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Hall of Fame Inductees

Meet the Washington, DC, Basketball Hall of Fame Inductees

Biographies of 2023 Inductees

Ollie Johnson

Ollie Johnson, who graduated from Spingarn HS, Washington, DC, in the Class of 1961, was one of the most highly decorated and successful high school and college players to ever come out of the DMV. Johnson’s basketball accomplishments include 3-time All- Inter-high (1959, ’60, ‘61), two-time first team All Metropolitan (1960, ‘61), two-time DC Inter-high champion (1960, ‘61), and City Champs in 1961 over DeMatha in front of 10,500 fans at Cole Field House. This was followed by three remarkable years at the University of San Francisco 1962-65: 65-19 overall win record and three NCAA tournaments, three West Coast Athletic Conference championships, first-team All-WCAC three times, WCAC Player of the Year two times, two-time All-American. Johnson averaged 20 points (1,688 total) and 16 rebounds (1,323 total) for his career, both still ranking in USF's all-time top ten almost 60 years later. Inducted into the USF Hall of Fame in 1974, his jersey was retired in 2013. Johnson was drafted in the first round of the 1965 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics (eighth pick overall), but he never played in the NBA. He then played overseas in the Belgian Basketball League for three seasons before beginning a long and distinguished career as an executive with Giant Food in Washington, DC. He hired many (over 50 ex-basketball players) into Giant Food careers in food service, continuing to mentor young talent.

Wil “Willie” Jones

Considered one of the finest shooters in the history of the DMV, Wil “Willie” Jones was a two-time first-team All-Metropolitan at Dunbar HS (1955 and 1956). A 1956 newspaper article (the former Washington Star) describes Jones in high school as “One of the real personalities among scholastic players in this section (top five players among 70 regional teams), he often regales officials and fans with his constant chatter on the floor. He can steal the ball after warning his opponent of his intention.” These confident characteristics prompted legendary coach John Thompson to later describe Jones as the “Muhammad Ali” of basketball. Joining DC’s first racially integrated college basketball team under Mexican American coach David Carrasco at American University for the 1957-58 season, Jones would lead the Eagles to three consecutive Mason-Dixon and Eastern Regional championships. Along the way, he broke nearly every AU and conference scoring record and once scored 54 points in an Elite 8 NCAA tournament game. A first-team College Division All-American, he is one of only two AU basketball players, along with Kermit Washington, to have his jersey retired. Jones went on to great acclaim as a coach, initially as the first African American coach in Northern Virginia for Robinson HS, which achieved a 76-to-10-win record during his tenure. Then followed a stint as Lefty Driesell’s assistant coach at the University of Maryland College Park. In 1979, he became the head coach at the University of the District of Columbia, where he recruited local standouts Earl Jones and Michael Britt and won the Division II National Championship in 1982 and followed that with a runner-up finish in 1983. Wil Jones went from UDC to become head coach of the Division I Norfolk State for three seasons from 1999-2002. Wil Jones is being posthumously honored."

Stan Kernan

Coach Stan Kernan is the only coach in the state of Maryland to win a high school basketball state championship with both his Boys team as well as with his Girls team, and he did it twice with each: his 1971 and 1976 Boys teams won the Maryland State Championship; and his 1978 and 1981 Girls teams won the Maryland State Championship, all for Parkdale High School in Riverdale. He was the first basketball coach the new high school hired when it opened in 1969 in Prince George's County, and he retired from teaching and coaching in 1988, having taught previously at the Junior High level. Kernan, the player, grew up in Northeast DC, playing on dirt courts wherever a competitive game could be found. Kernan was part of the "Fabulous Five" at McKinley Tech high school, making the papers as a three-time All-Met player at McKinley Tech from 1950-1952, leading the segregated white schools in scoring during his junior and senior years with a 21 per game average. The Fab Five won three inter-high league championships, three post-season Washington Area titles, and sported a 38-game winning streak, including his making the winning shot in their final game the season Kernan graduated. Drafted into the Navy during the Korean War, Kernan's talent was noticed in shipboard basketball when in port, and he was sent by an Admiral to try out for the Fleet team, eventually making the All-Navy and All-Services team in 1956, which was invited to Kansas City for the Olympic tryouts. Kernan was seen and recruited by several leading college coaches at those tryouts and chose McNeese State in Louisiana, which had just won the NAIA national championship. Kernan would become a "legend" at McNeese State University: earning all-American honors two-time Gulf States. Conference player of the Year, and he averaged 19.2 points per game for 88 contests. He ranks 10th on McNeese's all-time scoring chart. Three times he led the team in scoring with a single season high of 24.0 points per game in 1960-61. Kernan also led McNeese to two league titles, and he was a three-time Cowboy MVP. His scoring average in 1960-61 led all GSC scorers and was also one of the best in the nation. He would have his No. 25 retired and was named to the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame. In a national AAU tournament, Kernan was recruited by Goodyear to come to work for the company and play for the Industrial League, which was still considered amateur basketball but offered financial security with a job. He had a second Olympic tryout when Goodyear won the national championship in 1960, competing for a berth against players like Jerry West and Oscar Robertson. He was 26 by then, with a wife, two children, and a new college degree, and headed back to Washington, DC, where his career as a teacher and coach began, already a legend."

