Parkview High School’s famed Jolly Green Giants, Missouri State’s 1952 and 1953 NAIA national championship teams and two notable basketball figures – coach Gary Stanfield and former Lady Bear Karen Rapier — will soon be inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.
All will be honored during the annual Basketball Tipoff Luncheon sponsored by Mercy, President and Executive Director Jerald Andrews announced on Wednesday. The luncheon is at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 at the University Plaza Convention Center.
Additionally, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame will recognize the Filbert Five, a group of former high school and college players. The award is named after the late Gary Filbert, a former Mizzou Tiger and longtime high school and college basketball coach. He is a Missouri Sports Hall of Fame inductee and Missouri Sports Legend. The Filbert Five carries a theme each year, and this year’s theme is focused on centers.
The Filbert Five men’s team features Chris Harville (Rogersville/Missouri State), Steven Hill (Branson/Arkansas), Sam Singh (Ozark/Bradley), Mark Sparks (Neosho/Mizzou/Drury) and Kevin Williams (Nevada/Mizzou).
The Filbert Five women’s team consists of Laura Granzow Buetow (Kickapoo/Denver/Canisius), Sara Bos Barnhart (Billings/Drury), Alyson Young Hooten (Rogersville/Avila), Anita Rank Oplotnik (Lincoln/Missouri Southern) and Terianne Wolford Brown (Nixa/Mizzou).
Individual tickets are $40. Tables of eight are $400 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program. A head table seat is $100. For tickets, or to purchase sponsorships in the printed program, call the Hall at 417-889-3100.
Jolly Green Giants
The Parkview Vikings highlighted a golden era of basketball in Springfield in the mid-1960s, highlighted by the 1965 Class L state championship as coach Bill Harding team’s beat Center High School of Kansas City, 67-50.
The Jolly Green Giants, so named by News-Leader sports writer Marty Eddlemon because of their height and green warm-ups, were 81-4 in a three-year stretch from 1964 to 1966. They also placed second in Class L in 1964 under Harding and second again in 1966 under coach Bob Brown.
The 1965 team won its final 25 games. Gail Fredrick was team captain, and the team included Bert Park, Neil Pittman, Steve Hutchinson, Larry Shertz, K.G. Wells, Jack Cox, Virgle Fredrick, Rick Davis, Ray Snelling, Tom Bollinger, Larry Carpenter, John Weston, assistant coach Edsel Matthews and managers Kenny Morris and Tom Moore.
Missouri State: 1952, 1953 NAIA
The Bob Vanatta-coached Bears won the 1952 NAIA championship in beating Murray State (Ky.) 73-64. Those Bears finished 27-5 and qualified for the national tournament after rallying to win a three-game, play-in series against Missouri Valley.
The team consisted of Bill Thomas, Bill Lea, Jerry Lumpe, Don Duckworth, Forrest Hamilton, Norm Siebern, Ray Birdsong, Fred Stephens, Jerry Anderson, Jim Julian, Bill Price and Bob Reed. The regular-season roster included Kenny Foster, Jim Murphy, Jack Trogdon and team manager Jim Moulder.
Hamilton and Lea averaged team-bests 11.3 and 11.8 points, respectively, while Julian, Stephens and Thomas each averaged between 8.0 and 9.6 points per game.
The 1953 Bears beat Hamline 79-71 to win the NAIA championship under Vanatta and finished 24-4, winning 22 of their final 23 games. They beat Indiana State in the semifinal with the “Fabulous Four” of Thomas, Duckworth, Price and Birdsong – the only players left on the roster in the final three minutes. Five other Bears fouled out, and the team was already without Lumpe and Siebern because they were required to report for New York Yankees spring training just days before.
The 1953 team included Hamilton and Anderson as returnees from the 1952 team in addition to Don Anielak, Art Helms, John Grimm, Larry Giboney, Bob Tubert, Leland Brown, Charles Comiskey and Dale Harbaugh. Anielak’s 18.4 scoring average led the team, while Hamilton and Helms were at 16.6 and 11.2 points, respectively.
