GEORGE WHITFIELD HALL of FAME: Phil Ford highlights list of inductees

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 15, 2016 1:48 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

Awed.

Honored.

Surprised.

And even "wow."

Those were some of the reactions from the latest inductees -- 21 in all -- scheduled for enshrinement into the George Whitfield Hall of Fame tonight inside the Goldsboro High School auditorium.

The newest class includes award-winning writer Lenox Rawlings, Atlantic Coast Conference basketball great Phil Ford, and a plethora of high school and collegiate coaches who have achieved remarkable success in their respective sports.

"To be inducted into a Hall of Fame by someone who has known you most of your life is indirectly or directly quite an honor," Ford said. "The older Iget, the more Iknow what honors like this mean.

"It touches you more on a personal level."

Goldsboro's Dr. Lee Adams is among the inductees.

"I'm still in awe, don't know why he selected me," said Adams, who is a member of the N.C. Hall of Fame for Relay for Life and has participated in every Goldsboro Family Y triathlon that has spanned nearly five decades.

But that's not all.

Before the ceremony begins, the inductees and family and friends in attendance will meet some highly-talented special guests, too.

Whitfield will honor 10 high school state championship teams: Wayne Country Day (boys' soccer, girls' dual-team tennis), Parrott Academy (football, softball, baseball), North Duplin (softball) and the four 2015 N.C. High School Athletic Association state baseball champions -- Whiteville (Class 1-A), South Granville (2-A), Marvin Ridge (3-A) and Charlotte Providence (4-A).

Catawba coach Jim Gantt will receive the 2015 Walter Rabb Award, which recognizes the state's top collegiate baseball coach. Rabb guided Catawba to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Division II College World Series last spring.

"A class act," Whitfield said.

The Hall of Fame ceremony is part of Whitfield's two-day baseball clinic that draws Major League Baseball scouts and some of the nation's top collegiate coaches. Numerous topics will be discussed throughout the day Saturday.

Dave Odom is the keynote speaker for the clinic. The Goldsboro native won 406 games during his collegiate career that included head coaching stops at East Carolina University, Wake Forest and South Carolina.

Odom guided Wake Forest to 11 postseason appearances in 12 campaigns and his 2000 team emerged as the NIT champion. He took South Carolina to the postseason on four occasions and retired in 2008.

The basketball court at the Wayne County Boys & Girls Club is named after Odom.