By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Three current and one former Northern Kentucky high school basketball coaches will be inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies scheduled for 1 p.m. Wednesday Jan. 17 at Villa Hills Civic Club.
Cooper coach Tim Sullivan, right, does a radio interview after one of his team’s victories during last year’s state high school basketball tournament. (Photo by Bob Jackson)
One of the inductees is Tim Sullivan, head coach of the Cooper boys’ basketball team that was runner-up in the 2017 “Sweet 16” Kentucky state tournament. He was named Kentucky Coach of the Year by two downstate newspapers for his team’s impressive run at the state title after winning the program’s first 9th Region title.
The other two current basketball coaches on the list of inductees are Rhonda Klette of Scott and Grant Brannen of Walton-Verona. They were both among the top high school basketball players in the area before they went on to become successful coaches.
The Hall of Fame will also induct Brad Arlinghaus, head baseball coach at Conner, and Donnie McFarland, former boys’ head basketball coach at Dixie Heights and Simon Kenton and a former assistant coach at Northern Kentucky University.
The guest speaker for the induction ceremony will be George “Cubby” Lyon. During the 1940s, he was a catcher on the first baseball team at Covington Catholic High School and first baseball team at Villa Madonna College, which later became Thomas More College. He went on to play three seasons in the minor leagues.
Lyon was a warm-up catcher for the Cincinnati Reds during the summer of his freshman and sophomore years in college. In 1947, he worked with Reds pitcher Ewell Blackwell in the bullpen before the sidearm right-hander took the mound to throw a no-hitter and a one-hitter in two successive starts.
The induction ceremony is free and open to the public. The civic club is located on Rogers Road in Villa Hills.
Am excited but not surprised to learn of Coach Rhonda Klette being inducted into the Northern Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame. She is a superior coach who strives to bring out the best in each of her Players. Scott High School is lucky to have her!