School honors those who left mark on and off respective playing venues

By Jayson Larson Sports Editor

Gary Ashlock vividly recalls the moment.

He was driving home to Malakoff after having just had a conversation with Leon Spencer, then the athletic director at Henderson County Junior College.

Ashlock came to HCJC as an assistant football coach with a special side duty: to begin a women’s basketball program.

And Spencer had just told him he was now going to be the full-time women’s basketball coach. Ashlock recalled squeezing tightly onto his steering wheel and gleefully absorbing the news.

“That was the happiest day of my life until today,” Ashlock said Saturday after becoming one of eight members inducted into the Henderson County Junior College/Trinity Valley Community College Hall of Fame. “I love you, TVCC.”

Ashlock — whose squads won 20 or more games for 10 consecutive seasons — was joined in his 2009 induction by former men’s basketball player Michael Battle; former men’s basketball player the late William “Bill” Gaines; former football player Robert Jackson; former women’s basketball player Betty Lennox; former women’s basketball player Tausha Mills; former football player John Randle; and former men’s basketball player Nick Van Exel.

Each Hall of Fame inductee received a plaque and a red blazer with the Hall of Fame insignia included on the left breast pocket.

Van Exel, Randle and Lennox were unable to attend. Gaines was represented by his wife, Beverly.

William ‘Bill’ Gaines

Gaines helped the Cardinals to their first conference championship in 1965 and scored more than 30 points per game. He became the conference’s all-time leading scorer with a month left in the 1965 season, with 1,110 points.

He was a 15th round draft pick of the NBA’s San Antonio Rockets. He also played with the Houston Mavericks of the ABA.

“Coming here impacted his life in many positive ways,” Beverly Gaines said. “I know he is in Heaven looking down and saying ‘thank you’ a million times.”

Michael Battle

A fan favorite of the 1970s, this Region XIV Tournament Most Valuable Player and honorable mention All-American went on to play at Baylor and then began a pro career in Venezuela and Mexico.

Battle thanked God for his achievements and took a playful jab at the college’s name, saying, “No disrespect to Trinity Valley, but I love me some HCJC.

“This is an opportunity not many players or athletes get, to get inducted into a Hall of Fame.”

Robert Jackson

Take it from Ashlock, a fellow Hall of Famer, when it comes to Robert Jackson: “I had never seen anyone who two and three players couldn’t block.”

Jackson, who former Head Football Coach Jim Owens once said has “integrity above reproach,” was twice named the Texas Junior College Football Conference’s MVP. He went on to play at Texas A&M and was the 17th overall NFL draft pick of the Cleveland Browns. He also played with the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons.

“I’ve had some good times here” Jackson said. “I always carry one thing with me — keep your head up and be strong.”

Tausha Mills

Mills provided one of the more spirited speeches of the afternoon.

Her comments were complete with a prop (a bag of popcorn, signifying her love of the fans and their readiness to see a great show) and a cheer chant of “Who are we? TVCC! Whoop! Whoop!”

Mills, a national Junior College Player of the Year, helped the Lady Cardinals basketball team to a national championship in 1996 after a runner-up finish the year before.

She went on to be an All-Southeast Conference performer and Kodak All-American at Alabama, and she was the second overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics.

“TVCC’s secret weapons are the fans — the fans of Athens,” Mills said as her voice began to crack with emotion. “Today, I dedicate this honor back to you, the fans.”

Betty Lennox

Lennox helped lead the Lady Cardinal basketball team to a national title in 1997, being named MVP of the national tournament.

She went on to play at Louisiana Tech and then was drafted sixth overall by the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx. She was WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2000 and later helped the Seattle Storm to a WNBA championship.

She now plays for the Los Angeles Sparks.

John Randle

This all-conference performer was a seven-time NFL Pro Bowler for the Minnesota Vikings at his defensive line position. He made his first Pro Bowl in 1993 after recording 11.5 sacks. He posted double-digit sacks in eight seasons, including an NFL-leading 15.5 in 1997.

Randle went on to be named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s, finishing his career in 2003 with 137.5 sacks.

He is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and was an NFL Hall of Fame finalist earlier this year.

Nick Van Exel

Considered one of the top scoring threats in the Texas Eastern Conference in the late 1980s, Van Exel went on to star for the University of cincinnati. He had a 13-year NBA career that included stops with the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers.

Van Exel ranks sixth all-time in NBA career three-pointers with 1,528. He was an NBA All-Star in 1998.