Portsmouth HS graduate Mike Haley, who started on the 1961 Class AA State Champion Trojans, will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on June 6, 2020. Haley's 1981 and 1982 Dayton Roth teams which won back to back state titles will also be recognized. Haley, who averaged 22.0 PPG on the 61 Trojans, went on to an outstanding career at Ohio University. He later coached Dayton Roth HS and Dunbar HS to 4 state titles. His teams at Dayton were known for full court pressing and creating havoc for opponents. Notable athletes under Haley's tutelage included Keith Byars, who started in football at Ohio State, Mark Baker, who started for the basketball Buckeyes, and Kirk Taylor, who started in basketball at the University of Michigan. His 1987 Dayton Dunbar team won the Class AAA state title that year, the last state championship game played in AAA. That team lost at Portsmouth 62-61 during the regular season. After his Dayton stint, Haley became head coach at Portsmouth HS in 1993. He coached the Trojans for 3 years and had a 34-30 overall record, leading PHS to a district championship in 1994 with a 77-70 win over Greenfield McClain. Sadly, Haley recently passed away, but he will be inducted posthumously, a well deserved honor long overdue.
Many thanks to Mr. Lee Caryer and 1978 State Champion Trojan Jeff Lisath for their tireless work to get Haley into the Hall of Fame.