Barton Athletics to induct four into its Sports Hall of Fame
Barton Community College announces the election of Curtis Hammeke, DeMarcus Minor, Lamont Roland, and Dr. Perry Smith to its Sports Hall of Fame. The Class of 2017 will be inducted and honored at a 2:00 p.m. induction ceremony to be held on Saturday, February 18, in the Kirkman Activity Center located on the Barton Campus. Induction ceremony is free and open to the public. Public attendance also encouraged in honoring the inductees in between the women's and men's basketball games versus Cloud County Community College later that evening.
A longtime and generous contributor to Barton Athletics, Dr. Smith will be joined by former Cougar basketball players Minor and Roland who led the '98-99 squad to a runner-up national tournament finish. The trio will also be joined by Hammeke, a Great Bend native and former Barton baseball player and assistant coach who is now the athletic director at Fort Hays State University.
Schedule of Events - Saturday, February 18, 2017 at Barton Community College
2:00 p.m. – Induction Ceremony located on lower level of the Kirkman Activity Center on the Barton campus. Admission is free and public is encouraged to attend. *Live web streaming will also be available here.
5:30 p.m. – Barton women’s basketball versus Cloud County Community College
*7:20 p.m. - *Approximate time. Inductees will be presented with Hall of Fame plaques in a brief ceremony between the women and men’s basketball contests.
7:30 p.m. – Barton men’s basketball versus Cloud County Community College
*Inductees can also be heard at halftime of each of the men's & women's basketball games. Tentative schedule: Minor & Roland (W's halftime), Hammeke & Smith (M's halftime). Heard locally on 104.3FM or listen online
Curtis Hammeke
Curtis Hammeke has been successful throughout not just his playing and coaching career, but continuing through his achievements as an athletic administrator.
A Great Bend, native, Hammeke pitched for his hometown Cougars from 1980-1982 helping the team capture its first Jayhawk Conference title with a solid season going 5-2 on the mound. Hampered by injuries in his sophomore season, Hammeke was still a key contributor to another conference title as Barton would go 44-30 in his two seasons.
Getting his opportunity to enter the coaching ranks by longtime Barton skipper Mike Warren, Hammeke returned to help coach the Cougars in 1987. Through the next four seasons Hammeke helped lead the Cougars to two conference titles and a 116-67 record during that span while also serving as Barton’s Sports Information Director.
After playing for Barton, Hammeke moved on to Fort Hays State University earning first team All-District 10 and All-CSIC honors while completing his degree in Physical Education with a minor in Communication, later achieving his master’s degree in Athletic Administration in 1993. Finishing 8-6 in his two years as a Tiger, Hammeke struck out 105 batters in 123 innings pitched with a 3.37 ERA.
Following his stint as Barton’s assistant coach, Hammeke was the Head Baseball Coach and Assistant Director of Athletics at FHSU from 1991-1996. Accumulating a program second best .669 winning percentage with a 164-81 in his five years, Hammeke guided the team to a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Championship in 1995 earning the Louisville Slugger Award, national coach of the year honor, and was coach of the year by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and Mile High Intercollegiate Baseball League.
While not looking for a career change, the opportunity to move into a full-time athletic administration in his home town was too good to pass up as Hammeke spent two years as the athletics director at Great Bend High School.
Leaving GBHS in 1998 for another college coaching and administration opportunity, Hammeke coached and served as Athletic Director at Butler Community College until 2003. Spending one year as the athletic director at Newman University, Hammeke received and capitalized on the offer as the athletic director for his alma mater, leading the Fort Hays athletic department for the past thirteen years.
Hammeke and his wife, Annette, have three children, Andy, Alicia and Nicholas.
DeMarcus Minor
DeMarcus Minor’s one year impact was profound in Barton history helping the ’98-99 Cougars to a runner-up NJCAA national finish with 35-3 record. The 6’6” transfer guard from Marquette University led the Cougars in scoring in five games and eight times led the team in rebounding, averaging 14.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists ranking the program’s 5th single season distribution effort. Third all-time with 191 made free throws, Minor sank a program fifth best 11-of-11 from the charity stripe twice finishing his year with the 3rd best single season free throw percentage and tied atop the best career mark at 83.8%,Minor recorded three double-double performances in points and assists, dishing out a program sixth best single game performance of fourteen in just his second game donning the Cougar uniform. Minor also posted four additional double-doubles in scoring and rebounding with two of those games coming in the national tournament. Earning second team all-conference and first team Region VI All-Tournament team honors, Minor turned it up in Barton’s national title hunt averaging 18.5 points and eight rebounds in those four games including a 30 point 10 rebound effort in the title game.
Graduating from Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas, Minor averaged over 23 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists his senior season leading his team to a 29-4 record atop the district in scoring and assists in earning first team all-state honors and district “Player of the Year”. Receiving USA Today Honorable Mention All-American honors, Minor was also nominated for the prestigious McDonald’s All-American Team before leaving for college.
After high school Minor spent his freshman season at Marquette starting three of his 21 games played for the Golden Eagles averaging 1.2 points and one rebound in just six minutes of action per game.
