Kentucky State great Travis Grant finally a Hall of Famer
|
Posted By: Reginald Culpepper on May 10, 2009 Travis Grant was nearly four decades removed from his basketball glory days at Kentucky State University and still a couple of hours from his entrance into the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. As Grant stood in a corridor of the Crowne Plaza hotel last night, he was approached by Hall of Famer Kenny Walker (class of 2007). Walker, a University of Kentucky star in the 1980s, gave Grant a hug and a pat on the back, telling him the honor was long overdue. Grant scored 4,045 points — averaging 33.4 per game — for a dynastic team that won three straight NAIA championships in the early 1970s. The Sporting News named Grant its College Player of the Year in 1972. “When you say Travis ‘The Machine Gun’ Grant and Elmore Smith and some of those guys that played there in the ’70s, you’re talking about one of the best teams to ever play in Kentucky basketball history,” Walker said later. Grant, a 59-year-old assistant principal in Georgia, was one of eight people inducted into the Hall last night. “Life wasn’t easy for me growing up in Clayton, Ala.,” Grant told a crowd of about 450. “My mother (Mattie Mae, who is now 90) could not afford to buy a basketball goal for me, so I improvised by cutting the bottom out of a five-gallon can and nailing it to the front of the house. “She has been my inspiration. A mother who had to provide for a family of five with little or no income. A mother who would not allow me to quit school and get a job. … She insisted that sacrificing an education was not an option. Instead, she found additional small jobs to make ends meet.” Grant acknowledged his coaches, including Lucias Mitchell at Kentucky State and Wilt Chamberlain with the San Diego Conquistadors. And he paid tribute to his teammates. “I consider this to be a team honor. … We could have competed against any team in the country, regardless of division. I remember the offseason pickup games that we had against our counterparts in Lexington. The results would always reaffirm what we always knew — that we had something special at Kentucky State.” Nothing on the court, he said, has made him feel as proud as something he did off the court 37 years ago, when he received a signing bonus from the Los Angeles Lakers. “That allowed me to purchase our first family home, buy my mother a car and clear up all her debts.” Before Grant spoke, Laura Casey Lake accepted the award for her father, Mike, the UK basketball star from the 1960s and ’70s who died three weeks ago in a Nashville hospital. “About a week before Daddy passed away,” his daughter said, “he whispered, ‘Baby, I won’t be able to go. You accept the award for me, OK?’ “He then, with a weak and raspy voice, said, ‘Will you help me write the speech?’ We never got to write the speech, but I knew how honored he was to receive the award, by the glow in his eyes as he talked about it. “When he first learned a few months back, he would keep saying, ‘Gee, that’s great. This is a big deal, Baby.’ “ She ended with a tribute to her father’s generosity. “He was,” she said, “there for everyone. … Someone said, ‘No wonder he had a heart problem. He gave a piece away to all who knew him.’ “ Before the Hall of Fame induction, the Kentucky Farm Bureau honored its high school athletes of the year: Iroquois basketball player Adia Mathies; and Trinity’s Jordan Whiting, a star in football, wrestling, powerlifting and track and field. Mathies will play at the University of Kentucky; Whiting will play football at Ohio State. If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
 |
Reginald Culpepper
President, Fulfillment and Web Services, HBCUCONNECT Clark Atlanta University class of 1998 Member Since September 2000 |
Comments
|
This is a great article and an acknowledgment long overdue for a great basketball player. I can remember going to those NAIA championship games in Kansas City, and Travis was one of the main reasons that I wanted to go to Kentucky State and play ball. Thanks for sharing. M.R. Garvin
Wednesday, May 13th 2009 at 9:49AM |
More From This Author
Latest HBCU Sports
Popular HBCU Sports