Gary Stanfield
Stanfield achieved success both in high school and college basketball over four decades. He earned a combined 569 wins in high school and college. Stanfield coached at Weaubleau and Willow Springs high schools before spending three years at Hillcrest, where his 1984 boys team won the Class 4 state championship. He moved on to Drury, where he was an assistant to Marvin Walker for seven seasons and then became head coach from 1991 to 2004, winning 239 games. He retired after an NCAA Division II Sweet 16 run in 2004. However, he came out of retirement in 2008 to coach the Republic High School boys team. His final season was 2012, two years after the Tigers reached the state semifinals.
Karen Rapier
Rapier, a Jefferson City native, was the first player to sign with the Lady Bears after Cheryl Burnett took over as coach in 1987, and success soon followed. Missouri State was 83-36 in her four years as the team earned Gateway Conference Championships and NCAA Tournament berths her final two seasons. That included a Final Four in 1991-1992, when the Lady Bears were 31-3 and earned a final No. 4 national ranking. Rapier closed her career as the all-time MSU leader in games played (118), ranked fifth in career rebounds (666), fifth in points (1,365), sixth in steals (123) and sixth in field goal accuracy (.513) at the time of graduation. As a senior, Rapier was a team co-captain and a preseason Street and Smith’s All-America honorable mention. She later was voted to the NCAA Midwest Regional All-Tournament team. Rapier eventually returned to assist Burnett and helped the Lady Bears to six additional NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2001 Final Four. Rapier arrived to Springfield after a standout career at Jefferson City High School, where she set the single-season scoring record during her senior year and was first team All-State. She also set single-game school records for points (36) and rebounds (27).
FILBERT FIVE — MEN
Sam Singh (Ozark/Bradley): At Ozark High School, the 6-foot-9 Singh helped the Tigers to the Class 4 state championship in 2003 as well as third-place finishes in 2001 and 2004. He was All-State and All-Ozarks as a senior in the 2003-2004 season, when he averaged 20.7 points, 9.7 rebounds. 3.2 assists and 2.0 blocked shots a game. Singh went on to play for NCAA Division I Bradley University, where he overcome injuries early in his career and helped the Braves to a 21-win season in 2009, when the team played in the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Mark Sparks (Neosho/Mizzou/Drury): Sparks was a 6-foot-8 standout at Neosho High School. Before graduating in 1981, he was a McDonald’s All-American honorable mention as a senior, All-State as a junior and senior as well as all-district, all-conference and All-Ozarks by the News-Leader. Sparks played at Mizzou from 1982 to 1984, lettering on the team’s Big 8 Conference championship teams of ’82 and ’83. He finished his career at Drury, where he tied Jim Williams’ single-season rebounding record (347) in 1985. Sparks was an NAIA All-American honorable mention on the 1985 team that reached the NAIA Elite Eight.
Kevin Williams (Nevada/Mizzou): Williams is a 1977 Nevada High School graduate who was a McDonald’s All-American as a senior, plus All-State as a junior and senior. In addition, he was an All-Big 8 Conference selection in southwest Missouri, all-district and still holds the state high school record for most blocked shots in a single game, with 20, set against Mount Vernon on Feb. 15, 1977. Williams went on to play at Mizzou from 1977 to 1979.
Steven Hill (Branson/Arkansas/Thunder): A 7-foot center, Hill starred at Branson High School before going on to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks. At Branson, he was a Class 4 All-State selection in both 2003 and 2004 in addition to All-Ozarks and All-Central Ozark Conference. His 616 blocked shots are second in state high school history and his 5.87 blocked shots per game still rank fourth. At Arkansas, he was a three-time selection to the All-Southeastern Conference Defensive Team and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in his junior season. His 54 blocks were second-most by a freshman, to the 60 set by then-freshman Oliver Miller. A year later, Hill had 91 blocks, passing Miller’s single-season record of 85. Hill played one game in the NBA, in 2009 for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and played on NBA Developmental League affiliates for the Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings.
