FAYETTEVILLE — Mary Frances Kretschmar will be a lot more relaxed during her interaction with Cari Tanneberger Humphry on Saturday when Fayetteville High School inducts five former athletes into its athletics Hall of Greats.
The mood was quite different in 1994 when coach Kretschmar watched nervously as her star player scored 36 points and grabbed 25 rebounds in an epic eight-overtime game when Fayetteville beat Mountain Home in the Class AAAA championship game at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock.
Tanneberger, who was named the Most Valuable Player in the game, was the last Fayetteville starter still on the court when the game finally ended.
“I thought I was going to have a stroke by the eighth overtime,” said Kretschmar, President of the Hall of Greats Board of Directors. “You run out of things to say by that time. Cari rarely shot 3-pointers, but she hit one to tie the game at one point.”
Tanneberger Humphry will be inducted into a combined 2020/2021 Class for the Hall of Greats along with Kyle Adams, Nick Bradford, Bobby Noland, and Justin Daniel after the proceedings were canceled last year because of covid-19. A banquet honoring the group will be held Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. following a reception and silent auction at 6 p.m. at Mermaid’s Restaurant in Fayetteville. A golf tournament will be held on Friday. For more information go to FHSHallofGreats.org.
CARI TANNEBERGER HUMPHRY
Tanneberger Humphry scored 26 points when Fayetteville beat Benton in the championship game in 1993 and she became the first FHS athlete to be selected Gatorade State High School Player of the Year after leading the Lady Bulldogs to a second consecutive state title. She still holds the Arkansas overall state girls’ record for rebounds in a state tournament game with 25.
“Cari was not only athletically inclined, but she was a person of high character and she did what it took to win,” Kretschmar said. She was the complete package.”
KYLE ADAMS
Adams is a former longtime coach who was also the starting point guard for Fayetteville when the Bulldogs captured the Class AAAAA boys state championship in 1978. At one time, he held the school’s single-game record with 13 assists and the season-long record with 156 assists.
Adams was head coach of the Bulldogs from 2010-2019, where he compiled a 179-78 record that includes five conference championships. He also coached Fayetteville boys golf to six state championships and 10 conference titles.
NICK BRADFORD
Bradford went on to play basketball at the University of Kansas following an outstanding athletic career in basketball, football, and track and field at Fayetteville High.
As a senior, Bradford was named Gatorade State High School Player of the Year, a Parade All-American, and Mr. Arkansas Basketball. At Kansas, Bradford was selected one year to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team and he played on Kansas teams that won three Big 12 Conference championships. Bradford played professionally in the American Basketball Association for two years and another nine years overseas.
Bradford currently serves as an assistant to Fayetteville boys basketball coach Brad Stamps.
BOBBY NOLAND
Noland was a standout basketball player at Fayetteville from 1970-72 and he still holds the school record with 14.6 rebounds per game. Selected all-state as a senior, Noland was one of four brothers who participated in athletics at Fayetteville.
Bobby Noland played college basketball from 1972-76 at Kansas State and participated in two Elite Eight games of the NCAA Tournament with the Wildcats. He was selected Academic All-Big Eight in 1976.
JUSTIN DANIEL
Daniel was an all-around athlete in the 1960s and a pivotal player for a Fayetteville team that won a state championship in 1960. He also averaged just under 18 points per game in basketball for a Fayetteville team that finished as state runners-up in 1962.
Daniel continued his athletic career at the University of Arkansas, where he played basketball and baseball. Following two seasons at the UA, Daniel played professional baseball in the Kansas City Athletics organization. Daniel passed away in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Lora, and a daughter.
CORRECTION: Bobby Noland played college basketball at Kansas State. An earlier version of this article misstated the university he attended.