Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Induction 2017 - - Marcus Taylor

THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CEREMONY

2017

Marcus Taylor

Marcus Taylor was one of the finest high school basketball players our area has ever produced.  He had one of the purest outside shots I have ever seen and was also a strong ball handler and leader in his days at Waverly High.  

He was named to the All-State team for each of his four high school seasons.   He led the Warriors to the State Class A Championship and was named Mr. Basketball in 2000.  He was also a McDonald's All-American. 

At Michigan State, during his sophomore year, he led the Big Ten in scoring and assists.  He left for an extended professional career at that time.

He first congratulated the fellow inductees and said he understood that a lot of hard work in addition to talent was necessary to achieve the level necessary to be inducted into the hall.  

He thanked his high school coach Phil Odlum, his college coach Tom Izzo and his teammates for the championships.  He also cited Lansing Community College Coach MIke Ingram, who greatly helped his development as a player by inviting him to play with the LCC players at open gyms.  This helped him build a lot of confidence, which is necessary for success in any sport and indeed, any endeavor.

He mentioned his friends and family that gave him a support base that helped him focus to do the work necessary to achieve what he accomplished.  His parents in particular emphasized being a good person as well as a good athlete.

He was especially thankful to his father, who showed a lot of commitment and gave extensively of his time so that Marcus could get to gyms, camps and competitions.

 

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Induction 2017 - - Dan Stolz

THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CEREMONY

2017

Dan Stolz

Dan Stolz was a three year varsity player and two year All-State player for Okemos High School.  He also earned four varsity letters in baseball and four varsity letters at Alma College in basketball.  He was the MIAA basketball MVP one year and all-conference for three years.

He made an even bigger impact as a coach.  

He won 429 games at Williamston High School and at Okemos High School as a basketball coach.  In 2006, his Okemos team reached the Class A State Final Game and he also won a regional title in 2012. 

He won 485 games as a softball coach and was also a successful Girls' tennis coach and golf coach.  

I have always appreciated Coach Stolz personally as he gave me a lot of positive reinforcement during my first years of writing the Bleacher Denizen Blog.  I had little experience interviewing coaches or at writing.  He was always really patient and positive with me.  He also shared some coaching insights that deepened my understanding of basketball.  I'll always be grateful to him for this.

Also, I always felt that his Okemos basketball teams (even long before I started the blog) were always as good as his teams could be.  

In his acceptance speech, Coach Stolz thanked Bob Every, the president of The Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame for all the work he does.  He believes that the association does a lot to help the community come together.

He is grateful that he was able to spend his career doing what he was passionate about, coaching and teaching.  

He thanked his athletes, coaches and administrators.  His father and uncle were also really successful coaches and he cited them for helping him learn what to do.  He thanked his wife for tolerating his schedule and also complimented the coaches who worked with him during his years of coaching.

I'd like to extend my personal congratulations to this fine man and thank him for all he has done for his athletes, his students and for me as a blogger!!

Greater Lansing Area Sports Hall of Fame Induction 2017 - - Robert Roop

THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME

INDUCTION CEREMONY

2017

Robert Roop

 

Robert Roop won the State Heavyweight Wrestling Championship while at East Lansing High School in 1960.  He also had great success wrestling for the United States Army and at two colleges.  He was on the Olympic Grego-Roman wrestling team at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

He had a long career in professional wrestling, where he won 12 Regional, 4 National and 2 World Wrestling titles.

Bob brought a prepared speech, but decided he would prefer to tell stories.   He had a great sense of humor as he related stories, especially from the beginning of his wrestling career.

He told of the football and wrestling environment at East Lansing High school, where he watched Art Brandstatter play football and actually had former MSU football coach Biggie Munn as his seventh grade line coach.  (He equated that to Einstein being someone's math teacher.)

He told the story of how East Lansing needed a heavyweight wrestler, so a match was staged in eighth grade where a high school wrestler went easy on him to make him see that high school wrestling would not be an impossibility.  He joked about how things were different in ninth grade when he had to practice against the guy for real and put him through many challenges.

He thanked his family and his wife for supporting him in his journey through professional wrestling.  He related how he was grateful that he was able to return his wife's support by helping to nurse her through her final years.  He said that it was a time to remember her in joy, not in despair.

He completed his speech by thanking the committee and reminded the audience that the honor of this selection will last forever, even after he passes on.