CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Before all of the high school recruiting websites, before social media, before the biggest high school basketball stars had their college commitments live-streamed around the world, there was Bob Gibbons.
For 45 years, Gibbons was a one-man basketball scouting band, going to work each day with his pencil, his paper and his extraordinary eye for talent. Gibbons never played basketball himself past the high school level. He never moved his scouting service out of little old Lenoir, N.C. He never needed much except a reliable car, a flexible family and somebody to tell him what time the next game tipped off.
Now 82, Gibbons has been nominated for the first time this year for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame as a contributor. The 2022 Hall of Fame class will be announced April 2 during Final Four weekend. And no matter whether he gets in, there’s no question that Gibbons contributed to the sport he loved.
