DeRidder High standout now inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame – Beauregard News

By John Bechtle | Leader of the South Belt

The Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame announced Aug. 14 that it will expand by eight people with the induction of the Class of 2025. It will expand its court and its overall impact on the game of basketball in the Lone Star State.

The new members will be introduced at a banquet on May 10, 2025 at the Hilton San Antonio Airport Hotel during the annual Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Clinic. The new coaches include Pamela Crawford, the former longtime varsity girls basketball head coach at Clear Brook and Clear Springs.

“Excellence is the best word to describe the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2025,” said TABC Executive Director Johnnie B. “Hawk” Carter. “These eight men and women left a lasting legacy on the high school hardwood with their victories, records and honors. “They were also great ambassadors for basketball off the court, both within and outside the state of Texas.”

The superintendent chatted with Crawford, who remains an instructor at Clear Creek ISD, about her career and her induction into the Hall of Fame. Before she played such an important role in the development of generations of young athletes on and off the court, Crawford herself was a star basketball player at the legendary DeRidder High School, where she attended from 1975-1976 to 1978-1979.

As a freshman at DeRidder, Crawford was on the 1976 girls state championship basketball squad and was named the district’s Most Valuable Player her senior season. Crawford played collegiately at Stephen F. Austin University under the tutelage of Sue Gunter, who coached with the 1980 Team USA women’s Olympic basketball team. Crawford also played at Louisiana Tech University, where the team reached the 1984 NCAA Final Four in Los Angeles.

But even when she graduated college, Crawford didn’t really know what she wanted to do for a career. She says she caught the coaching bug after helping out at a few summer camps and that’s when she felt like she could make a difference.

After a stop at Nacogdoches High School to start her career, Crawford was a junior varsity coach at Crosby High School and eventually led the Cougars to the state tournament in 1996 as head coach. A friend told Crawford about opening at Clear Brook High School, a job she admits she never thought she would get, and the rest is history.

In total, Crawford coached for 37 years and had an exceptionally impressive resume. The wins and losses over the years may blend together with time, but there is little doubt that Crawford has positively impacted the lives of generations of players on and off the field throughout her career.

“When I was younger I never thought about the impression I made on other people’s lives, but it’s easier to look at things when it’s all said and done and realize that maybe you’ve done some good things has,” Crawford said. “Brooke McCarty, one of my former players at Clear Springs, recently received an award here in town. In her acceptance speech she used one of the important quotes I always used to the players. “It was a very special moment to realize the difference you made with your players. You don’t always see it right away, but the players come back and tell you or show you through their experiences that you did something good in their life. That’s definitely something to be proud of.”

Crawford spoke of the difficult decision she had to make when it came time to leave Clear Brook to start over in Clear Springs. She said she was worried about leaving players behind, then quickly realized that in reality, players always leave from year to year. She had an incredible run with the Chargers in Clear Springs and finally realized it was time for a change two seasons ago.

“Thirty-seven years is a long time,” Crawford said. “I realized I couldn’t give 110 percent anymore and that if I couldn’t, it was time to let someone else take over.”

Meanwhile, awards season has begun in Crawford’s life. Still, she was surprised to get the call from the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

“What a tremendous honor,” Crawford said. “I guess when you do it you don’t really realize what you’ve been able to achieve in your job. But when you retire, you have the opportunity to step back and look at some of the things you’ve done. My thanks still go to all the players, the coaches, the wonderful administrations I worked for and the support I received year after year. It’s been a great run and it’s really nice to be recognized in your profession.”