Chris Harville (Rogersville/Missouri State): Harville is the all-time leading scorer at Rogersville High School, with 1,532 points in 120 games played. The 6-foot-9 center was All-State two years, All-Central Ozark Conference three years as well as all-district and All-Ozarks by the News-Leader. Harville went on to earn four letters for coach Charlie Spoonhour’s Missouri State Bears from 1987 to 1990. He was on the roster four of those Bears’ NCAA Tournament teams.
FILBERT FIVE – WOMEN
Sara (Bos) Barnhart (Billings/Drury): When Bos graduated from Billings High School in 2005, she was the school record holder in almost every category, including points scored (2,016). The 6-foot-1 center was a four-year starter, a two-time first team All-State selection, an All-Ozarks pick as a senior and the Southwest Central League MVP. She also was all-conference first team all four years. Bos was a nominee for both the McDonald’s All-America and Miss Show-Me Basketball. Billings, which won three district championships with Bos, has since retired her jersey. Bos went on to NCAA Division II powerhouse Drury. She started 32 games as a junior on the Lady Panthers 2008 team that reached the D-II Tournament regional semifinal and finished 28-4.
Terianne (Wolford) Brown (Nixa/Mizzou): A star player at Nixa High School, Wolford was named Miss Show-Me Basketball in 2000, scoring 22 points a game and leading Nixa to the 2000 Class 4 state championship and 31-1 record. Wolford was a three-time, first team All-Central Ozark Conference selection and was named the AAU Missouri Player of the Year as a sophomore. Additionally, Wolford, who was a four-year letter-winner in basketball and volleyball, also was named a USA Today honorable mention All-American during her high school career. She played collegiately at Missouri, where she was a letterwinner from 2000 to 2002 and a second-team academic All-Big 12 Conference in 2003.
Laura (Granzow) Buetow (Kickapoo/Denver/Canisius): A 6-foot-3 player from Kickapoo, Granzow won Miss Show-Me Basketball in 2003 and was a key member of the Lady Chiefs’ 2001 and 2003 Class 5 state championship teams. She was All-State, All-Ozark Conference, all-district, was nominated for the Gatorade Player of the Year award and the McDonald’s High School All-American game. She eventually signed with the University of Denver, where she made five starts as a freshman. She played her final three collegiate seasons at Canisius College (N.Y.), where she still ranks in the top 10 in career blocked shots after leading the team in blocks all three seasons.
Alyson (Young) Hooten (Rogersville/Avila): Young holds the distinction of being the all-time leading scorer for her high school and college programs. A 6-foot center, she scored 1,649 points from 2003 to 2007 at Rogersville, where she also is the all-time leading rebounder (890) and holds the single-season scoring record (550). She earned All-State in Class 4 in 2007 as well as All-Ozarks by the News-Leader and was a Miss Show-Me Basketball nominee. At Avila, she became the all-time leading scorer before graduating in 2011. She led the Heart of America Athletic Conference in scoring in her junior and senior seasons and was also a two-time NAIA All-American honorable mention. In Young also led Avila to its first NAIA Division I Tournament. She also was All-HAAC in each of her four seasons at Avila.
Anita (Rank) Oplotnik (Lincoln/Missouri Southern): A four-year letter winner at Missouri Southern State University, Rank was a two-time All-American selection and a two-time first team NAIA All-District selection. Additionally, she was the conference Player of the Year in 1987 as well as a three-time, first team all-conference selection. Rank twice led the Lady Lions in scoring and led the team in rebounding for three seasons. She is still the all-time leading scorer in school history (1,842 points) and holds 10 other records: points in a game (42); career field-goal percentage (.564); free throws made in a game (17), career (476), consecutively (15-for-15 in 1987); free throw attempts in a game (21) and career (600); free-throw percentage in a game (1.000); personal fouls in a career (376); and single-season games started (32). Rank is a 1984 graduate of Lincoln High School, which was a Class 1 state runner-up her senior year and a quarterfinalist her junior year. Rank was a third team All-American by USA Today in 1984, when she was also All-State. She was a first team all-district in her junior and senior years and all-conference her final three seasons. She also was the first Lincoln girls player to score more than 1,000 points in a career and averaged 16.7 points. Her teams were a combined 75-10 in high school, including an 11-0 record on her freshman team.