. Now, with the passage of time comes long-overdue recognition. This year, McDaniels will be honored this year with introduction into two high school sports Hall-of-Fame.
Later this month, McDaniels will join over 400 people in the Dawhares/Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall-of-Fame. This summer, McDaniels will be among 16 former basketball players inducted into the inaugural Kentucky High School Basketball Hall-of-Fame in Elizabethtown.
“I’m very excited about these honors,” McDaniels said. “I’m very honored.”
The honors are the latest to be bestowed upon a man whose love of the game of basketball---along with his God-given ability----propelled a youngster from the streets of Scottsville to national fame. As McDaniels grew up in Scottsville in the 1960s---playing basketball on dirt courses with family and friends----it quickly became apparent that his height---over six feet and growing----would serve him well on the court.
Allen County was a hotbed for high school basketball. The Scottsville Pointers were a solid basketball program but it was the rival Allen County Patriots that had grabbed all the headlines. The Patriots had won three consecutive regional crowns in 1962, 1963, and 1964---with the 1964 team advancing to the state semi-finals.
McDaniels---a freshman at Scottsville in 1964----watched the Patriots success and soon after made the decision to attend Allen County starting with the 1964-65 school year. However, under KHSAA rules, McDaniels had to “set out” a year before being ruled eligible.
“I couldn’t play but I could practice,” McDaniels recalled. “And practice I did.”
Looking back, McDaniels remembers the long hours that Allen County coach Jimmy Bazzell spent helping McDaniels tone his skills. After-all, McDaniels had not grown up in gyms like players would do today.
“I never went to the gymnasium until I was in the eighth grade,” McDaniels told the Internet website Hilltopper Haven in a 2007 interview. “I had never been inside a gymnasium until then.”
Hence, McDaniels found himself in need of practice, practice, and practice.
“I would practice with the team and then I would stay late and work with Coach Bazzell,” McDaniels said. “We would work an hour, hour-and-a-half- or two hours longer.”
Not only did Bazzell work with him, so did Allen County basketball legend Norm Weaver. An- all state tournament team member in 1964, Weaver took McDaniel’s under his wing during practice sessions in the mid 60s.
“Norm must have had eggs and nails for breakfast,” McDaniels said. “He was one of the meant and toughest guys to be around. But, he worked hard against me and that helped me to develop.”
McDaniels recalled how the extra practice also included Bazzell’s uplifting and inspirational words---words to motivate and help the sophomore stay focused as he prepared for his chance as a junior and senior.
“Coach Bazzell was always encouraging me,’ McDaniels explained. “There were days when I got so tired. It was then that Coach Bazzell kept on telling me to work harder, prepare yourself, make everyone pay the following year.”
Practicing against his Patriot teammates also made him better.
“When you go against the best, you get better and better,’ McDaniels acknowledged. “I was playing against great competition every day. I was ready to go. I was passionate my junior and senior years.”
The hard work was rewarded when McDaniels hit the court for the Patriots as a junior. By now, McDaniels was close to seven foot in height. His skills was such that he could move inside and step out and sink the short to mid range jumper---a skill that would serve him well.
McDaniels’ ability quickly became apparent and the numbers backed it up. As a junior, McDaniels scored 783 points---or an average of 29 points per game---as Allen County posted a 22-5 record. The Patriots were ousted from post-season competition with a 68-67 loss to Bowling Green in the regional semi-finals.
The 1966 season proved to be the last for Coach Jimmy Bazzell. After 17 seasons as coach, Bazzell turned the coaching duties over to Tommy Long to accept the Superintendent’s role for the school district. Long---a Bazzell assistant for years---continued to work with McDaniels.
“Coach Long was working me every day,” McDaniels noted. “Coach Llong continued to help me get better.”
By the spring of 1967, McDaniels was rewriting the record books with s senior season nothing short of remarkable---a season that ranked among the best ever in Kentucky basketball history. “Big Mac” would score 1,350 points as Allen County went 33-2. His season and career high was a 62 point performance against North Warren. McDaniels also had a 52-point outing against Hart Memorial and a 51-point night against Caldwell County. In the Louisville Invitational Tournament----a mid January tournament that, at the time, carried tremendous importance—Big Mac scored 45 against DeSales---part of a three game 103 point effort.
According to the archives of The Citizen-Times, McDaniels started the season with 129 points in Allen County’s first three games---a 43 point per game average. He would also score 129 points in the Patriots three district tournament games.
Needless to say, Allen County was ranked number one in the state at the time with McDaniels’ play attracting college scouts from across the country. The Patriots played in front of packed houses----be it a standing room only crowd at the old Allen County High School Gym or in larger facilities in the region and state. Stories are told of crowds stretching for blocks to get into a home game as well as fans driving through snow storms to see McDaniels and the Patriots play.
