John Calipari talks legacy as 10 are inducted into Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame
John Calipari was the keynote speaker as the Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame inducted its seventh class Thursday in Ellicott City.
John Calipari approached the dais under Baltimore Catholic League Hall of Fame signage before a ballroom of basketball folks and spoke about legacy.
“Achievement is part of history, but there’s a time frame to it,” said the longtime Kentucky men’s basketball coach now at Arkansas. “Legacy does not have that. My mother used to say, ‘It’s not what you take with you, it’s what you give to others so they can take with them.'”
Calipari was the keynote speaker for the seventh BCL Hall of Fame class. Cutting between wit and anecdotes, he gave a heartfelt homage to the longstanding, generational impact of each of the schools represented and the 10 inductees who were honored with a banquet Thursday night at Turf Valley Resort in Ellicott City.
One after another, they spoke of their own journeys raised by Baltimore basketball. They told stories and offered gratitude to those who supported their commitment to the game.
“Some people climb the ladder of success and they turn around and they pick up the ladder,” Calipari said. “Special people, who want to leave a legacy, climb that same ladder of success, and they turn around and they pick up the next person. That’s their legacy.”
Sean Mosley’s dad gave him a piece of advice in wrapping his head around the honor of a Hall of Fame induction. “Just enjoy the moment,” he said. The former St. Frances standout, whose 2,933 career points make him the conference’s all-time leading scorer, had his dad, siblings, girlfriend and friends all there in support.
Toughness and courage were the two words Mosley used to describe Baltimore basketball.
“Coming from where we come from,” he said, “we already have an ‘X’ on our back. But outside of New York, I’d say, this is like the Mecca of basketball. We had a lot of guys that come from Baltimore. … The list goes on and on.”
James Martin, a beloved former St. Maria Goretti administrator and newly minted Hall of Famer, joked that he might be the only one who never played a second of high school hoops.
Immanuel Quickley, a former John Carroll star who played for Calipari at Kentucky before being drafted by the New York Knicks and traded to the Toronto Raptors, had much of his extended family in attendance.
“It means a lot,” he said before the ceremony. “You try not to work specifically towards awards only, but to become a better player and a better person. To be honored for your stuff and get an award like this, it’s pretty remarkable.”
Players
Will Bowers, ’03, Archbishop Spalding: The 7-foot center was a three-year starter who scored 1,100 points in his career. Bowers earned first-team All-BCL honors in a breakthrough junior season when he averaged 12.2 points and six rebounds to lead the Cavaliers (29-7) to BCL regular season and tournament titles. He went on to have a fine college career at Maryland.
Chris Clunie, ’02 Loyola Blakefield: The first four-year varsity player under legendary Dons coach Jerry Savage, the 6-3 forward is the program’s third all-time leading scorer with 1,427 points. A three-time All-BCL selection, Clunie also was awarded the league’s Never, Never Quit Award in 2002. He went on to play at Davidson and played one professional season in South Africa.
Tim Coles, ’82, Cardinal Gibbons: The 6-7 forward was a three-year starter and one of only two players in program history to score over 1,000 points and collect 1,000 rebounds. A two-time All-BCL selection, Coles went on to play four years at Connecticut and then played six years professionally overseas.
Bobby Connor, ’67, Mount Saint Joseph: A three-sport standout, the sharpshooting 6-2 guard averaged 17.9 points as a junior and then 25.7 in his senior year. The Gaels went 37-14 in Connor’s two varsity seasons, winning the BCL and Maryland Scholastic Association Division I crowns in his senior season.
Malcolm Delaney, ’07, Towson Catholic: The 6-3 guard, a four-year varsity player who played his freshman year at McDonogh, finished with 2,112 points. He led the Owls to BCL regular-season and tournament titles, averaging 20 points to claim league Player of the Year honors as a senior. Delaney starred at Virginia Tech and then had an 11-year professional career, including two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks.
Mark Kauffman, ’82, Calvert Hall: A three-sport athlete, Kauffman served as the sixth man for three of the program’s finest seasons as the Cardinals went 91-5 from 1980-82. They won three regular-season and tournament titles during the stretch, highlighted by the 34-0 national championship campaign in his senior year. Kaufmann went on to play basketball and football at Loyola College.
John Miller, ’86, Mount Saint Joseph: A three-year varsity player who also starred in track and field, the 6-5 Miller enjoyed a breakthrough junior season when he averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds per game to become the only underclassmen selected to the All-BCL first team. He repeated as an All-BCL selection as a senior before enjoying college success at West Virginia and Mount Saint Mary’s.
Sean Mosley, ’08, St. Frances: The 6-4 forward left his sensational four-year career as the BCL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,933 points. In his freshman and senior years, he led the Panthers to league tournament championships and was named the Most Valuable Player in both years. After a fine college career at Maryland, he had an extensive professional career overseas.
Immanuel Quickley, ’18, John Carroll: The 6-3 guard, who currently plays for the Toronto Raptors, was a four-year star, breaking out as a sophomore with a game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the BCL title game to beat Mount Saint Joseph and earn tournament MVP honors. Closing with a program-best 1,934 points, he played at Kentucky before joining the NBA.
Contributor
James Martin, St. Maria Goretti: An iconic fixture at the recently closed Hagerstown school since he started teaching math there in 1969, Martin started as the basketball team’s scorekeeper that first school year, became team statistician soon after and also started singing the national anthem before home games in 1980 up until this final 2023-24 season. He also coached various sports in the school’s athletic program.