Owensboro’s own Randy Embry has a storied basketball career that has included playing at the University of Kentucky and even scouting in the NBA, but his time as a player and coach at high schools in Owensboro and Daviess County recently helped it become part of Kentucky. Class of 2022 of the High School Basketball Hall of Fame.
Embry first spoke for the Red Devils as a player in 1957, appearing in his senior season in 1961. During that time, he put together a 50-point game, like a mere blimp from his 1 An impressive 610 career points.
Embry’s efforts helped him get picked to All-State teams his junior and senior season, eventually earning the coveted Kentucky Mr. Basketball honor. With his name well known throughout the Commonwealth, the ever-famous head coach Adolph Rupp recruited Embry, who then joined the Wildcats in 1962.
The Owensboro native logged 1,174 minutes with Kentucky, shooting 42.8% from the field while compiling a career total of 393 points, 115 rebounds and 66 assists. After his college game, Embry returned to his hometown, this time participating in a different sport.
Embry became the head baseball coach at Daviess County High School in 1967, leading the Panthers to a state championship in 1971 and remaining in charge of the program until 1980. It was then that Embry made a triumphant return to the hardwood, taking over as Owensboro High School. head coach of men’s basketball from 1980 to 1999.
During that time, he won over 445 games and played in the Kentucky State Basketball Tournament Final Four three times. Across all the baseball and basketball teams he coached, Embry was able to amass 558 wins and eight regional titles, placing him among the Commonwealth’s elite in high school athletics.
After hanging up as a coach, Embry joined the NBA’s Miami Heat in 1999 as a scout alongside former Wildcats teammate Pat Riley. Embry is still a scout to this day and was instrumental in selecting key Heat players in Kentucky alumni Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro while working from his home in Owensboro.
Embry was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame on August 13, joining a class of 14. For more information on the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame and its latest inductees, click here.