Bob Barlett

This is the fifth in a series of articles profiling the 2012 inductees into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame. The Hall’s annual banquet is at 6:30 p.m. April 28 at the Butler Days Inn.SURF CITY, N.C. — When it comes to basketball, Bob Barlett had a pretty good start.The 1965 Hickory High School and 1969 Slippery Rock University graduate — who went on to successful coaching stints at Moniteau, Butler County Community College and SRU — was coached by Fran Webster in high school.Webster was inducted into the then Butler Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. Barlett will be inducted into the renamed Butler County Sports Hall of Fame later this month.“Fran Webster has had a tremendous impact on my life,” Barlett said. “He got me started in coaching. When I was in ninth grade, he took our Hickory team to the state finals.“That’s when I knew ... All I wanted to do was coach basketball.”Barlett grew up in Mercer County when it was a hotbed for high school basketball.“From 1955 to 1965, Mercer County had at least one team reach the state finals every year,” he recalled. “Farrell, Mercer, Middlesex, they were all great teams.”Barlett was a pretty good player in his own right.He averaged 17.5 points per game his senior year at Hickory and was named MVP of the Mercer County League. He was also a fifth team all-state player.At SRU, Barlett was team captain his senior year. A 6-foot-0 guard, he averaged 18.8 points per game and led the team in rebounding.“We played hard. We just didn’t have the size to compete against the bigger teams in our conference,” Barlett said. “The fact I led the team in rebounding sort of demonstrates that.”As a coach, Barlett succeeded at every stop.He guided Moniteau to two state tournament appearances and was 100-90 overall from 1970-79. A four-time conference coach of the year, Barlett led the Warriors to their only Clarion County basketball championship in 1976.At Westminster from 1979-82, he served as an assistant coach for a team, that won 36 of 40 games. Barlett was also the secondary coach for the Titans’ football team when it led the nation with 31 interceptions in 1981.As head basketball coach at BC3 from 1982-85, Barlett enjoyed seasons of 18-5, 23-5 and 23-5, twice winning the state championship.“One of my fondest memories in coaching was when we hosted Philadelphia Community College for the championship,” he said. “It was a warm day and people were outside in the parking lot tailgating.“I had never seen that at BC3 before. The atmosphere was tremendous.”From 1985-94, Barlett coached at SRU and put together back-to-back 23-6 seasons from 1989-91, two of the best years in the program’s history. He coached Rock all-time scoring leader Myron Brown during that stretch.“We beat Navy the year after they had David Robinson, Cleveland State the year after they reached the Sweet 16 ... We played 20 Division I schools over a four-year stretch,” Barlett said. “Those were true glory days.“I was able to grow as a coach over the years because of the people I worked with. I coached under great people and had great coaches as assistants.“No coach is strong in every aspect of the game. When I had a question or a problem in basketball, there was always someone I could go to who had the answer,” Barlett added.Now living in North Carolina, Barlett is thrilled about his upcoming induction in Butler.“When I lived in Butler, those were some of the best years I’ve had anywhere in my life,” he said. “To be regarded by those people in this way is very gratifying.”Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner are $20 and are available at Parker Appliances in Chicora, Moses Jewelers at the Clearview Mall, Bill’s Beer Barn or Snack n’ Pack in Butler, Maddalon’s Jewelers in Zelienople, Saxonburg Drug or at www.bcshof.com.