Players

Jay Shidler

Year Inducted: 1982

Category: Players

Schools / Organizations: Lawrenceville High School
The University of Kentucky

Biography: As career scoring leader Rick Leighty graduated from Lawrenceville High School, his successor was already on the scene manning a guard role on the 1974 state Class A Champions. Jay Shidler would score 2,183 points in three-and-one-half seasons, topping Leighty’s mark by 15. Teams on which the “bionic boy” played posted a record of 103-15. Shidler played on three Danville Topper Classic champions, one Carbondale Holiday Tourney champion, three IHSA Regional championships, two IHSA Sectional champions, one IHSA Class A third-place finisher. In his senior year in the Carbondale Tourney, Shidler scored 67 points in two games giving him 193 in six games over a two-year span. Shidler tied the school-one game mark of 55 points as a senior when he averaged 32.7 points. Accorded all-state honors as both a junior and senior, Shidler was named to both major prep All-Americas. After his senior year, Shidler competed in four all-star classics and was the MVP of the IBCA game.    Jay moved on to the University of Kentucky where he was a member of the 1978 NCAA Champions. Shidler played professional basketball in Scotland.