Minor earned another NCAA Division I offer coming out of Barton, heading back to his home state playing for the Bears of Baylor University. Starting in each of his games in his two year career, the durable Minor played a Big 12 all-time second best 38.4 minutes per game his junior season before averaging 37.5 minutes his senior year. Minor dished out a Big 12 third best 5.83 assists per game posting three double-doubles via assists and points before a senior season of 15.1 points per game, 5.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and ranked second in the Big 12 with 86% free throw shooting including sinking an incredible 49 straight at one point. Named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team, Minor averaged over 22 points, 6.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds in the tournament including a 25 point eight rebound performance leading an upset of No. 7 Iowa State University. Minor capped his senior season adding his second honorable mention all-conference selection being chosen for the five-man All-Improved and All-Underrated teams.
In 2001, Minor was selected in the 5th round (#44 overall) of the USBL draft by the Kansas Cagerz spending throughout the next five years playing in the U.S. and internationally.
Lamont Roland
Lamont Roland left his mark on the men’s basketball program, completing his one season as the national player of the year and single season leading scorer in Barton history helping the ’98-99 Cougars to a 35-3 record and runner-up NJCAA national finish.
Known for his ability to get the open jump shot and quick defensive hands, the 6’4” transfer from Ball State University led Barton in scoring 23-of-the-38 games averaging a Cougar single season fourth best 24.2 points per game. His efforts not only earned 1st Team All-Conference honors but became Barton’s lone NJCAA Player of the Year recipient and the program’s second 1st Team All-American.
Scoring forty-two points twice in the regular season in consecutive games, Roland’s 921 points were tops in school history until Ebi Ere broke the mark two years later. Roland scored over twenty points 27 times including eleven games of eclipsing the 30-point mark with ten double-double performances.
Draining a program 2nd most 3-pointers (98), Roland remains at the top in 3-pointers attempted (278), field goals attempted (770) and made (330) including a third best single game performance of fifteen buckets. Roland also ranks first in free throws made (754) and attempted (1,099). Also known as a shut-down perimeter defender, a reputation he carried throughout his time at Barton and on to the four-year level, Roland left another mark in the Barton record book with a program 2nd best 3.1 steals per game.
Graduating from New Albany High School in New Albany, Indiana, Roland averaged 21.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists in shooting 56% from the field, 46% from beyond the arc, 72% from the charity stripe. A 1st team All-State and All-Star Team selection, Roland was 4th in the voting for the prestigious Indiana’s “Mr. Basketball” award.
Following high school, Roland was named the Mid-American Conference “Newcomer of the Year” playing alongside NBA standout Bonzi Wells at Ball State averaging 11.1 points per game and 32% shooting beyond the arc.
After Barton, Roland averaged 11 points and 4.6 rebounds his junior year at Louisiana State University reaching double figures 17 times including three 20-plus point games while ranking 8th in the SEC with 1.82 steals per game to earn “Defensive Player of the Year” honors. Roland’s collegiate career was cut short eleven games into his senior season with an injury after averaging 10.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists, reaching double figures 5 times including a 10 point 11assist double-double effort.
Roland spent time in the professional ranks playing for teams in China, Venezuela, Mexico, Cypress, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Romania, and Argentina.
Dr. Perry Smith
Serving the Great Bend area since 1980, Dr. Perry Smith also began serving the students and student-athletes of Barton Community College in the early 80’s. Quickly volunteering to take on the role of “team physician” when the position came open, Dr. Smith has been aiding in the health and well-being of student-athletes laying and developing the framework in developing one of the top community college sports medicine departments in the NJCAA. Throughout the years, Dr. Smith has also served as the supervising physician for both staff athletic trainers as required by the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts and played an instrumental part in the addition of the assistant athletic trainer position.
As Barton’s team physician, Dr. Smith serves many roles with primary concern in making sure that our student-athletes away from home receive family practice medical care. He is available to the staff athletic trainers when injury/illness management concerns arise that need a physician’s involvement and to ensure that our 300-plus student-athletes are ready to train and complete, he continues to ensure all pre-participation exams are completed via the sports medicine department by local physicians and nurse practitioners.
Many community college team physician’s may agree to supervise their school’s athletic trainers per state statute, but very few are as involved as Dr. Perry. He has provided guidance to the Barton Sports Medicine department in critical areas of procedure and expectations including the Lightning and Storm Safety Plan, Emergency Action Plan, and most importantly, the Concussion Management Plan.
An Inman, Kansas, native, Dr. Smith spent his initial two years at nearby Hutchinson Community College before earning a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and doctorate degree in Medicine from the University of Kansas, as well as, earning a Diplomate of American Academy of Family Medicine. Dr. Smith served his family practice residency at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas, before setting up in Great Bend at the Central Kansas Family Practice and Great Bend Regional Hospital.
Dr. Smith is married to Krista (Schmidt) with two children, Kelsey and her husband Jason and sons Chase and Reid, of Great Bend, and Mason Smith and fiancé Amy Urban of Pomona, California.