Claggett, Smith, Blade highlight 2016 IBCA Hall of Fame list

Former Venice High and St. Louis University star Erwin Claggett and former Alton and University of Illinois standout Larry Smith are among the metro-east connections highlighting the 2016 Hall of Fame induction class of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association.

Other notable metro-east Hall of Fame inductees in the class include Edwardsville High girls basketball coach Lori Blade, former Collinsville star Terry Tessary Jr., longtime Belleville West head coach and assistant Roger Mueller, former Cahokia High coach Ken McBride, former Civic Memorial, Granite City and Roxana coach Mike Harmon and longtime area official Conrad “Babe” Champion from Granite City.

The ceremony is set for April 30 at the Illinois State University’s Bone Center in Normal. Tickets are $40 each and can be obtained by calling (312) 501-5174.

Claggett was an all-state player at Venice, excelling at scoring and playmaking. He later starred at St. Louis U. from 1991-95, scoring 1,910 points for the Billikens and helping them make two NCAA Tournament appearances.

After playing professionally in Europe, Claggett compiled a 168-60 record as the boys basketball coach at McCluer North. He currently is the basketball coach at St. Louis University High.

Smith was a star guard at Alton who helped the 1989 “Flying Illini” team reach the NCAA Final Four.

Mueller’s teams won 20 or more games five times from 1973 to 1988. Belleville West also won six regional titles under Mueller and advanced to the super-sectional in his first season (1973-74).

Blade starred as a softball and basketball player in high school and later Southern Illinois University Edwardsville before turning to coaching. She has compiled an amazing record of success as a basketball and softball coach at Carrollton and Edwardsville, including a 598-83 mark in basketball and 626-98 record in softball.

Blade’s Carrollton teams won two state titles, added a second-place finish at state and had a 233-27 record from 1994-2002. From 2002-15 at Edwardsville, Blade’s teams have a 365-56 record while making four state tourney appearances, including a second-place finish in 2012.

Tessary was an all-state basketball player at Collinsville during his senior year of 2000-01. Champion was considered one of the top basketball officials in the region during his career.

McBride and Harmon are both being inducted as Career Coaches.

Other in the 2016 Hall of Fame class are Carbondale High coach Jim Miller, Friends of Basketball category inductees Roger Gerlach (Sparta), Jerry Soehlke (Collinsville) and Paul Herzog (Troy) and News Media selection Art Voellinger (Belleville).

This story was originally published December 7, 2015 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Claggett, Smith, Blade highlight 2016 IBCA Hall of Fame list."