Section V basketball announces inductees to its Hall of Fame
Former Lyons boys basketball coach Dean Schott, East High forward Ken Henry and Pittsford Mendon all-star Eve Walters are among the next nine inductees into the Section V Basketball Hall of Fame.
Schott, whose teams won 417 games — including nine Section V titles — is the only coach in this year’s group. Henry was a four-year starter at East before he went on to the University of Connecticut in 1983. Walters was the 1998 Democrat and Chronicle All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year after she led Pittsford Mendon to a state tournament final.
Wendy Bleier-Mervis, who was a three-sport athlete at Irondequoit and is the executive director of Camp Good Days and Special Times, is among the five inductees who were players.
That group includes Brian Putnam, a key member of the undefeated 1991 Prattsburgh boys teams, Wellsville 1,000-point scorer Jill Regan and 1958 Penn Yan graduate Ben Ridley, who went on to lead what is now known as State University College of Technology at Alfred to the national junior college championships.
Jodi Schmeelk, a former successful coach at Fairport, is being inducted for her role in the growth of the state and Section V girls basketball tournaments. Tom Ward, an award-winning referee during a 37-year period, is the lone official being inducted this year.
The ceremony is 6:15 p.m., Nov. 14 at the Radisson Riverside Hotel in downtown Rochester. Tickets are $30, $270 for a table of 10. Call Jeff Gifford or Allison Pinneo at (315) 536-3311. They can also be reached at Sectionvbball@gmail.com
