Contact Us

Hall of Fame Inductees

Meet the Washington, DC, Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees

2023 Hall of Fame Inductees
Biographies of 2024 Inductees

Thurl Bailey

A 1979 All-Met standout player at Bladensburg HS, Thurl Bailey later won the NCAA National Championship with NC State in the 1983 “miracle run.” That year, he led the Wolfpack in both scoring and rebounding and he scored 1,495 points in his four years with the Wolfpack. Bailey was then the NBA’s seventh pick and played professional basketball for 16 years. Twice he finished second in the voting for the NBA’s “Sixth Man of the Year” award. Bailey played for three seasons in Minnesota and then overseas in Greece and Italy from 1994-98 before signing with the Jazz as a free agent and retiring after the 1999 season. He was “instant offense” and in 1988 he averaged 19.6 points a game coming off the bench. Bailey has been a broadcast color analyst for the Utah Jazz TV broadcasts and the University of Utah— in addition to work as an inspirational speaker, singer, songwriter, and film actor. He works with multiple charities, including the Make a Wish Foundation and D.A.R.E. Bailey garnered the nickname "Big T" during his basketball career.

Frank Bolden

Cardoza’s Frank Bolden was one of the deans in high school coaching during the 1950’s and 60’s, called the “Gray Fox” he prowled courtside for 12 years. He had a remarkable 174-53 record with five inter-high championships and two City Championships. That is what legends are made of. Some of his peers think he achieved these results by wizardry, pushing his players to the limit. In one game with time running out and his team behind, the official made a call that incensed Bolden. That was the last straw. Bolden stood up and screamed at the official and rolled a penny onto the floor. “That ‘what you are worth,” yelled Bolden. Those antics inspired the Clerks, and they went on to beat a very good St. Johns team. His second City Championship in 1958 was against Carroll HS, and after that lost Carroll went on a 55-game win streak. Frank Bolden’s teams kept the bar high for DC Basketball. Bolden received dozens of citations and awards for his work with the community youth. He really cherished those honors given to him by his former students. An accomplished speaker with a marvelous sense of humor, Bolden often was called upon to speak at banquets and dinners. He was a physical education teacher and assistant principal at Cardozo before moving into an administrative position overseeing school athletics.

Adrian Branch

Adrian Branch was named All Metro twice, in 1980 & 81 while playing for DeMatha HS, selected by Parade magazine as a HS All-American, and chosen as the McDonald’s All-Star MVP (over Michael Jordan). Branch played at University of Maryland from (1981-85), he hit the winning shot against #1 ranked Virginia and College Player of the Year Ralph Sampson. In 1984 he led the Terrapins to the ACC Championship. He finished his career as the second all-time leading scorer. Branch scored over 2000 points at UM and was a two-time All-ACC selection. In 2004, Branch was honored at the ACC Tournament as an "ACC Legend." Branch was drafted into the NBA in the second round by the Chicago Bulls in 1985 and played a reserve role on the Lakers NBA Championship team in 1987. He later played professionally in Australia, Spain, France, Monaco, Thailand, Philippines, Israel, Turkey and Dominican Republic. He became a TV analyst for the Charlotte Bobcats in 2004 and later joined ESPN in 2007 as a college basketball analyst. A versatile 6’8” player who could play four positions on the court, Branch had unbridled confidence and an aptitude for spectacular basketball plays!

James Brown

James Brown was a two-time All-Met in 1967 & 68 at DeMatha HS and selected by Parade magazine as a HS All-American. He then went to Harvard and became a three-time All-Ivy League selection. In 1973, he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the fourth round. The characteristic that is most remembered about Brown’s basketball game was his explosive jumping ability. When he took flight, some people say he resembled “Superman.” Brown went into sports broadcasting in 1984 when he was offered a television broadcasting job covering Washington Bullets games as well as an analyst job for “The NBA on CBS,” paired with Frank Glieber. He later moved on to an anchor position at WDVM-TV (later WUSA) in Washington and became an announcer and interviewer at CBS Sports. In 1994, Brown accepted the position of host of the “NFL on Fox” pregame show. He shares the set with former football players Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and former Dallas Cowboy coach Jimmy Johnson.

