Scott County High School dedicates Coach Billy Hicks Gymnasium
The new home of Scott County High School’s basketball Cardinals will forever be associated with the coaching legend who led the school to two Boys’ Sweet 16 state championships.
Scott County dedicated “Coach Billy Hicks Gymnasium” at its new school on Wednesday ahead of the boys first round of the annual Billy Hicks Classic basketball tournament.
Hicks, who passed away unexpectedly a year ago at the age of 71, retired in 2019 as the winningest boys high school basketball coach in Kentucky history after 25 seasons in charge of the Cardinals and 38 seasons overall with additional stints at Evarts, Harlan and Corbin.
“Coach believed in developing kids as players on and off the court,” Scott County boys basketball coach and athletic director Steve Helton told media members ahead of the dedication. Helton played for Hicks at Corbin and became an assistant coach for him at Scott County.
“He was my middle school social studies teacher and one of the best teachers I ever had,” Helton said. “Through that, here I am, 30-something years later getting ready to coach at a gym named after him.”
Former players Scott Hundley and Michael Moreno helped unveil one of commemorative plaques bearing Hicks’ image and accomplishments that will mark outside and inside entrances to the gym as well as a frame containing Hicks’ signature red blazer that will be displayed in the gym’s entry foyer.
Hicks’ family members, including his wife, Betsy, daughter, Ashley Johnson, and grandson, Wyler Nash Johnson, were on hand for the dedication.
After taking over the Scott County program in 1994, Hicks led the Cardinals to 13 region titles and state championships in 1996 and 2007. Along the way, he coached two Mr. Basketball honorees — Rick Jones in 1999 and Hundley in 2000.
Hicks was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016 and this fall was nominated for the KHSAA Hall of Fame by Scott County Schools district athletic director D.T. Wells.
“Coach Hicks was a beloved coach, mentor, teacher, storyteller, husband, father, grandfather, gardener, avid reader, lover of history and travel, and a friend to all except the fish,” Well wrote in his nomination letter. “His kindness and generosity, humble demeanor, and persistence made him not only an outstanding coach but a remarkable man.”
Earlier this year, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, at the request of Harlan County and Scott County schools officials, amended Hicks’ coaching record to 1,021-268, restoring eight wins from his first season at Evarts.
Hicks long held that the KHSAA’s initial ruling that his entire first season as a coach be forfeit due to an ineligible player was incorrect. The KHSAA ultimately agreed based on evidence that the player in question played in only two of Evarts’ 10 wins that season.
Coach Billy Hicks Gymnasium is part of the new $130 million campus of Scott County High School, which opened this fall. The arena has a listed capacity of 2,000 with about 1,000 seatback seats on the lower level and 1,000 bench seats on the upper level, roughly the same specifications as its counterpart at Great Crossing High School, which was opened in 2017.
The Billy Hicks Classic includes both boys and girls games and began Tuesday at both Great Crossing and Scott County. The event continues Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Billy Hicks Classic
TUESDAY’S GIRLS SCORES
Great Crossing 54, Lewis County 41
Paul Laurence Dunbar 49, Scott County 48
West Jessamine 59, Jackson County 38
Grant County 59, Woodford County 39
WEDNESDAY’S BOYS SCORES
Great Crossing 71, Franklin County 34
Frederick Douglass 85, Ballard 67
Scott County 78, Lafayette 68
Covington Catholic 76, Woodford County 60
THURSDAY’S GIRLS SEMIFINALS
At Great Crossing High School
6 p.m.: Grant County vs. Great Crossing
7:30 p.m.: Paul Laurence Dunbar vs. West Jessamine
FRIDAY’S BOYS SEMIFINALS
At Great Crossing High School
6 p.m.: Scott County vs. Covington Catholic
7:30 p.m.: Great Crossing vs. Frederick Douglass
SATURDAY’S FINALS
At Scott County High School
11:30 a.m.: Girls championship game
1 p.m.: Boys championship game
