June 5—MONTGOMERY — Country Oaks once again played host to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Southern Golf Scramble on Tuesday. Under the watchful eye of Washington native and Basketball Hall of Famer Sam Alford, the event celebrated its 16th year in the Oaks.
The race helps fund scholarships and a Hall expansion project in New Castle. It also gave nearly 20 Hall of Famers the opportunity to renew friendships with fans, teammates and administrators from across the region.
“Coach (Sam) Alford does a fantastic job. We have a lot of Hall of Famers here this year. Steve Alford is here playing with his family, including his son Korey, who coaches at Huntington University. J.R. Holmes and Jim Jones are here, and the legendary Jack Butcher was here, along with former NBA coach Del Harris,” said HOF Director of Development Cory Criswell. “I also wanted to give a little shoutout to the 7,000-foot expansion project at the Hall of Fame, so fans can come down to New Castle and see what’s going on.”
Sam Alford is a former Hatchet player, along with a former coach at Monroe City, South Knox, Martinsville, New Castle and retired from his son Steve’s University of Iowa team in the early 2000s (Steve is 1987 national champion at IU and the current coach at Nevada).
“This is our 16th year, and it’s great to work with Country Oaks. It’s a pretty good marriage, actually. It was a pleasure to come back to Washington, especially with my family. The first place my brother and I went was the White Steamer, and I love coming back and going to Masons too,” joked Sam Alford.
Country Oaks Golf Director Trey Miller has been involved with the tournament for 16 years and really enjoys this event.
“It’s an honor to have an event like this in our community. It never hurts to represent the Basketball Hall of Fame in some way. Basketball continues to play an important role in our area and it’s been a lot of fun to share stories for nearly 20 years with guys who are a big part of our basketball heritage.”