Donald Huff

While a student and later as a graduate of District of Columbia Teacher’s College, Donald Huff served as the men’s basketball team's score keeper and statistician from 1963-1973. During that time, DC Teacher’s College never had a losing season and captured six Maryland Inter-collegiate Conference Championships.
After his work at DCTC, in 1974 Huff became the first Black high school sports reporter hired by the Washington Post. He worked as sports editor for the Post for 23 years where he did such a stellar job bringing a focus to area high school athletics and basketball, that the paper created an award named in his honor – the "Donald Huff Award" – to recognize contributions made to local athletics by individuals who are often rarely credited for their efforts.
He spearheaded the “All Metro” selection process by area sportswriters, which is the most prestigious award in DMV athletics. Huff brought national attention to the extraordinary basketball talent pool in the DMV when he regularly wrote about individual players from this area, which he chronicled in many articles throughout his career.
Upon retiring from the Post, Huff came back to the newly renamed and merged University of the District of Columbia, which includes the former DCTC, where he served as the Sports Information Director and later became the school's Athletic Director. Perhaps with this Dc Basketball Hall of Fame award, Huff’s legacy of contributions will finally be acknowledged.

Johnny Jones

Johnny Jones was one of two Black players that integrated the DeMatha Catholic HS basketball program in 1961. Jones was two-time All-Metro 1961 & 62 and was also a catalyst in DeMatha’s first City Basketball Championship in 1962.  A 6'7" small forward was later recruited to California State University, Los Angeles, Jones played one season (1967–68) in the National Basketball Association as a member of the Boston Celtics, where he won an NBA Championship ring when the Celtics defeated the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1968 NBA Finals. He later played for the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association. Jones’s game was a very efficient with no wasted motion, he also mastered the art of the “Bankshot.”

Chris Knoche

Chris Knoche is a former player and head coach at American University who has worked in radio and television for the past 25 years. He is currently in his 15th season as the color analyst for the Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball radio broadcasts with local legend, Johnny Holliday.  Knoche spent 17 seasons at American University, two as a player under former Terrapin coach Gary Williams before moving into an assistant coaching position and later serving seven seasons (1991-1997) as the Eagles’ head coach. Chris Knoche attended W.T. Woodson High in Fairfax, Virginia, where he starred under legendary Coach "Red" Jenkins. Prior to joining Maryland’s broadcast crew, he served stints on the Ivy League “Game of the Week” on Westwood One/CBS Radio and Ivy League “Game of the Week” for DirecTV and for HDTV.  He was also a television broadcaster for ESPN and CSN, in addition to radio and television analysis for George Mason University games.  Knoche is currently the moderator of the popular podcast “DC Coaches Corner” with Gary Williams, Jimmy Patsos and Ed Tapscott.

Stacey Robinson

“Robinson has been a child prodigy and basketball star since he was 10, a center of controversy since he was 11, and a victim of recruiting pressure since he was 12,” wrote Tom Boswell of the Washington Post in 1975. he earned many prestigious labels: all PG County in 1973 & 74, All Met at Dunbar HS 1975, Garfinkel Five-star Camp MVP, and Parade magazine HS All-American.
PG County basketball started getting respect after Robinson left Crossland HS his junior year and dominated over inter-high basketball at Dunbar HS his senior year. His 1975 Dunbar team went to New York and defeated an unbeaten #2 nationally ranked Long Island Lutheran team, with two three-time Parade All-Americans in Wayne McCoy and Reggie Carter.
Robinson was selected to play with the second Capital Classic All-Star game. He was also invited to participate in Seamco Basketball classic in NY which was the US All-Stars vs. NY-NJ Allstars. Robinson led all players with 26 points.
Improvisation was his gift to the game. Cat quick, with explosive hops and a feathery soft shooting touch, he created basketball moves in the 70’s that are just being recreated today!

Penny Toler

One of the best players of all time from the DC area, as a guard Toler was named All-Met for three consecutive years 1981&82&83 at St. Anthony’s HS and Parade magazine HS All-American. She attended San Diego State before transferring, then led Long Beach State to two Final Four appearances and was inducted into the Long Beach State Hall of Fame (1995). She was also a two-time “All American” and two-time “Big West Player of the Year.” By the time the WNBA launched, Toler had already spent eight years playing basketball overseas. She has played five seasons in Italy, two seasons in Greece, and a season in Israel. While in Italy, she won a scoring title, two assist titles, and was MVP of the Italian All-Star game.  In 1997, Toler returned to the United States to play in the inaugural season of the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks, where she became the very first player to score a basket in that new League. She played three years with the Sparks before retiring as a player in 1999. Later, as the General Manager of Los Angeles Sparks from 2001 to 2019, she won three WNBA titles, she is the winning and longest tenured general manager in WNBA in history and is the first athlete to have her jersey retired in the Staples Center.