“We scheduled a game in Owensboro that year,” recalled McDaniels’ coach Tommy Long in an archived interview with The Citizen-Times. “We were playing Owensboro, they were number two and we were number one. The Sportscenter in Owensboro seated 5,000-6,000. It started to snow about the time we left Scottsville that Saturday afternoon. By the time we got to Owensboro, snow was falling heavy. But, we played the game with about every seat filled.”
McDaniels led Allen County to the state tournament for the seventh time since 1953---as local fans dreamed that the season would bring Allen County a state title. It was a very realistic dream----even though the Patriots history in the Sweet 16 was somewhat bittersweet. In the previous six trips, Allen County had lost to the eventual state champion four times (Lexington Lafayette, 1953, Carr Creek, 1956, St Xavier, 1962, Louisville Senecca, 1962) and the state runner-up once (Breckinridge County, 1964). However, this time, Allen County was the favorite with McDaniels and his 39-plus points per game average leading the way.
In the opening round against Franklin County, McDaniels---the first seven-footer to play in the Sweet 16---scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Patriots pulled away late for a 55-48 win. Louisville Central was next. McDaniels got in foul trouble---limiting his playing time and effectiveness. The big man finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds as Central pulled the upset, 72-60.
Big Mac’s high school career was over. His final numbers still rank among the all-time records. In two seasons, McDaniels played in 62 games and scored 2,133 points, an average of 34.4 points per game. In comparison, the all-time state record for points in a career is 4,337 by “King” Kelly Coleman, a four year player for Wayland from 1953-56. Coleman also has the single season records for points (1,734 in 1956 or 42,3 points per game).
Second on the all-time list for points in a season is Ervin Stepp who scored 1,449 points playing for Evarts in 1980. McDaniels’ 1967 total of 1,350 places him third on the all-time list for points in a season.
As for rebounds, records were not as closely kept in the mid 60s as they are today. However, by all accounts, McDaniels is believed to averaged close to 25 rebounds per game. If so, the number would be a state record. According to the current KHSAA records, Ben Franklin grabbed 698 rebounds for Oneida Baptist in 1978. If McDaniels’ 25 rebounds per game average was verified, his 1967 numbers would be approximately 875---by far a state record.
After leading Allen County to a remarkable 33-2 record, McDaniels was named Kentucky’s “Mr. Basketball.” in the spring of 1967, an honor that earned him an automatic selection to the Kentucky All-Star team in their series with Indiana. In the second of the two game series, McDaniels scored 42 points---breaking the All-Star series record----and establishing a mark that has not been surpassed in the 80 games that have been played in the past 40 years.
McDaniels became one of the mostly highly coveted players in the nation, attracting interest from colleges near and far. As a coveted player from coast-to-coast, McDaniels was selected to play for the U.S. All-Stars at the Dapper Dan Classic in Pittsburgh. Going against the nations’ best in April of 1967, McDaniels scored 32 points and was named player-of-the-game.
Other awards included being named to Parade Magazine First Team All-American and First Team All-State by the Courier-Journal for the second consecutive year.
McDaniels college suitors were headlined by Western Kentucky---already a national power looking to take their game to another level. Hence, WKU was very aggressive in recruiting McDaniels
“Yes they were,” McDaniels noted in the Hilltopper Haven interview. “Coach (E.A.) Diddle was over or Coach (Johnny) Oldham was over. Every time you turn around, I’d tell somebody, as I was going out the door of the high school there was a Hilltopper there. Really. That was about basically it. They aggressively recruited me. I talked to Clem Haskins quite often and Dwight Smith. Dwight Smith had a big influence. I was already pretty much in love with Western any way, but that was just great. They were the torch of integration of Western at the time and they made it quite a bit easier for me and the other guys who came in.”
McDaniels play during high school would be followed by a remarkable career at Western Kentucky University. After leading WKU to the 1971 Final Four, McDaniels left Western having played in 81 games, scoring 2,238 points and finishing with a 27.6 points per game average. He also recorded 1,118 rebounds for a 13.1 rebounds per game mark. McDaniels was a three-time All-American. In 1991, McDaniels was selected as a member of Western’s first Athletic Hall-of-Fame and earlier this year, he was named as a member of the WKU’s All-Centennial basketball team.
McDaniels played professionally in the ABA and the NBA before having a successful career in business and ministry. Honors would continue to come over the years, including selection in 2009 to the first class in the Allen County-Scottsville Athletic Hall-of-Fame. Surprisingly, the honors and recognitions included one very notable exception in Jim McDaniels.
