League welcomes 11 new members in 2018 class

The Baltimore Catholic League welcomed another class into its Hall of Fame on Thursday night, and the messages from the newest inductees took on a similar tone at Turf Valley Resort.

There was talk about gratitude, camaraderie, dedication, sacrifice and passion for the game of basketball.

Eight players were honored — Jake Davalli, Calvert Hall, 1990; Bob Fornoff, Archbishop Curley, 1981); Shawn Hampton, St. Frances, 1998; Delmar Harrod, Mount Saint Joseph, 1976; Kenny Johnson, Loyola Blakefield, 1981; Quintin Moody, Cardinal Gibbons, 1992; Mark Scallion, St. Maria Goretti, 1983; and Teddy Walker, Towson Catholic, 1973.

Coach Mike Daniel, who began his 34-year career winning championships at Towson Catholic, was inducted, along with Loyola Blakefield graduate Jim “Snuffy” Smith (1960) as a contributor and Mount Saint Joseph grad Dick Dohler (1965) as a legend.

Johnson, who went on to enjoy a four-year career at Virginia, where he played in an NCAA Final Four and was captain in his senior year, talked about how Loyola Blakefield prepared him for the next level.

UMBC men’s basketball coach Ryan Odom, whose Retrievers became the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1seed (Virginia) in NCAA Division I men’s tournament history in March, served as keynote speaker. He is well aware of the caliber of player that comes out of the BCL, having former Archbishop Spalding standout Jourdan Grant.

“Obviously, we had one that played right here in the BCL,” Odomsaid of Grant, a junior guard. “In any successful venture, you got to have folks that will sacrifice for the betterment of the entire group and he did that. So that’s the first thing I thought about walking in here and then you think about all the successful people that havecomethroughthis league that have gone on to do great things.” For capsules of each new member, go to baltimoresun .com/varsity.