DeKalb County High School honored a few of its basketball legends last week, presenting the former players and a coach with banners that will hang in the school gymnasium. The ceremony was held between the Tigers and Lady Tigers game against Cannon County on Feb. 5.
Former DeKalb Basketball Tigerette Betty Carol Fite, and Lady Tigers’ Mary Ann Puckett and Cynthia Woodward were recognized along with former Tigers Danny Foutch, Kevin James, and Coach Harold Luna.
The honorees stepped onto the court alongside banners held by current DCHS basketball players that featured their name and jersey number. DCHS basketball announcer Chris Vance then cited their high school career accomplishments. Coach Luna’s banner bore his overall 516-179 win-loss record.
Each player was met with applause from the night’s crowd, but Coach Luna received the most enthusiastic reception. The standing ovation brought the former coach to tears.
Coach Harold Luna had coached both boys and girls from 1964-69, then began coaching the boys program only until 1984. His total record was 516-179
Danny Foutch (1974-78) was All-District and All-Conference for three years, and as a senior in 1978, he was first team All-State, midstate Most Valuable Player, and led the state in scoring with a 31.4 points per game average, with a season high of 50 points. After high school, he went on to play four years at Belmont in Nashville.
Kevin James (1976-80) averaged 23 points per game as a junior and 20 points per game as a senior. James received many honors before his graduation in 1980. He was All-Conference, All-District, and All-Region as a junior, and as a senior, he was a second team All-State selection and was first team Class AA All-Midstate. After high school, he continued his basketball career at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville.
Betty Carol Fite (1961-1965) averaged 40.65 points per game and scored 3,481 career points as a high school player. She set a school record for 67 points in one game and held another record for most points in one quarter at 29. One season she scored 72 points more than the combined total of the Tigerette opponents. She made the All-Midstate Teams two years and was named Most Valuable Player in the mid-state as a senior in 1965. She also set two free throw records in the Tennessee State Playoffs.
Mary Ann Puckett (1989-93) won the team’s MVP Award for three years in a row from her sophomore to senior years. Puckett rewrote the DCHS record book for five on five style girls basketball with 2,375 career points and 1,408 rebounds. Also named Best Defensive Player and Best Athlete, Puckett’s senior season statistics included 696 points (24 points per game), 393 rebounds (13.6 rebounds per game), 155 blocked shots and 77 steals. Puckett went to Duke University on a basketball scholarship and played for one season before transferring to Belmont University where she continued her basketball career which was cut short due to a medical condition.
Cynthia Woodward (2006-10) scored over 1100 points. Cynthia was named to the All District team in 2010; led her Lady Tigers to the program’s first post season win in 17 seasons, and her team advanced to the regional semi-finals in Cynthia’s senior season. After graduation, she began her collegiate basketball career at Freed Hardeman where during her senior season at one point she led the nation in 3-point percentage and helped guide Freed to an NAIA National Championship game.
