Andrew Johnson Bank Ladies Classic Notable Alumi
Hey Ladies Classic fans! Remember Katie Smrcka-Duffy? How about Glory Johnson, Sylvia Fowles, Alisa Burris, Kellie Jolley? And among the most recent: Rhyne Howard? Those are just a few of the names that pop up among long-time followers of the Ladies’ Classic when they recall the early days of the event, which has been going on for 34 years now. If you’ve collected programs from the previous classics, it’s fun to go back and look at the names that show up among the scores of teams that have visited Greeneville to compete in the event, which since its inception has always been considered one of the top girls basketball tournaments in the south.
It’s also just short of amazing to look at the names of the players who have gone on to become famous professional players, or those who have gone on to make a name for themselves coaching. When the tournament began in 1989, thanks to a brainstorm by L.A. “Buddy” Yonz, who was the basketball tournament’s first director, you would have to travel far and wide to find a sport more popular than girls high school basketball in Greene County. Part of that was due to the enormous success in those days of the South Greene Lady Rebels, who were coached by the late Larry Ricker and had climbed the USA Today national rankings to at one point sit inside the top 5 ranked teams in the entire country. In addition, Greene County has always had a keen interest in the sport as many local teams have produced championship squads.
The tourney got off to a great start that first year, as a USA Today nationally ranked team from Morrow, Ga., agreed to attend. They absorbed two losses, which got USA Today’s attention, and it also apparently grabbed the attention of some of the top teams from around the country. Teams from the west coast – California and Washington – would attend in those early years, as well as teams from Texas, Louisiana, Florida and Pennsylvania, just to name a few. Many of those teams would contact the classic later and state how much they enjoyed Greeneville, how well the fans treated them, and how the competition made them better as the season went along. The fact that each team is assigned a host family – a trait that continues in 2022 as it has throughout the tourney’s history – also was very much appreciated.
With this year’s tourney fast approaching, now would be a good time to look back on some of the players that went through Greeneville on their way to a career in basketball:
Rhyne Howard
Among the most recent stars to shine at the AJB Ladies Classic was Rhyne Howard, who played for Bradley Central High School, and the Bears were back in the AJBLC field for the 2022 event. Howard was the Ladies’ Classic MVP in both the 2016 and 2017 tourneys as her team left Greeneville with championships both years. Howard went on to prove that her play in high school, where she was a 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state plus the 2018 Tennessee Miss Basketball, was no fluke. She enjoyed a tremendous collegiate career at the University of Kentucky and left Lexington as the all time top 3-point shooter for that school as well as a two-time SEC Player of the Year and an Associated Press All-American three times.
Rhyne Howard – Atlanta Dream – 2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year and she also made the NBA All-Star Team.
When her days at Kentucky concluded, she was picked No. 1 overall in the 2022 WNBA Draft by the Atlanta Dream and continues to excel as a WNBA All-Star.
Nikki Caldwell Fargas
Oak Ridge High School has been at the Classic a number of times and always brings star athletes, including Nikki Caldwell in 1993. She played at the University of Tennessee from 1990-1994, was a member of the 1991 national champs, then joined the UT coaching staff for several years. She left to be head coach at UCLA in 2008, then went to LSU in 2011 where she departed after last season and became president of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.
Alisa Burras
The Chicago Marshall team that came to the Ladies Classic in 1993 was a highly ranked member of the USA Today national poll. Burris was a 6-3 star, and she went to junior college in Arkansas before moving on to Louisiana Tech where she played from 1996-1998. She led her Techsters to the national championship game in 1998 where they lost to the Lady Vols. She was a first round WNBA draft pick by the Portland Fire in 1998.
Kellie Harper
The current coach of the Tennessee Lady Vols played at the Classic in 1992 as a member of the White County High team from Sparta, Tenn. She was a standout point guard for Coach Pat Summitt’s Vols in 1992-1996. She immediately joined the coaching ranks after graduation and her head coaching positions took her to Western Carolina, North Carolina State and Missouri State before returning home to Knoxville in 2019 to become the head coach for Tennessee.
Sylva Fowles
Another Miami Edison product, Sylvia has probably been one of the most famous of the WNBA stars who once played here. She was an LSU player from 2004-2008 and was the No 2 pick in the first round of the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. She has also played for the Minnesota Lynx and is a three-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year and was league MVP in 2017.
Alysha Clark
This smooth-shooting player from Mt. Juliet High in middle Tennessee was MVP of the 2004 Ladies Classic. She played collegiately at Belmont (2005-2007) and then at Middle Tennessee State (2008-2010) where she was Sun Belt Player of the Year three times. She signed professionally with the Starz, played for the Storm through the 2020 WNBA season and now plays for the Aces.
Katie Smrcka-Duffy
People ask all the time about Katie Smrcka-Duffy, the lady who grabbed the hearts of Ladies Classic fans with her play in tournaments in 1994 and 1995. The red-headed shooting whiz from James Madison High in Virginia was named the tourney MVP in 1994, and her team was not even a finalist. Her style of play, both offensively and defensively, brought “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd throughout both those years.
After a standout collegiate career at North Carolina State and Georgetown, Katie married Tim Fudd, a 6-7 college hoopster at American University in Washington, D.C. Their daughter, Azzi, is a 5-11 guard who was the top-ranked college recruit in the nation in 2021 and signed to play at UConn. The family lives in the D.C. area.
Tiffani Johnson
At 6-4, fans will remember this 1993 star from Garinger High in Charlotte as a very tall lady. She was a member of the Lady Vols from 1994-97 and was a 2 time NCAA Champion with the Lady Vols. Johnson signed with the WNBA’s Sacramento Monarchs in 1998. She also played professionally with the Houston Comets and the Seattle Storm.
Marie Ferdinand
Miami Edison from Florida brought several Division 1 college players to Greeneville, including Ferdinand in 1996. She starred at LSU from 1997-2001 and was the No. 8 pick in the first round of the 2001 WNBA draft by the Utah Starz, becoming the first Haitian-American to play in the league. She later played with the Los Angeles Sparks and the Phoenix Mercury and was a three-time all-star in the WNBA.
Jasmine Hassell
Wilson Central brought some really good teams from Lebanon, Tenn., to play in the Classic, and Hassell was a two-time Classic MVP in 2007 and 2008. A powerful post player, she went on to a great career at the University of Georgia, then was drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2013.
Glory Johnson
A purer athlete would be hard to find, and Johnson led Knox Webb to some memorable moments, including MVP honors at the Ladies Classic in both 2005 and 2006. A UT star from 2008-2012, Glory was a first round draft pick by the Tulsa Shock in 2012. She holds a Montenegro passport as a dual citizen and plays for that country’s national team.
