Baldwin heads CD Basketball Hall of Fame inductees

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bill Cain

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Another group of yesteryear’s local hardcourt heroes will soon have their names among the best of the best.

The 2012 class of the Capital District Basketball Hall of Fame was announced Thursday in front of the exhibit in the Times Union Center’s Exhibition Hall. It will include 14 players, four coaches and two officials.

Babe Baldwin is included in the new class, long years after his final class at Mayfield, where he graduated in 1957.

His son, Babe Jr., took the microphone to speak for his father. What he said, though, spoke for every player from previous eras and their families who carry their legacies.

“We’re just very pleased. We’re honored,” Baldwin Jr. said. “To be on the board with the players that are up there today, that says a lot. It says you haven’t forgotten about the people in the past. That’s huge, especially for me as a son, that you guys don’t forget about the guys that started this whole thing.”

The new class will be inducted June 24.

Long before the introduction of the three-point arc, Baldwin scored 1,826 career points at Mayfield. He scored 622 in one season. In his

senior season, he had games of 50, 53, 54 and 62 points, the latter good for third all-time in the section.

The elder Babe Baldwin approached the microphone for a moment after his son spoke.

“I just want to say thank you very much for this occasion, and I’m very happy to be here,” he said.

The 13 other players to be inducted include Josh Deuel (CBA/Vermont/Siena), Will Foley (Albany High/Boston College), Andre Cook (Watervliet/Skidmore, now coaching at St. Edwards in Texas), Barry Cavanaugh (Rensselaer/UAlbany), Byron Miller (Gloversville/UAlbany), Carm Macciarello (Shenendehowa/Siena), Troy Turner (Albany High/Siena/Potsdam), Joe Girard (St. Mary’s/Shenendehowa/LeMoyne), Jack Weaver (Siena), Michelle Blot-Karangwa (Colonie/Siena), Val Klopfer (Bishop Maginn/Wake Forest, now an assistant coach at Cornell), the late Mac Supronowicz (Mont Pleasant/Michigan) and the late Howie Tucker (Ravena/Siena).

Coaches being inducted include Bill Kalbaugh (Mechanicville High, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute), Mike Deane (Siena, Marquette, Lamar, Wagner), John Quattrochi (UAlbany, Skidmore) and Dave Doemel (CBA).

Sandy Brousseau and the late Willard Dorn are the referees on the list.

The Team Legacy Award goes to the undefeated team from Linton in 1960. The Barry Kramer Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Joe Loudis, and the Sam Perkins Sportsmanship Award goes to Chuck Abba.

“It’s getting harder every year,” said Hall of Fame executive director Rene Le Roux. “We have made a concious decision to limit the number of inductions. There were several borderline that will probably headline the class for next year. We take a serious approach to inductees, and as you can see by the names on the board, the people that we have, we take it very seriously.”

The two women to be inducted both won state championships. Klopfer’s Maginn team took the title in 1996. Blot-Karangwa won it with Colonie in 2001, then won the Federation Championship.

Blot-Karangwa still holds the Federation single-game scoring record with 43.

Deane took the mic for a moment and poked fun at Girard’s defense. Girard was better known for his long-range shooting, twice hitting 10 three-pointers in a game and once scoring 59 against Chatham in 1990.

“As you’re playing, you don’t realize all the things you accomplish as you go on,” Girard said. “The older you get — we’re all older — you look back and you realize . . . how special those times were.”