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The Polk County High School Basketball Hall of Fame Selection Committee has announced the inductees for 2012. The purpose of the Hall of Fame is to recognize contributions of players, teams, coaches and supporters to the Polk County High School basketball program. The inductees for this year are Mary Temple Biggs Stottlemyer, Joyce Newman Hampton, Candy Kirkland Ramsey, Ken Beard, Lee Gibson, and the 1963-64 Boys team, The induction ceremony will be conducted on February 3rd between the boys and girls at the Polk County High School gym.


Mary Temple Biggs Stottlemyer played for the Polk County Wildkittens from 1955-58. Playing in an era when 3 offensive players were on one end and three defensive players on the other end, Stottlemyer was a tall, graceful defender. Her play earned her two years All District and one year All Region.


Joyce Newman Hampton played for the Wildkittens from 1958-62. She played some as a Freshman and started her last three years. She averaged over 25 points her Junior year and over 20 her Senior year. A versatile player who could shoot outside and score by driving to the goal, she probably scored over 1,200 points in her career. Hampton earned All District her Junior and Senior year. She scored 90 points in 3 tournament games one year. This was a time when high schools, regardless of the number of students, competed against one another so Hampton’s number was against schools such as Bradley and McMinn Counties.


Candy Kirkland Ramsey’s playing career was 1981-85. Starting at point guard 10 games into her Sophmore year she averaged 11 ppg, 19 ppg her Junior year, and 21 ppg her Senior year. In less than three years Ramsey scored more than 1600 points, The Wildkittens record during her last three years was 91 wins and 14 losses with trips to the State Tournament. In one great performance in the Region Final against McMinn Central she outscored the Central team 17-4 and finished with 33 points. Candy was a great player, who at times carried our team offensively. “She wasn’t very tall but she was quick and had a great jump shot” Coach Ron Davis said.
Her post season awards: three time All District three time MVP of District, three time all Region, two time MVP of Region, two time all TN state, East TN player of the year, All State Tournament two times, All State 1985.


Ken (Flod) Beard started at point guard for the Wildcats from 1975-1979. A true point, he concentrated on getting the ball to teammates for an open shot or driving and creating shots for teammates when the defense helped. Even though assists were his strong point he scored nearly 1,000 points. “Ken is one of the best point guards in Polk County history and could very well be the all time assist leader. Ken could pass the ball off the dribble from the back court to a player under the goal for a lay-up. He got our post players a lot of easy shots by quick passes thru a zone defense. Ken had a great career here and deserves this honor,” said his coach Frank Lowery. Beard received All District honor for four years, All Tristate two years and was captain of his high school team for two years.


Lee Gibson’s playing career was from 1981-85 in which he was a starter his last three years. He averaged 11, 16 and 19 points in those three years for a total of over 1300 points in his career. A versatile player of the Wildcat team the last two years of his career and he  was on the All-Tristate team twice.


The 1963-64 Wildcat basketball team had a remarkable record of 31 wins and 4 losses that could be the best ever record for a boy’s team in the history of Polk County High School.
This outstanding team accomplished the 31-4 record before schools were grouped for athletic competition by classification according to student enrollment. During this season the Wildcat team was ranked as high as #5 in the entire state of Tennessee.
With no player over 6’2”, the team played disciplined basketball in both offense and defense. Chuck Sanford, a member of the team, said “We didn’t have any superstars. We were just a well balanced team who played together as a team, we trusted each other and had a great coach in “jumping Jim” Voight. No matter where we played, the game was always like a home game because of the great fans who supported us.
Coach Jim Voight was at PCHS only two years but in those two years the teams had a combined record of 57 wins with only 11 losses and in the final AP poll were ranked 10th in the state.