The Dawhares/KHSAA Hall of Fame was established in 1988 to recognize the accomplishments of outstanding high school players, coaches and supporters of Kentucky high school, athletics. Approximately 400 men and women have been inducted into the Hall representing many sports and many areas in which individuals have made contributions to Kentucky high school athletics. The list includes several names you will recognize.
The 1993 class included Jimmy Bazzell, Allen County’s legendary coach who coached McDaniels as a junior in 1966. The 1998 class of inductees include Lyle Dunbar---a basketball coach whose numerous coaching stops included a very successful stay at Scottsville in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The list also includes former WKU coaches Clem Haskins and E.A. Diddle, former Lady Topper Coach Mary Taylor Cowles, NBA great Wesley Unseld, former Louisville football coach Harold Schnellenberger, Richie Farmer, and former NFL running back Shaun Alexander.
However, until now, McDaniels never was chosen for introduction into the KHSAA Hall-of-Fame. That has changed as McDaniels will join 11 other outstanding athletes in the class of 2012.
The KHSAA Hall-of-Fame ceremony will be April 28 at the Lexington Convention Center.
McDaniels has also been selected to be a part of the newly created Kentucky High School Basketball Hall-of-Fame. This Hall of Fame will be reserved for basketball players and coaches. The Hall will have a brick-and-mortar structure and also a mission---to convey the "essence" of the game to the state's young people. Funds will be raised in the coming years to build the building in a to be determined location in Elizabethtown.
The new Hall-of-Fame will be driven with a mission of helping today’s generation discover what working hard on the court and in the classroom can lead too. It’s an idea that goes along with McDaniels’ goals.
“I think about the kids,’ McDaniels added. “If I can be an example to kids, that’s what its all about. Hopefully, kids will look at my life and career and see what they can do by working hard, getting an education, and living your dreams.”
The first class will be inducted on July 14 in Elizabethtown. Organizers hope to name a dozen or so new inductees every year until 2018—a year that will mark the first 100 years of basketball in Kentucky.
(Feature article in The Citizen-Times from September of 2004, Used with permission)
(by Don Meador)
September 9, 2004 was a day that Allen County native Jim McDaniel’s knew would come, sooner or later. In ceremonies in Louisville, the former high school, college and professional basketball star was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. Ten days later, McDaniels was back home, in Scottsville, visiting his former coaches and team mates and enjoying a plate of fish at White Plains Baptist Church.
“If there a fish fry, I’ll be there.” McDaniels joked before taking a few minutes to reflect upon his selection this past summer to the Hall of Fame.
“ It (being indicted into the Hall of Fame) is absolutely a dream come true,” McDaniels said. “I’m very honored and humbled by going in with such great athletics and coaches. I’m overwhelmed and glad to be there.”
Even though his selection to the Hall of Fame was, in the eyes of many, way over due, McDaniels noted that he always felt his time would come.
“It was going to happen sometimes. I pretty much knew that, “ McDaniels said. “I think God it happened during my lifetime. I think I received it at the time I was supposed to see and I humble receive that on.”
McDaniels’ road to the Hall of Fame started with his high school experiences at both Scottsville and Allen County. During eight and ninth grades, McDaniels played or the Pointers of Scottsville High School. After a freshman year, he McDaniels transferred to Allen County. After setting out his sophomore year, the seven footer returned to the court for his junior and senior seasons. As a junior, McDaniels played for Allen County’s legendary coach Jimmy Bazzell. Bazzell stepped into the supertindent’s role for Allen County leaving McDaniels with head coach Tommy Long and assistant coach Robbie Cline
In 62 games as a Patriot, McDaniels tallied 2,133 points, a 34.4 points per game average. The 1966 team posted an impressive record before the 1967 team went McDaniels dominated on the court his senior season, averaging 38.6 points per game. His high school highlights include a 63 point outburst against North Warren, 52 points verses Hart Memorial and a 51 point effort against Caldwell County. Allen County took part in the Louisville Invitational Tournament (at that time the major mid-season invitational tournament) with McDaniels scoring 103 points in three games, punctuated with a 45-point game against Louisville DeSales in Freedom Hall.
Reflecting back 37 years to his playing days for the Patriots, McDaniels had kind words for his trio of coaches.
“I had three of the finest coaches that a young man could ever have in Coach Bazzell, Coach Tommy Long and Coach Robbie Cline, “ McDaniels noted, “They worked us hard. We would run through a brick wall if they said go through, we would have tried it” Just wonderful men that have a big impression on me in my life still today. I love then dearly.”
