By Marcus HartmanBuckeyeSports.com
The coming year is already shaping up to be a big one for Ohio State basketball coaches both past and present.
On Wednesday the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame released its list of 2013 inductees, an 11-member class that includes a pair of Ohio high school standouts who also coached at Ohio State.
Randy Ayers was head coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball program from 1990-97. He posted a 124-108 overall record and snapped a Big Ten championship drought with back-to-back titles in 1991 and ’92. The Buckeyes’ previous conference crown came in 1971.
Ayers named Big Ten Coach of the Year both years his teams won the league, and he added national coach of the year laurels in ’91. His Buckeyes advanced to the Elite Eight in 1992 but fell on hard times after that, posting four losing seasons in his last five on the OSU sideline. That included a 6-22 mark in 1995 that set the program record for losses and losing percentage. The program also endured an NCAA scandal involving the recruitment of standout Cincinnati area guard Damon Flint.
Prior to his arrival in Columbus, Ayers was a star player at Springfield North High School and Miami (Ohio).
He is currently a member of the staff of the New Orleans Hornets following previous NBA assistant coaching positions with the Philadelphia 76ers, Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards. He was briefly head coach of the 76ers during the 2003-04 season.
Tamika Williams Raymond spent five years as a member of the Ohio State women’s basketball coaching staff from 2003-08. She was also a graduate assistant for the Buckeyes in 2002. She made her name as Tamika Williams while starring first at Dayton Chaminade-Julienne High School and then the University of Connecticut. She also played in the WNBA.
Additionally, the OBHOF will induct the 1964 Dayton Belmont team that won the big school state championship. The Bison lineup included big man Bill Hoskett Jr., who would go on to averaged 19.5 points per game at Ohio State and be named All-Big Ten twice.
The unveiling of the OBHOF class comes just two days after the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame announced it will induct current Buckeye head coach Jim Foster.
In 34 seasons as a head coach, including the past 10 at Ohio State, Foster has posted a 765-294 (.722) record. His squads have made 27 postseason appearances (26 NCAA tournaments), including 13 consecutive NCAA tournaments, four trips to the Elite Eight, 11 Sweet Sixteen’s and one Final Four. His is the eighth-winningest active coach in Division I and one of two coaches to win at least 200 games at three different schools.
The Buckeyes have qualified for the NCAA tournament in every one of Foster’s 10 seasons in Columbus and won six Big Ten titles.
During the last eight seasons, Ohio State has the ninth-most wins (218) in Division I women's college basketball and is one of eight schools to win at least 20 games in each of the last 10 years. The Buckeyes have captured four Big Ten tournament titles since 2006 and made three Sweet 16s.
Prior to Ohio State, Foster led Vanderbilt to a 256-99 record from 1991-2002. He was named United States Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year in 1993 when the Commodores joined Ohio State in the Final Four.
He spent 13 years at St. Joseph's, where he recorded a 248-126 (.663) record and seven postseason appearances.
His teams have also excelled in the classroom with a 100 percent graduation rate at all three of his head coaching stops.
The WBHOF class of 2013 will be inducted June 8, 2013, in Knoxville, Tenn.
The eighth annual OBHOF induction ceremony will be held May 18, 2013, at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.
