The Georgetown College Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony earlier this month had a definite Harlan County flavor with two county natives, Todd Cox and Happy Osborne, among those honored during the induction of the 21st class.

Cox was an all-state selection as a senior at Harlan in 1995 and played on the Kentucky All-Star team, along with teammate Charles Thomas, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball that season. He also was a leader on Mike Jones’ All “A” Classic championships teams in 1994 and 1995 — teams that also featured Thomas and all-state guards Michael Jones and Casey Lester, as well as future Tennessee Wesleyan standout Nathan Blanton.

After one season at Virginia Commonwealth, Cox transferred to play for Osborne at Georgetown and was a key member of the championship team in 1998. He was a three-time all-conference selection at Georgetown and scored 1,391 points. Cox coached briefly as an assistant at Clay County High School and now serves as transportation director for the Laurel County School System.

A Lynch graduate, Osborne went on to Morehead State before starting a successful coaching career that included 16 years as an assistant under Jim Reid. He posted a 456-84 record in 15 years as head coach and led the Tigers to 15 straight national tournaments, including runner-up finishes in 1996 and 2000 and a national championship in 1998.

He went on to coach at Tennessee Tech and Kentucky Wesleyan before returning to Georgetown as a development officer, where he works to raise money for the college.

This year’s inductees also included Walt Delong, football; Greg Flesher, men’s golf; Rachel Vincent, women’s basketball, the 2001 softball team and Susan Gooden, a distinguished alumni.