Inductees
Charleston High School

Sixteen miles due east of Sikeston sits the tiny town of Charleston, just a stone’s throw from the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers.
Charleston is like dozens of towns up and down both rivers. Small, quaint, tight knit. But unlike most of those towns, Charleston is a powerhouse in boys basketball. The Charleston High School Blue Jays boast 12 state championships and 24 Final Four appearances, both third-most in Missouri history.
For their excellence on the hardwood, the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly inducted the Charleston High School Boys Basketball program as part of its Class of 2024.
During the last 50 seasons, the Blue Jays have had just five head coaches: Mitch Haskins, Lennies McFerren (MSHOF 2016), Bobby Spencer, Danny Farmer, and current head coach Jamarcus Williams.
The Blue Jays have had incredible continuity in that time as well, as each head coach has been promoted from the previous head coach’s staff.
“In my mind, we’ve been successful because we always had a coach connected to another coach who took that coaches place when they left,” Farmer said. “We had a system based on winning. We really believed that every time we stepped out on the court we should win.”
Former Blue Jay Terry Schott agreed.
“The head coach changes, but the philosophy does not,” Schott said. “It’s defense first. Mitch Haskins brought that in. The teams today still run the drills he brought to Charleston 50 years ago. The coaches who have followed Mitch, everybody preaches the same story. It’s teamwork. The coaches are strict with everyone, and they don’t play favorites.”
And Charleston wins. A lot. That winning began in 1975 under Haskins. The Blue Jays, reaching their first-ever Final Four that season, defeated Lafayette (St. Joseph), 66-57, in the championship game.
“Coach Haskins set the groundwork,” Schott said. “Our goal when we started that year was to hopefully win district. We never had any visions of going to state until we got out of the district. Nowadays it’s, ‘we’re going to state no matter what’. There’s a different philosophy now.”
After Charleston finished as runner-up in 1977, McFerren became the first African-American head coach in southeast Missouri and guided the Blue Jays to seven state titles between 1980 and 1992.
McFerren’s crowning achievement came in 1990 when the Blue Jays, behind the play of future Mizzou standout Lamont Frazier, capped a 33-0 campaign with a 67-47 win against Soldan in the championship game.
McFerren departed Charleston at the end of the 1993 season, making way for Bobby Spencer, who guided the 1996 team to the program’s ninth state title.
Between 1997 and 2006, the Blue Jays failed to win a state championship, but they were still reaching the Final Four. Charleston was runner-up in both 2005 and 2006, while finishing third in 2003 and 2004.
Head Coach Danny Farmer broke through with the first of his two state titles in 2007 with a 66-48 win against Pembroke Hill. Farmer and the Blue Jays claimed gold once again in 2012, downing Hogan Prep 79-73.
Farmer, also a former Blue Jay player, knows how special it is to be a part of the Charleston program.
“Everybody knows you in the community and thinks a lot about you,” he said. “That gives you confidence and makes you want to work harder and keep winning.”
The winning has continued under Williams, who won a state championship as a senior in 2012. In 2022, he guided the Blue Jays to their 12th state title with a 58-56 victory over Lafayette County.
“It’s the culture that’s been created by the community and the players and the coaches,” Williams said. “The expectations are always high, and the pressure is always on.”
Charleston has turned out not just tremendous teams, but outstanding players as well. The Frazier family of Ricky, Lamont and Corey each made an indelible impact on the program. Ricky was an All-American at Missouri and was drafted by the Chicago Bulls. Lamont was a standout for Mizzou in the early 90s, and Corey played for Charlie Spoonhour (MSHOF 1994) at Saint Louis University.
Pioneering players such as Larry Briggs, Charleston’s first All-State honoree and one of its first Black players, helped pave the way in the late 60s for the modern era of Charleston Basketball.
The Charleston community has played a key role in the Blue Jays’ success over the years.
“It’s funny because you still see the same fans that have been going to games for years and years,” said Schott. “Even on the road, the crowds are large. Lots of former players. The crowd is a mix of everybody. The community buys into it, and everyone knows we’re a basketball town.”