Curtis, Smith, Odom headline 2014 induction class for Lubbock ISD Hall of Honor
Posted: December 19, 2013 - 3:32pm
1951 Lubbock High School basketball team
1957 Dunbar basketball team
Caylene Caddell
James Collins
James Odom
Joe Michalka
Kevin Curtis
Mike Smith
Pete Ragus
Prenis Williams
By George Watson A-J MEDIA SPORTS EDITOR
From high school through their playing days at Texas Tech, Kevin Curtis and Mike Smith have always been linked.
Despite a two-year difference in age, both were standout players at Coronado. Both earned scholarships to Texas Tech. And after brief playing careers and coaching stints elsewhere, the two returned simultaneously to join Kliff Kingsbury’s football coaching staff at Texas Tech.
So it’s only fitting that two of the best Mustangs in school history should be included in the same induction class for the Lubbock ISD Hall of Honor.
“We’re really excited because they’re back here at Texas Tech and part of the Red Raiders, and they were great high school players here for Coronado High School,” Hall of Honor board of directors chairman David Thetford said. “They’re Lubbock people, they love Lubbock ... so this is important to them. They’re really excited to be inducted into this Hall of Honor for LISD.”
Rounding out the Class of 2014 are James Odom, Monterey football coach (1964-85), Caylene Caddell, Estacado girls track coach (1980-2011), James Collins (Estacado track, 1980-83), Joe Michalka, Monterey boys basketball coach (1967-83), former LISD athletic director Pete Ragus (1964-1988) and former Dunbar football and track coach Prenis Williams (1958-69). Also being honored are the 1951 Lubbock High and the 1957 Dunbar boys state championship basketball teams.
“We’ve got another great class for 2014,” Thetford said. “We’re excited about it and there’s just an abundance of excellent athletes and coaches that have come through LISD over the years. Every year we’re so impressed with the class we can put together, and we are again this year.”
Induction ceremonies are scheduled for June 21, 2014, at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center.
Curtis (1995-98) was the starting quarterback and defensive back for the Mustangs and led Coronado to the 1996 Class 5A regional championship. In his final two seasons the Mustangs went 18-6, earning all-district honors. He played safety at Texas Tech from 1998-2002 where he earned all-American honors as a junior and senior and was a three-time All-Big 12 Conference selection.
He played professionally in San Francisco, Green Bay, Oakland and Houston before beginning his coaching career at Navarro Junior College in 2008. He was cornerbacks coach at Louisiana Tech under Sonny Dykes before joining the Tech staff prior to this season. Smith was a standout in both football and baseball for the Mustangs from 1997 to 2000, earning all-state honors in both sports. He was the 1999 District 3-5A Defensive Player of the Year in football and the 1999 and 2000 3-5A Player of the Year in baseball. His .459 career batting average remains in the top 10 in school history.
After Coronado, Smith played four years (2000-04) at Texas Tech where he was a three-time All-Big 12 selection and finished eighth in career tackles and second in career starts for the Red Raiders.
“It’s awesome,” Smith said of the selection and being selected along with Curtis. “I wouldn’t want to go in with anyone else. I’ve known Kevin most of my live, since the seventh grade. We’re best friends and I know he’s fired up about it.”
In her time as the Estacado girls track coach, Caddell won 10 district championships, and her teams had at least one state meet qualifier in 24 straight years. Before stepping away from coaching, she was a three-time 5A-4A all-star coach and was named the 2005 Texas Girls Coaches Association Coach of the Year for 5A-4A.
Collins lettered in three spots at Estacado but it was track where he made his biggest impact. He was a member of the Matadors’ 1982 and 1983 state championship teams. In the 1982 state meet he was first in the long jump and set a new school record in the 300-meter hurdles. He later went on to be a standout track athlete at Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M-Kingsville).
Michalka led the boys basketball program at Monterey to a 338-167 record with 14 straight winning seasons, eight district championships and five regional playoff berths. He sent 24 players on to play collegiately, including Hall of Honor inductee Craig Ehlo, and was a six-time coach of the year honoree.
Odom remained active in Lubbock ISD athletics even after his retirement, serving as a color analyst for Monterey radio broadcasts from 2004 to 2010. After leading Petersburg to the 1963 Class 1A state championship, he arrived at Monterey in 1964. Altogether he compiled a record of 177-74-11 with 11 district championships, five regional championships and one state title. He was a five-time All-South Plains Coach of the Year winner and seven-time Coach of the Year winner.
Under Ragus, Lubbock ISD’s athletic programs almost tripled in size, going from 72 coaches and trainers to 200 with an operating budget increase from $250,000 annually to $1.2 million. LISD grew from eight sports to 20, and under his tenure, LISD teams won 208 district championships and 17 state championships. The Lubbock ISD Aquatic Center bears his name.
Williams played both football and basketball at Dunbar and was a member of the 1953 state championship basketball team. Between 1957 and 1974 he coached at Sealy, Odessa, Coronado and Dunbar, winning three state championships. He later served on Darrell Royal’s staff at Texas until Royal retired after the 1981 season.
The 1957 Dunbar basketball team was the first and only team in school history to go undefeated (32-0) and did so without a single player taller than 6-foot. Three players on that team — Olla Dean Chew, Jimmy Peppers and Don McCormick — were named all state.
The 1951 Lubbock High basketball team went 29-3 in winning the 2A state championship, beating Austin High 44- 43 in the title game. That win helped spur on the LHS football team to capture the state crown two years later.
“We’ve got some younger guys who played in the late 90s and now are being honored,” Thetford said, “because they had such great careers and are able to get in. I think you just go from top to bottom with these coaches and players, and Pete Ragus being in as an athletic director and all he did for LISD.”