2014 Inductees

May 2014 – Catawba Valley Community College’s Tarlton Complex

Beth Laney Queen

The graduate of Bandys High School and Appalachian State University is one of the most decorated high school and college basketball players in Catawba County’s rich women’s basketball history.

A standout athlete at Bandys High School 1982–1985, Queen was a member of North Carolina High School Athletic Association state championship teams in basketball (1982) and softball (1985). She was also the starting guard on the 1984 AAU/USA Junior Olympic National Championship team and finished with a team record of 111–7.

The Lady Trojans won the SD–7 conference and the SD–7 conference tournament and district championships all fours years Queen played on the high school basketball team. The team was a western regional finalist in 1983 and 1985.
Individually, Queen was named Charlotte Observer Player of the Year (1985), Carnation All-American (1985), and USA Today All-American Honorable Mention (1984). She was selected as a member of the SD–7 All-Conference team (1983–85), Western Regionals All-Tournament Team (1983–85), Western Regionals MVP (1985), All-State team (1984, 1985) and All-State Honorable Mention (1983).

Queen was named a member of the NCHSAA “100 to Remember” for female athletes in 2013.

In addition to the Bandys softball team’s 1985 state title, Queen and the softball team won the SD–7 conference championship all four years of her high school career, and she was a four-time all-conference selection.

Queen also excelled on the tennis court where she played 1983–85 and earned an SD–7 Doubles championship and all-conference status in 1985.

Queen continued her basketball career at Appalachian State University where she was Southern Conference Player of the Year (1989), GTE All-American (1989) and was an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholar (1989). She was named first-team All-Southern Conference (1988, 1989), Southern Conference All-Tournament Team (1987, 1988, 1989). During her collegiate career, Appalachian State participated in the National Invitation Tournament (1987) and won three Southern Conference Championships (1987, 1988, and 1989) and two Southern Conference Tournament Championships (1988, 1989).

Queen scored 1,373 points during her playing career, an average of 12.1 points per game, and scored 19.4 points per game her senior season. She remains ranked among ASU’s all-time top 15 in free throws made (second – 414), field goals made (seventh – 480), and rebounds (15th – 540). She still holds ASU’s all-time record for free throws hit during a game (14-for–14 vs. Stephen F. Austin in the 1987 Women’s NIT) and for consecutive free throws made (39).

After her playing career, Queen moved to the sidelines as a coach, beginning at ASU (1889–91) until she returned to her high school alma mater in 1993, serving first as girls JV coach and later becoming girl’s varsity coach in 1997. She was Bandys varsity volleyball coach 1992–1997 and in 2013.

Serving two stints as girl’s varsity basketball coach (1997–2003, 2006–2012); Queen amassed an overall record of 231–108. In her first season as coach she returned the Bandys team to the playoffs after a 12:14 season. Bandys’ achievements during her tenure as coach include a conference championship, four sectional championships, a conference tournament championship, six seasons as conference and conference tournament runners-up and four Holiday Tournament championships. Her teams reached the state’s western regional finals once and the western regional finals twice.

She was named conference coach of the year three times (2011–12, 2007–08, 2002–03) and Hickory Daily Record Coach of the Year (2007–08).

Queen was named Bandys High School Teacher of the Year for the 1988–89 school year.

She also coached in other capacities, including Catawba County Cobras (2003–08), Newton Flames (1993–94) Balls Creek Optimist (basketball and softball), and served on summer camp coaching staffs at Duke University, N.C. State University, Appalachian State University, Furman University, University of South Carolina, Bandys High School and Bunker Hill High School.

Odell Moose

Whether he was providing sporting goods supplies to young athletes throughout Catawba County, coaching them from the sidelines or capturing their images on film, Odell Moose has been an integral part of the Hickory Metro sports community more than 65 years Moose is probably most widely known throughout the Hickory Metro as a sporting goods salesman, a career that occupies his time even into his mid-80s. “His familiarity with area school systems and the ‘players,’ in-cluding administration, coaches and youth participants throughout the years has not been matched by others and probably won’t be,” wrote long-time friend Dan Hall in a letter recommending Moose for the Hall of Fame. A World War II veteran who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and a native of China Grove, Moose came to Catawba County in 1947. He attended Lenoir-Rhyne College where he played baseball 1948-51. For the Bears, he was hit leader in 1948 and runner-up in 1949. He earned all-conference honors in 1949-50 and was the team’s captain in 1950. After completing Lenoir-Rhyne, Moose became a teacher and coach at College Park Junior High, where he worked eight years, 1952-1960. Moose spent one season as the Lenoir-Rhyne baseball coach, 1962, guiding the Bears to a 16-3 record which is still the second highest winning percentage in school history.

John Lentz

A 400-game winner as head coach of the Pfeiffer University and Lenoir-Rhyne University men’s basketball teams.
A Philadelphia native, he played point guard at LRU and led the Bears to two Carolinas Conference titles (1971–72, 1972–73), and he remains LRU’s all-time leader in assists (524) and is fifth on the all-time scoring list (1,755).

Lentz had a 53–33 record as head coach at Pfieffer before becoming LRU’s head coach in 1983. Last season was his 28th as the Bears’ leader and his teams are 424–356 there and his career coaching record is 477–389.

He trails only Duke head coach Mike Krzysewski in victories among active college basketball coaches in North Carolina and is among the nation’s top 20 in wins among active coaches.

Jeff Barkley

A star pitcher at first Hickory High School and The Citadel, he was a 13 round pick of the Cleveland Indians in the 1982 major league draft, reaching the big leagues in 1984.

He eventually pitched in 24 major league games, all with the Indians, and went 0–3with an ERA of 5.40 and one save. He played his final major league game in late July of 1985.

Barkley has remained active in baseball through his life, owning a baseball training academy in Charlotte and helping create the Barkley Baseball Training School in Hickory, where he works with his brother, Matt, to provide summer camps and clinics for coaches. The camp celebrated its 25th year in 2013.