Tony Upson

Tony Upson the player, the coach, the mentor: As a player he was a prolific scorer at DC Teacher’s College 1965 & 66 he led local college teams in scoring two years in a row and 1966 he had a 32.6 average. He then took his show on the road where the Eastern League selected him as “Rookie of the Year.” After one men’s league game at Bethesda Chevy Chase in 1974, a fan was quoted in the Washington Post as saying, “he is the second-best guard in the city behind Washington Bullets guard Phil Chenier.” Tony Upson, the “silent assassin” he didn’t talk much on the court, but he would escape the defender with a slight head-fake and then position himself for a deadly mid-range jump shot that had many defenders wanting to switch men. Simply put, he was a problem! In his first year of coaching in 1969, he led DC Teachers to an 18-3 record and the Maryland Inter-collegiate Conference Championship. He also coached in the very competitive Eastern Basketball League. The mentor Upson who is a dedicated, serious, religious man always had a passion to teach. He received a master’s in urban studies and went on to be a principal at six different schools in the DC Public School System enriching hundreds of lives.
Metro Hall of Fame Players
Players:
  • Tommy Amaker-WT Woodson
  • Elgin Baylor-Spingarn Hs
  • Len Bias-Northwestern, 
  • Dave Bing-Spingarn
  • Austin Carr-Mackin
  • Adrian Dantley-Dematha
  • Bob Faris-George Washington  
  • Danny Ferry- Dematha
  • Jack George- St Johns
  • Fred Hetzel-Landon
  • Grant Hill-Southlake
  • George Leftwich-Carroll
  • Bob Lewis-St Johns
  • Sidney Lowe-Dematha
  • Eddie Peterson-Springbrook
  • Hymie Perlo-St Albans
  • Ronnie Watts-Wilson
  • Walt Williams-Crossland
  • Dereck Whittenberg-DeMatha
  • Brian Magid- Blair High School
Contributor:
  • Steve Buckhantz-Washington Wizard Broadcaster
  • Rich Chvotkin-Georgetown Broadcaster
  • John Fienstien-Author
  • Bob Geoghan-Capital Classic Founder
  • EB Henderson-Historian
  • Johnny Holiday-Maryland Broadcaster
  • Dallas Shirley- Basketball Official
Coaches:
  • Red Auerbach- Gw, St Albans, Wash Capitols, Celtics
  • Charlie Baltimore - Armstrong
  • Dave Carrasco-Blair
  • Al Doran- George Washington Hs in Alexandria
  • Bob Dwyer- Caroll
  • Joe Gallager-St Johns
  • Dan Harwood-Wotten
  • Red Jenkins-Wt Woodson
  • Dick Myers-Gonzaga
  • Bones Mckinney-Washington Capitols
  • John Thompson-St Anthony's
  • Morgan Wooten-Dematha
  • Ste Vetter-Flint Hill
Washington Bullets:
  • Phil Chenier
  • Bob Ferry
  • Kevin Grevey
  • Arnold Heft
  • Abe Pollin
  • Gene Shue
  • Wes Unseld
Maryland Terps:
  • Bosey Berger
  • Lefty Driesell
  • Len Elmore
  • Brenda Frese
  • Tom McMillian
  • Chris Weller
  • Gary Williams

Arnold "Red" Auerbach

A Star in Class and on the Court
Arnold Jacob “Red” Auerbach was born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1917. He is the son of a Russian-Jewish immigrant and grew up playing basketball. Auerbach's red hair and fiery temper earned him the nickname "Red." He played basketball at PS 122 and in the Eastern District High School, where he was named “Second Team All-Brooklyn” in his senior year.
After graduating high school, he attended George Washington University on an athletic scholarship. Auerbach showed excellence in his class and on the court and graduated with a Master of Arts degree in 1941.
Life as an Exemplary Head Coach
The same year, he began coaching basketball at St. Albans School and Roosevelt High School in Washington, DC. In 1943, he began coaching the Navy basketball team in Norfolk, VA. He caught the eye of Mike Uline, who hired him to coach the Washington Capitols in the newly founded Basketball Association of America (BAA), a predecessor of the NBA. In the 1946 to 1947 BAA season, Auerbach led a fast-break-oriented team built around early BAA star and fellow Washington Metropolitan Basketball Hall of Fame member Bones McKinney, and various ex-Navy players. They set a 49–11 win-loss record, including a standard-setting 17-game winning streak that stood as the single-season league record until 1969.
Setting Records and Pushing Progressive Changes in Professional Basketball
In 1950, Walter Brown, the Boston Celtics owner, hired Auerbach as a coach. Auerbach began making notable moves, including drafting Chuck Cooper in the 1950 NBA draft, the first black player to be drafted by an NBA club. With this, Auerbach is widely credited for breaking color barriers in professional basketball. Auerbach served as the general manager of the Boston Celtics from 1966 to 1984 and later became the team's president from 1984 to 1997. He continued to work with the team as the vice chairman from 1997 to 2001 before assuming the role of president again until he died in 2006. Auerbach was part of 16 NBA championships with the Celtics. He was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1969 in honor of his long, successful career as a color analyst for television broadcasts of ACC basketball games.