McDaniels high school days ended with an appearance in the Kentucky-Indiana All-Star game scoring 42 points in the game against Indiana’s best seniors. McDaniels and three other all-stars, Jim Rose of Hazard, Jerome Perry of Louisville Manuel and Clarence Glover of Caverna, would end up at Western Kentucky University.
“One night we were in our rooms, “ McDaniels recounted in an interview with the Courier-Journal earlier this year. “I said I was going to Western and if we all went there we’d have a great team.”
McDaniels words were prophetic as the Hilltoppers would reach new heights, heights not reached before or since. His early days on the Hill included an encounter with Western legend E.A. Diddle.
“At the time Coach Ed Diddle was still alive, he wasn’t coaching but was around making sure we got to class on time, ” McDaniels explained. “I remember one of the first days I was there; I decided to sleep in a little late. I heard a knock on the door and there was coach Diddle and I will leave the rest of it there. I guarantee you I never missed another class nor never overslept.”
Required by the NCAA to set out as a freshman (all freshman was ineligible at that time), McDaniels picked up where he left off from high school. As a sophomore Big Mac averaged 24.8 points as the Toppers posted a 16-10 record. The following year, WKU improved to 22-3, capturing the Ohio Valley championship. In the NCAA tournament, the Hilltoppers lost to Jacksonville, the eventual NCAA runner-up, in the first round.
Mac’s senior season is still the pinnacle of the storied Hilltopper tradition. After a 46-point effort by McDaniels helped the Toppers upend Jacksonville in a battle of top ten clubs, WKU cruised to a second OVC title. In the NCAA tournament (32 teams at that time), McDaniels club defeated Jacksonville a second time to set the stage for the first ever meeting between Western and Kentucky. McDaniels scored 35 points as the Toppers dominated Adolph Rupp’s Cats 107-83 in the regional tournament in Atlanta. WKU captured the regional title with a win over Ohio State, earning the school’s first and only Final Four appearance.
In Houston, all eyes were on the famed UCLA Bruins, in the midst of an unprecedented ten consecutive NCAA title. Western’s hopes of a mtach-up with UCLA were dashed as the Hilltoppers fell in double overtime 92-89 to Villanova. McDaniels final college game would come two nights later as Western defeated Kansas 77-75 in overtime to take national third place honors (At that time, the NCAA played a national third place game).
However, shortly after the NCAA tournament, it was revealed that McDaniels had signed with an agent, a clear violation of NCAA rules. The penalty for Western was that the Hilltoppers were forced to give up their third place finish and their share of tournament proceeds.
“I admit I made a mistake,” McDaniels told the Courier-Journal’s Bob White in a June interview. “There was a lot of pressure. I got around some people who did not have my best interests at heart.”
The violation could not diminish the accomplishments acheieved by Big Mac on the court during his playing days at WKU. McDaniels finished his career at Western as the programn’s all-time leading scorer, 2,238 points. In 1991, McDaniels was selected to Hilltopper Hall of Fame.
His efforts his senior season at WKU earned him All-American honors and seemed to set the stage for what promised to be a legendary career in professional basketball
That would not happen. Despite a strong start with the Carolina Cougars of the old ABA (American Basketball Association), McDaniels departed for Seattle in the rival NBA (National Basketball Association) in early 1972. In the NBA, McDaniels never reached the success level that was projected. During his seven year career, McDaniels played for the Lakers in Las Angeles, saw action in Buffalo, oversees and even returned to the ABA’s Kentucky Colonels. In the late 1970’s, McDaniels playing days were over.
Over the past 25 years, change has come to McDaniels. He is now a born again Christian and businessman living in Charlotte North Carolina. He has publically acknowledged his mistakes in college and professionally and has now dedicated his life to serving the Lord.
“God is truly in my life. It is wonderful to be born again and saved,” McDaniels added. “He’s blessing me with a wonderful life”
Reflecting back on his life, including his high school days, McDaniels has some good advice for today’s high school athletes.
“First, they need to know that the Bible says, “What would it profith a man to gain the whole world but lose his soul,’. They need to first know Jesus.” McDaniels said. “Second, get those grades, get the education and third, in whatever sport you are in, give 100 percent.”
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(Feature article in The Citizen-Times from 2010, Used with permision)
(by Don Meador)
On a lazy Saturday morning as a soft southern breeze blows through the budding dogwoods, former Allen County High School and Western Kentucky University basketball star Jim McDaniel’s sets on wooden bleachers at the park that bears his name in South Scottsville. As “Big Mac” recalls his younger days, the sound of a basketball bouncing on the pavement grows closer. Within half a minute, a couple of kids walk through the park’s gate and began to shoot hoops.