They might still be swapping stories and sharing hugs.
For members of Boone County’s 1995-96 boys basketball team, Tuesday’s game between the Rebels and Augusta at Nell Fookes Court was a chance to relive the joy of winning the Ninth Region title 30 seasons ago.
The ‘96 title was Boone County’s third of four regional wins. (1956, 1985 and 2012 were the others.) To Josh Walton, the title-clinching 39-34 win over Lloyd Memorial at Conner was special in at least two ways
“I’d say the most special thing about that team was just the way that group of guys came together,” Walton said. “ … You know, maybe that was definitely a great example of the whole being more than the sum of its parts.”
The memories abundantly returned Tuesday. One of Walton’s favorites: the entire team shaving off coach Jay Mulcahy’s red hair – a payoff for Boone County winning the region.
“So I started him,” Walton said. “We had those clippers out there. We had a pep rally, we had him at center court.”
Ben Brown is the defensive backs coach at Cooper. He said when his children occasionally ask him about the 1996 team, he talks about the atmosphere at Boone County.
“This place was electric,” Brown said. “I mean, it was a lot of fun and a lot of school pride – a lot of guys who were happy to just represent Boone County High School, whether it’d be the letterman jacket, whether it’d be out in public. It was a lot of fun, and we just enjoyed each other.”
Pat Mulcahy, Jay’s son, felt winning the region was the result of familiarity. “So, we weren’t the most athletically gifted, but we played good team ball,” he said.
Jay Mulcahy recalled the summer drills on the track at Irv Goode Stadium – the players called them “Hell on the Track.”
“I’ve been teased about being more of a track coach than a basketball coach,” Mulcahy said. “There were several drills there. We used to do a ‘take the charge’ kind of a drill that they all just loved.”
Doug Hall, meanwhile, still has an olfactory remembrance – the smell of freshly-laid asphalt.
“Anywhere I smell that hot blacktop, it reminds me of running on that track in the summertime,” Hall said.
Every Rebel said Hall, who led the team with 19.3 points a game, was a major reason for what happened.
“Doug Hall was a great leader for us, and we kind of took his lead,” Mulcahy said.
You could also say Boone County, who finished at 24-8, overachieved – the Kentucky Post preseason polls placed the Rebels 10th and fifth in the final regular season rankings.
The season started with a win over Dixie Heights and losses to Covington Catholic and Scott. The Rebels countered with a five-game winning streak.
Hall, who also averaged 79.5% at the free throw line wasn’t the only star on offense – Evans hit 42.7% of his 3-pointers, and Mulcahy served 3.0 assists a game. For the season, the Rebels averaged 64 points a game and allowed just 54.1.
After a 71-69 loss to Conner, Boone County won their next seven. A three-game skid against Highlands, CovCath and Conner followed, but the Rebels finished 11-2 the rest of the way.
With 26 teams, the Ninth Region was the largest of Kentucky’s 16 in 1996. Eight teams comprised the 33rd District in 1996, which meant Boone County had to win twice just to reach the district final and qualify for the region tournament. The Rebels did – 57-37 over Ryle, 67-51 over St. Henry and 59-48 over Lloyd.
In the regional first round, Boone County beat Highlands, 58-52 and Holy Cross in the semifinals, 45-37. Walton wasn’t expecting such a low score against Lloyd.
“With so much on the line, I think they tried to slow the game down quite a bit on us,” Walton said. “We had some really good scorers – Doug Hall, TJ Evans, Pat (Mulcahy), Jeremy Colemire – they could really put the ball in the hoop.”
Harrodsburg defeated Boone County, 57-50, in the first round of the Sweet 16 ® at Rupp Arena. Hall led the Rebels with 15 points, Evans had 13 and Colemire added 11.
Hall’s favorite memory had little to do with the game.
“Probably my only memory is seeing my mom and dad (Kim and Curt Hall) as we walked off the court at Rupp Arena.”
Coach Mulcahy mostly chases his grandchildren these days. Tuesday, he mentioned perhaps the most important memory from 30 years ago.
“Cutting down the nets,” he said.