By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame lost its visionary last year when founder George Spencer died in May at age 62.

The Hall continues to move forward, however, building upon what Spencer started in 1996, when the first class was inducted. And eight years later, as the Hall plans to induct seven new members, the board of directors anticipates constructing an actual Hall of Fame wall downtown with the cooperation of the University of Cincinnati's College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning, the Cincinnati Recreation Commission and the Greater Cincinnati Sports Corporation.

There has never been a physical wall where the Hall's 75 members are honored. That official announcement is coming in June; the seven new members will be inducted Wednesday.

They are Carl Bouldin, Sandy Dittoe, Bill Lammert, Steve Moore, Jo Ann Osterkamp, Ron Rooksand Royner Green, who is a lifetime achievement recipient.

And soon, all the members will have a Hall of Fame home.

"This year, we're going to build a real wall," said Leslie Spencer, George Spencer's daughter and a volunteer member of the Hall's board of directors. "We're going to create a home for the Hall of Fame."

As director of the Greater Cincinnati Sports Corporation, Leslie Spencer is heavily involved with the project, but said the Hall's 19-member board of directors is the primary initiator behind the wall being built.

"I feel some loyalty being that it was my father and the contributions he made to international basketball and basketball in Cincinnati," Spencer said. "To keep his dream alive is my agenda. But it's also the entire board's."

Also new this year: The Hall will combine the induction ceremony and the annual awards event, which will both take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Montgomery Inn Banquet Center. Tickets are available at the door for $65.

• Bouldin was a starting guard for the University of Cincinnati Final Four teams in 1959, 1960 and 1961 and was a co-captain of the 1961 national championship team. He played high school basketball at Norwood, where he is the all-time leading scorer.

• Dittoe was the Ohio AAA player of the year in 1977 for Sycamore high school and went on to play four years at Louisiana State University. Women's Sports Magazine named her one of the top athletes nationally in 1977.

• Osterkamp is the only Xavier University women's basketball player to have her jersey retired, and she was the first XU player, male or female, to score 2,000 points. She set 14 Xavier records before she finished her career in 1984. Six of those records still stand.

• When Lammert graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1955, he was the school's third leading scorer all time. Today, he's 26th on UC's all-time list. He was a First-Team All City selection his junior and senior years at Roger Bacon.

• A head coach at two different Cincinnati high schools, Moore ended his prep coaching career with a 273-96 record. The first 15 years were at Oak Hills, where Moore won eight Hamilton Country League Championships. He also coached at Summit Country Day from 1990-93, compiling a 38-30 record.

• Rooks started for three years at the University of Louisville after a standout career at Mount Healthy High School. He returned to Cincinnati to coach for more than 30 years at Mount Healthy, Sycamore and Cincinnati select teams.

• Green was a coach at Middletown High School and Cornell University from 1929-1959. He is known as the founding father of basketball in Middletown and led Cornell to one of its five Ivy League championships in 1954.

Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame: 2004 inductees

Carl Bouldin

Sandy Dittoe Bill Lammert

Steve Moore

Jo Ann Osterkamp

Ron Rooks

Royner Green

Other awards

High school Lifetime achievement:

Steve Termeer, regional coaching

Willard Bass, Walnut Hills

1950s boys' coaches:

Bob Nabor, Covington Catholic

1960s boys' players:

Dennis Bosse, Colerain

Dave Hickey, Holy Cross

1960s boys' coaches:

Dave Hills, Elder

1970s boys' players:

Bobbie Austin, Aiken

Doug Schloemer, Holmes

1970s boys' coaches:

Marvin McCullom, Hamilton

1980s boys' players:

Dave Minor, Purcell

Troy McKinley, Simon Kenton

1980s boys' coaches:

Gerry Weisgerber, Badin

Reynolds Flynn, Holmes

1980s girls' players:

Tammy McCallum, Milford

Janie Bishop, Boone County

1980s girls' coaches:

Dick Ballard, Oak Hills

Ben Coffman, Boone County

1990s boys' players:

Erik Daniels, Princeton

1990s boys' coaches:

Dan Fleming, LaSalle

Jim Reynolds, Madeira

1990s girls' players:

Megan McCabe, Wyoming

Heather Kruger, Highlands

1990 girls' coaches:

Rob Heise, McNicholas

Casey Sparrow, Holmes

Special awards

• Hamilton High School, state champions

• Xavier University, NCAA Elite Eight

2004 Boys' Player of the Year:

Andrew Brackman, Moeller

Travis Rasso, Boone County

2004 Boys' Coach of the Year:

Larry Allen, Hamilton

Mike Listerman, Covington Catholic

2004 Girls' Player of the Year:

Mel Thomas, Mount Notre Dame

Nicole Chiodi, Newport Catholic

2004 Girls' Coach of the Year:

Scott Rogers, Mount Notre Dame

Nell Fookes, Boone Country

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E-mail ddow@enquirer.com