Hydro-Eakly boys basketball coach Rick Gore has been coaching basketball for nearly a quarter of a century and picked up his 500th win Wednesday against Cashion, beating them 51-49 in the Tournament of Champions in Tulsa.
Gore has coached basketball for 24 seasons and has spent the past 17 seasons at Hydro-Eakly. The other seven seasons were at Calumet.
“I have been fortunate to have really good players and want to thank all of my players,” Gore said. “This is not because of me, but because of the players. I have had great administration and support from both communities. It was so cool getting my 500th win, but only because of all the amazing players and support I have had during the last 24 years.”
Gore said there are many people he gives thanks to for winning 500 games, but gives thanks to his wife, Kim, first and foremost.
“I want to thank my wife, Kim Gore, for supporting me,” Gore said. “I do not take losing well and she always has supported me. Fortunately, there have been some more highs than lows. She is there for me and has supported me in good times and bad times. I love her very much and love how she supports me coaching games, both at Hydro-Eakly and when we were at Calumet.”
During his reign at Calumet, Gore has won three state championships in a span of seven seasons. His first state championship was in 1999 and it was their first state championship in school history.
He won three when he was the coach at Calumet, and he won one last season at Hydro-Eakly, which was the Bobcat’s first boys basketball state championship in school history.
“We had some really good teams, but all my teams have played hard,” Gore said. “Winning state at Calumet three times and at Hydro-Eakly was spectacular. There is so much going into winning a state championship. It takes hard work, everyone being on the same page and some luck.”
In 1999, Calumet beat Ripley in the state championship game. They won eight games in a row to win the state championship, including beating Thomas 55-54 in the quarterfinals, then Laverne 76-66 and Ripley 51-43.
Gore’s teams made state tournament appearances in 1998 and 2002. However, each season they lost in the state tournament at Calumet, they came back and won the state championship the next season.
“I believe the teams who win the state tournament get to the state tournament the year before and get beat,” Gore said. “When you get beat, you know how close you were to winning the state championship. You go into the offseason with a taste of getting beat and knowing how close you were. Getting beat in a big atmosphere like that also shows what it takes to get back. I have been fortunate to have great players at Hydro-Eakly and Calumet who believe this as well.”
In 2003, Gore won his second state championship, beating Boynton. They only lost three games all season and all three of their losses were in the Tournament of Champions. In the quarterfinals of the state tournament, they defeated Mason 76-73. In the semifinals, they defeated Fargo 81-75 and Boynton 71-59.
In 2004, Calumet went back-to-back giving Gore a third state championship, beating Mason. In the quarterfinals, they defeated Buffalo Valley 62-41. In the semifinals, they defeated Lookeba-Sickles 55-32 and in the finals, beating Mason 65-54.
“We had some really good players at Calumet,” Gore said. “It was an unbelievable run and winning those state championships was incredible. I could not have accomplished this without my amazing players and administration at Calumet.”
Gore then moved to Hydro-Eakly, where he has had three state tournament appearances and one state championship in his time there. Hydro-Eakly went to the state tournament in 2011 and lost in the semifinals. Even with the loss in the semifinals, the Bobcats beat top-ranked Caddo in the quarterfinals and finished with a record of 26-2.
“This was one of our biggest wins and one of my favorite wins while at Hydro-Eakly,” Gore said. “Beating a team like Caddo was fabulous. We were not favored to win the game and it was cool pulling off a huge upset on such a big stage. The Binger-Oney boys basketball coach, Taylor Rains, was the star point guard. It is always fun to catch up with him and to coach against him when we play Binger-Oney.”
In the game against Caddo, Hydro-Eakly trailed by three going into the fourth quarter and won the game 55-41.
Rains said playing for Coach Gore is one of the main reasons he got into coaching himself and hopes to have as big of an impact on his student athletes, just like Coach Gore did with him.
“It was awesome playing for coach Gore and I am super happy for him to get his 500th win,” Rains said. “He is super fun to play for and his great attitude rubs off on everyone else. It is very humbling to coach against him and still does not feel real sometimes. Beating Caddo was amazing and one of the funnest games I have ever been a part of.”
Hydro-Eakly got back to the state tournament in 2020, where Arapaho-Butler beat the Bobcats in the quarterfinals, 65-57. The next season, Hydro-Eakly returned all its starters, won the state championship and finished 25-0 that season. Hydro-Eakly won its first state championship in school history and had its first undefeated season in school history as well.
In the quarterfinals, the Bobcats defeated Texhoma 58-52. In the semifinals, they defeated Snyder in overtime, 63-55 In the state championship game, Hydro-Eakly played Garber, who was defending state champions.
“Winning the state tournament at Hydro-Eakly was awesome,” Gore said. “Everything went our way and we played so many tough games. Whether it was against Snyder in overtime, or holding on against Texhoma and the comeback against Garber. All of these games at the state tournament were tough ones and close ones. We won because of all the hard work we put in and because of how well we played in these three games.”
Gore’s son, Nolan, is a senior on the basketball team. Nolan is one of the four seniors on this team and the other seniors are Paxton Price, Carson Propps and Kolsen Tharp. Gore said he likes coaching his son and how these seniors are great basketball players and how they are lifelong friends.
“It is fun coaching Nolan,” Gore said. ‘It helps we are winning, but this is a team thing. The four main starters have been playing since they have been in third grade. They have all played travel ball and the one special thing about this group is how good of friends they are. It has been fun watching them grow up, being their coach and being in their lives almost daily is just amazing. They hang out all the time together and just continue to bond. Hopefully, this helps us get to the state tournament.”