SHOF – Richard Worthy, Basketball
Richard Worthy, an outstanding forward at Holmes from 2005-2007 under Todd Kimble, will be inducted into the Holmes Sports Hall of Fame April 11 in Goodman at Frank Branch Coliseum.
Worth is a Canton native and graduate of Canton High School. He played on back-to-back state championship teams for the Bulldogs and was named All Region XXIII for basketball.
What a season it was for the 2005/06 Holmes Community College Bulldog basketball team. The Bulldogs, who finished 21-9, captured the 2006 MACJC State Championship and made it to the semifinals of the Region XXIII Tournament.
In the 2006 Regional Tournament, the Bulldogs knocked off the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College Bulldogs, 79-64, before falling to the Pearl River Wildcats in a heartbreaker, 71-70. In the state tournament held at Northwest, the Bulldogs knocked off the Gulf Coast Bulldogs, 106-94; Pearl River, 81-79 and Northwest, 99-80.
After the Bulldogs held a small lead out of the blocks, the Wildcats took the lead and increased it to seven with 14:00 left in the half before the Bulldogs began to fight their way back into the game. It was down to 5:41 left in the half and the Bulldogs had just made the shot to bring them within two at 25-23. The Wildcats increased the lead to six at 31-25 with 4 minutes to go before Richard Worthy’s shot in the lane brought the game to 33-30 at halftime.
Pearl River tied the game at 60 with 8 minutes to go. Johnson hit another three-pointer to put the Bulldogs out in front at 63-60. Pearl River then held at one-point lead at 64-63 on a Jones’ bucket. Worthy’s score down low put Holmes up 65-64 before Pearl River jumped back out by five with nine seconds remaining. After several lead changes Worthy proved to be one of three of the top scorers to help the Bulldogs win.
Not only was Worthy a standout basketball player, he played football for Holmes during the 2006 season, where he also held All-State honors under Coach Robertson.
Worthy was a part of the 2007 Holmes men’s basketball team that made history after claiming their second straight MACJC state title. He tied as the leading scorer for the Bulldogs with 22 points in the game. The Bulldogs took all three games in the tournament by defeating Pearl River, 78-72; Northwest, 84-78 and then Copiah-Lincoln in the state title game, 71-68, in overtime. The Bulldogs finished 22-7 overall.
After Holmes, Worthy continued to play basketball at Oklahoma City University and Mississippi College. Worthy resides in Canton with his two children, Richard Worthy (17) and Joidan (15).
Alumni, family and friends will be invited to the banquet. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online in advance:
https://holmesccalumni.360alumni.com/events/view/10547
For more details on the banquet please contact the Holmes Alumni Office: kellard@holmescc.edu and 662-472-9134
