Remembering Jerry Shenk and Norm Eavenson- Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on December 2, 2022

Remembering Jerry Shenk and Norm Eavenson

With the dawn of a new basketball season, a couple of departed friends are on my mind, guys with whom I watched lots of high school basketball over lots of years.

Jerry Shenk, who died at age 76 in 2018, was a longtime contributor to this website. I met Jerry through Norm Eavenson, who scouted high school basketball for college teams. Norm died at age 74 in 2021 from complications from coronavirus. I would always connect with Jerry and Norm at the outset of each new basketball season, and I miss them.

The other day I came across something from a long defunct website to which both Jerry and Norm contributed, and I thought that it might interest LLHoops readers. Jerry and Norm were two of a group of high school basketball experts who were asked to name the five greatest Pennsylvania high school basketball players that they had ever seen, based on players’ performances in high school games. This question was put to them in April, 2011, and here were their picks, with players listed in alphabetical order:

Jerry Shenk
Kobe Bryant, Lower Merion
Ken Durrett, Schenley
Jeff Lebo, Carlisle
Donyell Marshal, Reading
Billy Owens, Carlisle

Norm Eavenson
Gene Banks, West Philadelphia
Kobe Bryant, Lower Merion
Gerry McNamara, Bishop Hannan
Billy Owens, Carlisle
Rasheed Wallace, Simon Gratz

I wish that Jerry and Norm were able to see this season’s crop of Pennsylvania basketball stars.

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