A former Wilmington High School basketball coach and a Wilmington College graduate are among the individuals being inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
Norm Persin and Richard Kiser will be honored at the 12th annual induction ceremony May 20 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame Co-Founder Don Henderson is the 2017 Ohio Heritage Award Recipient and will be honored at the ceremony. Additionally, the OBHOF will present two graduating high school seniors, Tyler Bardall from Dover High School, and Mikayla Dodane from Mechanicsburg High School with $1,000 academic scholarships.
Other members of the Class of 2017 are Ron Bonham, Jerry Carder, Jim Carder, Jim Chones, Johnny Davis, Mark “Buzzy” Davis, Fred Foster, Bob Hamilton, Cheri Harrer, Jantel Lavender, Carol Madsen, Buddy Mayborg (official), Ann Meyers, David Nash (official), Mel Riebe, Charles Share, Eugene “Middie” Smith, Hank Stein and Craig Taylor. Teams being inducted are Indian Valley South High School, 1972 and 1973; and Ohio University men’s teams, 1963-64 and 1964-65.
Persin coached the Hurricane boys basketball team two years, 1983-84 and 1984-85. He compiled a 29-14 record.
Persin has spent most of his 40 high school coaching years in the southern-most and lightly-populated part of Ohio – 21 years at Chesapeake in Lawrence County and 15 years at Oak Hill in Jackson County.
In spite of that, Persin is one of the best-known coaches in the state not only because of his teams’ success but the other experiences he’s had. Persin has coached in the Jordan All-American Classic and McDonald’s All-American Game. He has worked many years at the Lebron James Skills Academy, the Nike Hoop Jamboree and the Nike All-American Camp.
In Ohio, his teams have won 708 games and lost 200 over 40 years. He was the 2009 National Coach of the Year after his Oak Hill team won the Ohio Division IV championship. He is currently No. 3 on the Boys all-time wins list and No. 1 for active high school boys coaches, with a winning percentage of 780.
Kiser graduated from Eastern Brown High School and then returned to the school in Sardinia to teach and coach after graduating from Wilmington College in 1974. His girls basketball teams won 601 games and lost 167 over 33 years. They won 20 Southern Hills Athletic League titles plus 19 sectionals, 10 districts and three regionals. They were state runners-up in 2000.
That’s pretty good for a guy who also has coached freshman boys basketball, reserve and varsity girls basketball and girls track. He continues to support the Eastern Brown school district, raising money for the Joe Myers Memorial Scholarship Fund.
There is no doubt that Kiser has earned the respect of his peers. He has received the Sportsmanship Ethics and Integrity Award Bob Arnzen Longevity Award from the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association, and has been inducted into the district, county, and state coaches Hall of Fame.
He has been selected to coach in the Ohio-Kentucky, Ohio-West Virginia and North-South all-star games.
“Our goal is to have a great representation of Ohio basketball, and that includes high school, all divisions of college basketball, and the professional level. We induct and honor those that were either born in Ohio or contributed to the game here. We’re working with universities, individuals, and historians to capture and preserve the legacies of Ohio’s greatest players, coaches and contributors,” said Executive Director Sheila Fox.
For more information or to order tickets to the Induction Ceremony, visit www.ohiobasketballhalloffame.com.
