Bob Barlett
Bob Barlett was an outstanding basketball player at Hickory High School who went on to a highly successful college coaching career.
A three-year letterman at Hickory, he served as team captain and was named Most Valuable Player in his senior year. He was named to the Mercer County League All-Star Team and voted Most Valuable Player. He was named Honorable Mention All-State that season and won the W.U. Hoyle Award during the annual Hoyle Tournament of Champions. He was selected to play in the Farrell All-Star Classic for the Northwest Pennsylvania Team and was nominated for the Dapper Dan Roundball Classic tryouts.
He went on to play from 1965-69 at Slippery Rock University, where he was team captain his junior and senior seasons and leading scorer his senior year.
He was named First Team Pennsylvania Athletic Conference his junior and senior years and selected All-District First Team by the Post Gazette in 1969.
Bob won the Pop Storer Memorial Award as outstanding senior athlete at SRU in 1969. He was selected to play in the Gem City Classic All-Star Game in Erie.
He coached at Moniteau High from 1969-79 and posted an overall record of 172-81, while winning the only two conference titles in school history. The team made four state playoff appearances and Bob won five Coach of the Year Awards.
He served as assistant basketball and football coach at Westminster College and head track coach, then worked as head basketball coach at Butler County Community College. At BCCC his teams went 64-16 and won three conference titles and two state junior college crowns.
He returned to his alma mater at Slippery Rock to coach basketball from 1985-1993. He posted an overall record of 129-113 and had four 20-plus win seasons. He led The Rock to the only two appearances in the NCAA Division II tournament in school history to that time. The 1990 team finished ranked No. 2 in the nation. He coached five All-Americans and three players played professionally.
He also served as assistant coach of the World Champion Youngstown Pride of the World Basketball League.
In his career, Bob won 12 Coach of the Year awards. He was chosen to speak at the NCAA National Championships in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1990-91, and was selected by Adidas to speak at the National Clinic in Chicago in 1990.