Position: Guard

Transferred to Sewanee halfway through Sophomore Season

Paul Lansaw was born Paul Liberto Lansaw on February 7, 1928, in Middletown, Ohio to Mount Olympus Lansaw and Josephine Vernon. Lansaw was captain and star of Middletown’s 1946 state basketball championship team.  He played alongside Shelby Linville there.  He was named first-team All-Ohio in both his junior and senior years.  He was also a…

Johnny Crockett was born John Richard Crockett on February 3, 1928, in Maysville, Kentucky to Lide Chenault and Waller Allen Crockett. Crockett graduated from the University of Kentucky with distinction in 1949 with a degree in Political Science. While at the University of Kentucky, he was president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, president of…

  Ralph Beard played on the University of Kentucky’s first two NCAA championship teams and was a member of UK’s Fabulous Five. Beard, a speedy 5-foot-10 guard from Louisville, was noted both for his basketball skills and an aggressive style on the court. He played for Coach Adolph Rupp at Kentucky in 1946-49. As a…

Will Smethers was born Willis Alven Smethers on April 8, 1927, in Middletown, Ohio, to Guy and Ruth Smethers. He attended Middletown High School, where he helped the Middies win their first Ohio State Basketball Championship in 1944.   Smethers led the Middies in scoring as they won the ’44 title. He had 22 points on…

Zeb Blankenship was born William Zeb Blankenship on February 27, 1927, in Elkhorn City, Kentucky to Thomas L. Blankenship and Emma Belle Phillips Blankenship. He was a southpaw that played as a guard/forward for the University of Kentucky Wildcats during the 1945-46 basketball season. Standing at 5’11” and weighing 170 pounds, Zeb was known for…

Dickie Derrickson was born Richard Derrickson on October 16, 1926, to Alvis and Brown Derrickson. He grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and helped Lafayette High School win its first state basketball championship in 1942. After graduating in 1944, he accepted a scholarship from Adolph Rupp to play at the University of Kentucky. At Lafayette, Derrickson…

Jim Howe was born James Robert Howe on October 5, 1926, in Fort Thomas, Kentucky, to Albert and Marie Howe. The youngest of four children, he became an all-state basketball and football player at Highlands High School, where he earned the school’s best all-around athlete award. A four-sport standout, he captained the basketball and track…

Albert Cummins was born Albert Barker Cummins in Brooksville, Kentucky on June 23, 1926, to Joshua “Punk” Cummins and Hazel Wells Cummins. Cummins was a 1944 graduate of Brooksville High School and a member of their undefeated, heavily favored basketball team to win the state championship that year, only to fall short in the state…