Bob Banfield to be Inducted into OBCA Hall of Fame

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Bob Banfield (Far Right) pictured with the 2010-2011 girls basketball team that made it to the state tournament.

Former Charles Page High School girls basketball coach Bob Banfield will be inducted into the Oklahoma Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on June 1st.

Banfield coached at Sand Springs for five seasons from 2007 to 2012 and amassed a 53-55 record with three winning seasons and one trip to the State tournament, in 2011.

The OBCA recently announced Banfield as one of five inductees who will be celebrated with a banquet and ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn Edmond/OKC North Conference Center.

Doors will open at 11:00 a.m. for a meet and greet social hour for family and friends to conclude at 12:00 p.m. Tickets are available online for $37 per person and will be available at the door at an increased price of $50 per person. The online ticket link will close one week prior to the event on May 25th. The OBCA Hall of Fame Banquet is held during OBCA All Star Game Weekend sponsored by BSN Sports.

2024 OBCA Hall of Fame Class

Bob Banfield has coached high school and college basketball for 44 years. His coaching career started at Creighton University as a graduate assistant. His career then took him to Idaho Southern as an assistant coach and Arizona Western Junior College as a head coach, winning three conference championships before becoming the head coach at Oklahoma Baptist University for seven seasons. While at OBU he was named the Sooner Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1984 when his men's team won the Southern Athletic Conference championship that season. Coach Banfield was inducted into the OBU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. After OBU, Banfield coached at Shawnee High School for 17 years, followed by stops at Stroud, Sand Springs and Mannford high schools. He has amassed 649 wins overall in his coaching career with three trips to the state tournament. He was the OCA All-State coach in 2006. Bob Banfield played for Eddie Sutton at Tulsa Central High School and was a graduate assistant for him at Creighton. Coach Banfield’s son, Mike, is the current boys basketball coach at Mannford.

Ross Davis coached high school basketball at Waurika, Velma-Alma and Calera. His teams reached the state tournament five times, culminating in a state championship at Velma-Alma in 1984 after being the runner-up in 1983. His Calera teams reached the state tournament in 1994 and 1995 and he took Waurika to the state tournament in 1981. He won 421 games in his career. He was named the OCA Region 5 Coach of the Year twice. He coached both the All-State game in 1989 and Faith 7 game in 1995 and was inducted into the OCA Hall of Fame in 2017. Coach Davis is also a member of the Bryan County Athletics Hall of Fame. Ross Davis coached both Kevin Rehl (Velma-Alma) and Jay Mauck (Calera) during their high school careers. His son, Jimmy Davis, (Velma-Alma) led the Comets to the state championship in 1984.

Harly Day coached Chickasha to two State Championships in 1953 and 1955, and his team was the State Runner-Up in 1954. He was inducted into the OCA Hall of Fame in 1997 and has been named to several other Hall of Fames for Chickasha Public Schools, Chickasha Athletics, and the Grady County Administrators. He was the Chickasha High School principal from 1953 to 1977. Day was a member of the University of Oklahoma Men’s Basketball team that finished NCAA Runner-Up to Holy Cross in 1947. An All State basketball player himself in 1940 and 1941 at Ada High School, in 1975 he was named to the Jim Thorpe “All Decade” team for the 1940’s. The street near the Chickasha School campus bears his name as well as the Chickasha high school basketball court. Harly Day coached fellow OBCA and OCA Hall of Famer Jerry Jobe during his high school career.

Larry Gipson coached both Northeastern Oklahoma State University (NSU) and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) to national championships in 2003 and 1989, respectively. His college coaching career record is 561-358. He was voted the National Coach of the Year three times and conference Coach of the Year five times. He was a coach at the USA Basketball Trials in the summer of 2003. Gipson was also the head coach at the University of Toledo. Gipson was appointed by his peers as the President of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in April 2012. Gipson’s coaching career began as a graduate assistant at the University of Tulsa under famed coach Nolan Richardson. Coach Gipson coached current NSU men's basketball coach Ja Havens as well as current Rogers State coach Justin Barkley at NSU.

Gary Hendrix coached 37 years in Oklahoma, making stops at Mounds, Fort Gibson, Canadian, Pryor and Hilldale. He won 716 games during his coaching career. His 1985 Mounds team won the Class 2A state championship. Both his 2016 and 2017 Fort Gibson teams were the Class 4A state runners-up. Coach Hendrix’s teams reached the state tournament 12 times, were regional champions 28 times and district champions 30 times. Coach Hendrix was also elected to the OCA Hall of Fame in 2023. He was the Faith 7 coach in 1994 and the OCA All-State game coach in 1996. Coach Hendrix’s first assistant coach at Fort Gibson was Jerry Walker, who would coach Fort Gibson girls to several state championships and is also in the OCA Hall of Fame.