Crystal Langhorne

One of the all-time great Lady Terps, Crystal Langhorne, had such a tremendous college career that she had her jersey number retired while still active (Terps; Senior Day on February 24, 2008) and then graduated later that year in the Class of 2008. Maryland's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, she is the only men's or women's Terp with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. A two-time All-American, she was All-ACC four times and First-Team All-ACC three times and led Maryland to the NCAA Championship in 2006. She is the only player in NCAA history to lead the nation in field goal percentage three times and shot a remarkable 65.2% for her career. A 12-year veteran of the WNBA – including five years with the Washington Mystics from 2008 to 2013 - she is a 2-time WNBA champion and 2- time WNBA All-Star.

Earl Lloyd

Earl Lloyd, who graduated high school in Alexandria, VA, in 1946, became the first African American to appear in an NBA game on October 31, 1950. Originally drafted as the ninth overall pick, he joined the Washington Capitols in 1950. Nicknamed "The Big Cat," Lloyd was one of three Black players to enter the NBA at the same time. Mr. Lloyd was subsequently drafted into the US Army and served time-fighting in Korea before returning to the NBA, where he holds the distinction – along with teammate Jim Tucker - of becoming the first African American to win a championship ring, which they did with the Syracuse Nationals in 1955. He was the first Metro Washington player of any race to win an NBA championship. He was the third Black NBA coach after Bill Russell and John McLendon. He was already inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (2003), with which this Metro Hall of Fame is affiliated. Mr. Lloyd spent nine seasons in the NBA, appearing in 560 games and averaging 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds, but did not receive the recognition he was due or household name status during his lifetime for being not only an outstanding player but being the "Jackie Robinson" of basketball and suffering similar indignities which he handled with grace. He is being posthumously inducted on October 1, 2023, to the Washington DC Metro Basketball Hall of Fame. His son, Kevin Lloyd, will receive his award on behalf of the family."

James "Butch" McAdams

Coach James "Butch" McAdams attended UDC and began a 36-year career coaching basketball and teaching at the Maret School from 1973 until 2009. After launching a second career in radio in 1992, Butch has hosted a sports radio show every Sunday morning on WOL-1450, "The Butch McAdams Show," and for over a decade, a national podcast: the "In and Out of Sports" program, in addition to co-hosting another show in Baltimore. He has interviewed every major local basketball player, coach, author, contributor, and numerous legends from the world of sports over the last several decades. Butch was inducted into the DCSSA Hall of Fame in 2017 and continues to contribute his services to the community whenever needed.

Jim O'Brien

Jim O'Brien was from Falls Church, VA, and a two-time First Team All-Metropolitan selection at Stuart HS, graduating in 1969. Jim O'Brien is still considered by many to be the best high school player to ever come out of Northern Virginia. He led the state in scoring in 1968 and 1969 with averages of 28.4 and 31.3 before becoming one of Lefty Driesell's most celebrated first recruits at Maryland. In his three years as a starter, there from 1970-73, he made ALL-ACC 2nd team in 1971, the Terrapins won the National Invitational Tournament in 1972, and he finished his career averaging 15 points per game, leaving MD as their sixth all-time leading scorer. Drafted by both the NBA and ABA, O'Brien won an ABA championship ring with the New York Nets in 1974 before finishing his professional career with the Memphis Sounds in 1975.

Dennis Scott Jr.

Dennis Scott Jr. played for Coach Stu Vetter at Flint Hill in Oakton, Virginia. Flint Hill Prep was ranked first in the nation in Scott's senior year (1987) by USA Today. In his junior year at Flint Hill Prep, his team ranked second in the nation by USA Today and first as ranked by the Blue Ribbon yearbook. Given his size (6'8"), strength, shooting ability, and quickness, Scott played every position at one time or another during his high school career. Scott had an excellent college career for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, leading them to the NCAA Tournament each year that he played. During his junior season, 1989–90, he led the Yellow Jackets to win the ACC Tournament Championship and was named ACC Player of the Year. He also led the team to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament that season, falling to eventual champion UNLV. He entered the NBA Draft after his junior season, foregoing his senior year. Scott revolutionized the three-point shot in the NBA—that's how he earned the nickname "3D." In 2002, Scott was named to the ACC 50th Anniversary men's basketball team honoring the 50 greatest players in ACC History."
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.