By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
Tim Page was one of the stars of Woodruff Wolverine basketball during the late 1970s, earning a place in the Woodruff High School Athletic Hall of Fame.
Page, a 6-foot-5-inch big man who dominated in the paint for the Wolverines, would go on to play a major role for the USC Spartanburg program into the early 1980s, staring on the Rifles’ 1982 NAIA national championship team.
His impact on the Rifles has earned him a place in the USC Upstate Athletics Hall of Fame.
Page was enshrined at a ceremony during the now Spartans’ home game on February 4.
“Getting the news that the entire team, including our mascot, a former player, Bill Weathers, the Go-Rifles Gorilla, was special,” said Page. “The starting five players on the team were already inducted, but recognizing the commitment that we all had in coming together, being accountable to one another, pushing each other in practice to be our best as a team that bonded on the 40th anniversary definitely validated all of the work that for me started as a young fourth grader who fell in love with a game that shaped his character and allowed him to develop some treasured relationships with so many teammates throughout my years of playing.”
Page indeed had a deep love of the game from an early age and was a budding star in Woodruff by his middle school years. Always one of the tallest players on the teams he was a part of, Page developed a reputation as a physical power forward and center that could control the boards, get rebounds, and score around the basket.
Page’s first varsity season, in 1975-76, saw him play under the tutelage of Woodruff basketball coach Larry Minish who Page credits for greatly helping his development as a player.
“Coach Larry Minish, who taught me the most about the game, encouraged me to develop a variety of moves in the post both with back to the basket and squaring up to face the basket,” he explained. “My skills developed rather quickly from long hours at home and from summer basketball clinics and camps at Clemson University and NC State.”
Page added, “My tenth-grade year playing for Coach Minish was an important year in my growth as a player. Instead of playing for the junior varsity as most players did, Coach Minish moved me up to the varsity during the spring practices following my ninth-grade season. That week of practices was much like a boot camp to see if I was both mentally and physically tough enough to play varsity at a level I’d never experienced before. When the week was finished, I was a little bruised and battered, but I was determined to learn and develop into the player the team needed me to be. Kenneth “Turk” Gist and Vernon “Squeaky” Browning were the two team leaders who set the example for everyone to follow. They both not only pushed me to become better, they were very supportive and encouraging to me, which was key to my growth that year.”
Page used the toughness he learned during that first varsity season to put together one of the best careers in the history of Wolverine basketball.
Over his three seasons at Woodruff, page scored 844 career points, placing him just outside the top 10 all-time for points in school history, and pulled down 599 rebounds which is seventh on the all-time list for the Wolverines. He was also an exceptional free throw shooter, with his career 72 percent mark ranking him in the top-5 in school history.
Page was named to the All-Conference team as a junior and senior and to the Spartanburg Herald Journal All-Area team during the same seasons while being voted as Woodruff High’s team MVP as a senior.
His prowess on the court began to attract the attention of college coaches during his senior season, with many in Woodruff believing Page would choose to play for Erskine College alongside former Wolverine Melvin Brewton.
Page, however, chose USC Spartanburg.
“Recruiting became more obvious in January of my senior year when coaches and assistant coaches from USC-Spartanburg, Erskine, and USC-Union would attend games, video record some of the game, and speak to me following the game about visiting once the season was over,” explained Page. “I pretty much ruled out USC-Union because it was a two-year school. I enjoyed meeting both Coach Bill Hinson from USC-Spartanburg and Coach “Red” Myers of Erskine College. The conventional wisdom of most in Woodruff was that I should go to Erskine College to play for the legendary coach whose team had just returned from playing in the national championship in Kansas City, KS, after winning the District 6 title. Woodruff alum, Melvin Brewton, was the team’s point guard going into his senior season. Erskine was also a great school for my selected major of early childhood and elementary education. But after my visits to the schools, working out with the teams, and discussing my opportunities with both coaches, I chose to attend USC-Spartanburg and play for Coach Bill Hinson because I felt the coaches and the program were a good fit for me.”
It was a fateful decision for Page. The Rifles were a program on the rise, and by the early 1980s, had become a powerhouse in the NAIA ranks. Then, during the 1981-82 season, it all came together. Page played a key role off the bench for USC Spartanburg. The Rifles put together the greatest season in the school’s history, winning the national championship under new coach Jerry Waters.
The Rifles defeated Biola University, a team that entered the title game with a 39-0 record, to claim the title. It was a monumental upset, and a moment Page says is the defining moment of his collegiate career.
“We overcame a mid-season slump that brought us together as a team to win the District 6 Championship for the second straight year defeating the College of Charleston on their home court in the final seconds to earn our return trip to Kansas City, where we achieved what very few thought was possible by defeating Biola University, with a 39-0 record, to win the 1982 NAIA National Championship,” said Page. “Hands down, being a part of the 1982 National Championship team and the friendships that were made and solidified to last through the years is immeasurable.”
Ultimately, Page credits his parents for instilling a love of the game that helped define his personal and professional life. Both played basketball for Woodruff during the 1950s and always encouraged him to be the best he could be, says Page.
Those efforts have now seen Page inducted into two halls of fame.
“I would be remiss if I failed to mention the importance of my parents, Joe and Dixie Page, to my career as a student-athlete,” he said. “Both of my parents played for Coach Varner. My father played both basketball and baseball from 1953-1955, and my mother played basketball from 1954-1956, with my mother also being inducted into the Hall of Fame at WHS. Rarely did I look up and not see them in the stands at each home game and most away games. Their love and encouragement, as well as their example of hard work and dedication, were passed down to me and directed me as a player and as a stud I love them dearly.”
Author: Tracy Sanders
