Build the statue

I’m about a month too late on writing this, which seems about par for the course in my life of late. And no, I certainly wasn’t shooting par on the course, either.
I recently saw a debate about who should get the next statue built outside Memorial Stadium after the one with Tom Osborne and Brook Berringer was moved out front of the new football facility. 
Personally, we need something that recognizes all three of the Huskers’ Heisman winners. 
It got me thinking, though. I had a fun little debate in my mind about who should get statues for each of our area schools. 
Before you get all mad about who I forgot or left out, just know this was all in good fun and I definitely didn’t forget anyone on purpose. 
In terms of former players at Aurora, I’ve got it down to three, and there’s no argument if AHS wants to put one up of all three.
Tom Kropp is the first and no matter which legend you choose to believe, when people mention Aurora, for most of them, Kropp gets mentioned first. That may begin to change because of the next guy I’ll bring up, but I digress. 
Of course, the next one is Baylor Scheierman. I’ve already written in multiple spaces that Scheierman should have his number reserved in the gym rafters, and I’m still pushing for that. 
With the newest generation and those moving forward, Scheierman and Aurora will be synonymous, no matter how his NBA career turns out. 
Austin Allen is another option, and for those refreshed on his accomplishments after our Legend of Oz series, he’s a great ambassador for the school, community and Nebraska as a whole. 
As far as coaches go for Aurora, this is tough. Just look at this list right here: Rollie Carter, Jack Guggenmos, Randy Huebert, Kyle Peterson, Bill Holliday, Bill Wofford, Lois Hixson, Tony Sigler and Ron Haden just scratches the surface.
Moving over to Hampton, this is the one I’m probably most excited about, a bit of a bittersweet one.
You obviously have to start with Jerry Eickoff, Mr. Hampton. What I’m envisioning is a statue of Mr. Eickoff with his arm around former Hawk player and coach, Kyle Ediger. 
Nobody embodied what it meant to be a Hampton Hawk better than those two. Ediger learned from Eickoff and passed it on to his players before his tragic passing. 
Hampton also has another really good option in Diane Torson, the volleyball coaching legend who has three state titles on her resume. 
Over in Giltner, the player representative could be either Drew Ott or Corey Hoelck. Both were monstrous players for the Hornets and had great college careers. 
As for as coaching legends go, it starts with Nancy Lockmon. I’m not sure where to put hers, since Giltner doesn’t have a track, but with six state titles to her name, she IS Giltner track. 
There’s also Bill Root, the volleyball legend who got his start in Giltner, winning four state titles. 
At HPC, obviously Norm Manstedt’s 50-year wrestling tradition has earned him a spot somewhere. I’m not so versed in all of HPC’s history between all the schools, so that gets tough. 
That was fun. Now let’s get the season started!
RICHARD RHODEN can be reached at sports@hamilton.net.