January 2, 2020 - Three outstanding individuals earned the honor of being 2019 Holiday Hoops Hall of Honor Inductees. They are:
2019 Holiday Hoops Hall of Honor Inductee is Lipan Indians’ Coach Brent Gaylor.
“Coachin’ ‘em up.” That’s perhaps the best way to describe the four year championship run of the Lipan Indians under the tutelage of Coach Brent Gaylor. To win the Tenaha Holiday Hoops Tournament one time is hard enough, but to bring four different teams, and to beat four different opponents, four years in a row - that’s Hall of Fame worthy. Championship runs come and go in the sports business, but it is rare for a program to truly max those runs out; Lipan most certainly has. To go along with four Holiday Hoops titles are two hard fought Class A State Championships. These are not easy things to accomplish. Coach Gaylor’s style is best described as cerebral. If there is a defense out there Coach Gaylor has set to beat it. Gaylor joins Kountze’s Duane Joubert as the only coaches with at least four Holiday Hoops title.
2019 Holiday Hoops Hall of Honor Inductee is also Te’Aire Hambrick, LaPoynor Flyerettes 2014-2017.
Wow… that’s literally the only word to describe Te’Aire Hambrick’s career for LaPoynor. At Holiday Hoops, Hambrick burst onto the scene in perhaps the most memorable Girls’ title game ever, when she and Lanie Roberts went toe-to-toe. On that day, Lanie would get the make, and Te’Aire would have a tough miss and have to settle for 2nd. But over her career, Te’Aire did not have to settle for 2nd very often The very next year, the Flyerettes returned and won the crystal bowl trophy, and for herself, the Tournament MVP. Over her four year career Te’Aire would lead LaPoynor to a tourney trophy at Holiday Hoops every year and made All-Tournament each time. She also would go on to be a thorn in the side of the Tenaha Lady Tigers on the big stage by helping LaPoynor defeat Tenaha twice in the Regional Final before going on to state in San Antonio.
2019 Holiday Hoops Hall of Honor Inductee is Martin Mill’s Lady Mustang, Abie Orrick 2016-2019.
How do you describe a Hall of Fame player who rarely was her team’s leading scorer? Abbie Orrick, that’s how. If there was ever a “do what it takes” player to play in the Tenaha’s Special Events Center it was the gritty and tough center piece of the latest run of championships in the Martin’s Mill era. A ball handler when she has to, always willing to guard the opponent’s toughest player and shut them down, a relentless rebounder, and oh yeah… occasionally she might just bury a three pointer if she’s not drawing free throws on her way to the hoop. The Lady Mustang program has long been known for its intensity and pace. But Orrick, like many before her, served as the anchor for Martin’s Mill Championship toughness. In her first three trips to Holiday Hoops, Orrick helped lead the Mustangs to three Championships and has been named All-Tournament or MVP each year she has participated. The Lady Mustangs are sure to have multiple Inductees to the Hall, but Orrick has been the lynch pin to our enjoyment watching the Martin’s Mill Championship culture here at Holiday Hoops.
