The 6-foot-1 wingstarred for Tech from 1979-80 to 1981-82
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech All-American Jerilynn Harper
Carroll, who led the nation in scoring in 1981, was among the 10
people inducted Thursday night into the Greater Knoxville Area
Sports Hall of Fame at the Knoxville Convention Center.
Joining the former Tech standout were John Cooper, Carmen Mercadal
Foster, James David Kerr, Dirk Pohlmann, Austin Denney, Chuck
Ramsey, Bill Higdon, Jackie Pope and Carolyn Peck.
Longtime Georgia football coach Vince Dooley was the keynote
speaker at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
Harper's jersey No. 30 is hanging from the rafters of Eblen Center
to recognize the success she had as a student-athlete under coach
Marynell Meadors.
In
high school, Harper set the state single-season scoring record with
1,562 points in 1978 and was a two-time Parade All-American. At
Tech, she led the nation in scoring in 1980-81 and was a two-time
Ohio Valley Conference player of the year. She was inducted
into the Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, the first year she was
eligible.
Carroll is currently the volleyball coach at Halls High School in
Knoxville. It was the third Hall of Fame of her career. In addition
to the TTU Sports Hall of Fame, she is also a member of the
KIL Basketball Coaches Hall of
Fame after a distinguished coaching career at Halls.
Carroll began her college career at the University of Tennessee but only
stayed one year.
“I’m more small
town,” said Carroll, who grew up in New Market.
“Tennessee seemed so big. I felt more comfortable at
Tech.”
In her debut season at Tech, she averaged 14.7 points per game. In
her second season in a Tech uniform, Jerilynn averaged 29.7 points
per game and led the nation, scoring a school-record 1,011 total
points. She shot 62.8 percent from the field.
As a senior, she scored 831 points and averaged 26.8 points per
game, including a single-game high of 47 which she dropped on
Pittsburgh in a WNIT contest.
Harper was a standout not only on the court, but also in the classroom.
She won the team's Best Academic Average Award as a senior and was
Academic All-America. She also was a two-time team MVP and won the
John P. Hendrix Leadership Award.